Bitter Arrangement: Chapter 24

Alexan barely reacts as the young doctor stitches him up. There’s blood all over the tile on the bathroom floor, but nobody seems all that concerned.

“Baby,” Alexan says, frowning at me. “Your pacing’s making me nervous.”

I stop walking back and forth. “Oh, sorry my walking is getting to you. I guess the fact that this guy pulled a bullet from your shoulder—” I wave a hand at the doctor. “That doesn’t faze you at all.”

“You’d be surprised at how often this happens,” the doctor says, yanking on the thread and tying it off with neat, quick motions.

“He’s right. This isn’t the first time I’ve been shot.”

“It was a good one though.” The doctor puts in another stitch. “Really had to dig in there for the bullet.”

I sit down heavily on the side of the bed, staring at the ghoulish tableau. “I’m feeling a little sick,” I murmur.

“Please don’t puke on the comforter,” Alexan warns.

I curl up in a ball on my side and pull a sheet over me as the doctor finishes up. The two men make jokes about all the terrible wounds Alexan has gotten over the years. When they’re done, the doctor shakes his hand. “Thanks for keeping me in business,” he says. “Make sure you tell all your friends to keep getting shot.” He wags a finger. “But not in the head! I can’t fix those.”

The doctor leaves, and I’m alone with my husband. He sits heavily down beside me and puts a hand on my leg.

“You’re okay,” he says softly, rubbing me in circles.

“Are you sure?” My voice is muffled from the pillow. “I don’t feel okay.”

“Baby, look at me.”

I hesitate, not sure I can bring myself to come out of my little cave.

“I messed up,” I whisper, guilt hammering down my chest. “I got caught. I told you I could do it, and I nearly got you killed instead.”

“That’s not what happened at all.”

“How can you say that? You got shot trying to protect me. You had to kill two men.”

“It’s not your fault. None of that was your fault.”

I slip the sheet back and look out. He’s frowning at me, concern in his expression. His hand is still on my leg, gently stroking me.

“How is it not my fault?”

“Because I’m the one that fucked up.”

I frown and shake my head. “That’s not true.”

“No, baby, I’m the one that should be apologizing.” He shifts deeper into the bed and sits with his back against the headboard. He pulls me against him, hugging me tightly. “Listen, when I was breaking into that laptop, I took my eye off the cameras. I didn’t notice when that guard went to check the second floor. If I had warned you in time, you would’ve been prepared.”

“I left too soon. I should’ve been more careful.”

“Baby, tracking the guards was my job. What happened back there was my fault.”

I don’t really believe him. I mean, he’s right; he should’ve been watching them more closely, but I don’t blame him at all for what happened.

If I were better at sneaking and stealing, it wouldn’t have mattered.

But I’m not as good as I think I am, and seeing that fact play out really bothers me.

I should’ve been able to handle it, but I couldn’t.

“Thank you,” I whisper.

“For what? For the truth?”

“No, for coming back for me.”

He holds me tighter. “Baby, I’ll never abandon you. Not while you’re my wife. Not while I’m breathing.”

I stiffen, surprised at the deep emotion in his voice. Alexan’s usually so cold and reserved, but every once in a while, I get a glimpse of real passion. Right now, I can practically feel it burning me.

“Can I admit something?” I ask quietly.

“Anything you want.”

“I was really impressed by your driving.” I glance up at his face, smothering a smile.

He sighs, shaking his head. “That’s some dark humor.”

“Yeah, I know. You like it, right?”

“I love it.” He bends down and kisses me lightly. “I promise, Riley, I’m never going to put you in a position like that again.”

“Never say never.” I push myself up and sit straighter. “I mean, it was kind of fun.”

“That’s not the word I’d use for it.”

“You weren’t in there. When I was sneaking through the office and picking those locks—” I take a deep breath as the adrenaline hits me again. “God, I was alive.”

“Glad you enjoyed yourself.”

“Right up until I got caught.”

“That whole operation was a nightmare from my point of view.”

“Come on. Don’t you like that stuff?” I nudge him with my elbow gently, careful not to get near his wound. “There’s a reason you do this, right?”

He hesitates, staring across the room. His face tugs down into a frown, and he glances at me like he’s considering something.

“This is all I know,” he says finally, stroking a piece of hair from my face. “I joined the Brotherhood at a young age. Before this, I was drifting. I had no purpose, no real friends, no real future. The Brotherhood changed that.”

“Look at you now. Married to a beautiful Irish lass.”

“With a new bullet scar too.”

I grimace and look away. “Don’t remind me.”

“It’s okay.” He pulls me back and kisses me gently. “Really, I mean it. You did nothing wrong. You were great in there.”

“You really think so?”

“Honestly, I genuinely do. With a real team, you could pull off any heist you wanted. I mean that.”

I perk up, grinning widely again. “Fantastic. Can’t wait to tell my brother. Maybe we’ll plan something together.”

“Don’t get excited.” He pushes himself out of bed and shuffles over to his desk. The computer hums to life. “There’s no way in hell I’m letting you out of my sight anytime soon.”

“Let’s be real. We both know you don’t have control over me.”

“Not yet, I don’t.” He looks at me over his shoulder, and his gaze is pure, possessive lust. “But give me time.”

I don’t know why that makes me blush.

He sits down at the computer and starts typing. I go into the other room to grab the watch for him, and he gets everything plugged in when I return. From my perspective, it looks like he’s just typing a bunch of random stuff into a command prompt while information scrolls past at blinding speed. Somehow, he seems to absorb it all.

“Ready?” he asks once the system finally seems to settle.

“You’re unlocking it now?”

He nods once, finger poised over the enter key. “This is what we nearly got killed for.” Then he hesitates and motions me closer. “You do the honors.”

I lean over him, my cheek brushing across his, and reach out for the keyboard. “I’m weirdly nervous.”

“Don’t be. This is good.” He sounds eager. “Go ahead, do it.”

I press the button.

Nothing happens. Well, nothing that I can see. More information appears. I catch snippets of text: wallet, personal key, account number, a bunch of other stuff that doesn’t make much sense.

But Alexan seems to understand. He looks totally rapt as he taps away, typing in commands at a blistering pace.

“Well?” I ask, heart stuttering. “What’d we find?”

“It’s so much worse than I thought,” he says grimly.

My stomach falls. “What’s wrong?”

“There are more keys.”

“I don’t understand.”

“They’re keys to crypto wallets.”

“Like Bitcoin?”

“Exactly.” He pulls open a website and starts entering numbers. I stare as he locates several different accounts.

“Why is that so bad?”

“Because right now we have control of approximately six hundred and thirty-three million dollars in Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and a half dozen other tokens.”

I stare at him and laugh nervously. “Six hundred million? Are you insane?”

“Six hundred and thirty-three million,” he corrects, not smiling at all. “I’m pretty sure this is Mantis’s entire crypto holding. It might even be the majority of the organization’s compensation structure.”

I step away from his computer, trying to make sense of all this. I shake my head, feeling like there’s wool in my brain. “Are you telling me we have control of all of Mantis’s money?”

“A big chunk of it at least, yes.”

“Holy fucking shit.”

He looks back at me and nods slowly. “Yeah. I agree.”

I sink down to the floor and sit there like a child, dumbly looking at my hands. Six hundred and thirty-three million dollars. All of Black Mantis’s cash, or at least most of it.

No wonder Fong wants it back.

Cold, bitter horror rushes into me as I realize how much trouble we’re in.

Because Fong is going to do anything to find this watch.

Kill anyone, torture anyone, steal anything, stop at nothing.

And it’s sitting right there in our bedroom.