No Fury Read online

  Gio (Giovani) Zappia (23), missing. The middle Zappia boy. He and Sofia were betrothed as children. His sociopathic cruelty led to her seeking vengeance against him and the Zappia family bloodline. Last seen in Moscow after Fox Fitzpatrick threw him out of an airplane to rescue Sofia. His parachute was recovered but his body was never found.

  Marty (Martino) Zappia (20), deceased. The youngest Zappia boy. He staged an unsuccessful coup of his family to unseat his father, Antony. Shot and killed by Dante Hart.

  Rosalie Zappia (18), deceased. Sofia’s little sister and former life maiden. Murdered by Gio in retribution for Sofia’s betrayal.

  The Black Family

  Marilyn Black, status unknown. No one knows much about her.

  Mercer Black (30), deceased. Marilyn’s son and Fox’s former squad leader. After relentlessly pursuing Fox and Dani across the country, he was shot and killed by Fox at Barbara Clark’s farmhouse outside of Iowa City, IA.

  Myra Black (25), Marilyn’s daughter. A deadly young woman with little regard for human life, she’s spent years working as The Boss’ spokesperson in the organization. She pitted Archer and Lilah against each other to tie up The Boss’ long list of loose ends, but mostly for her own entertainment. Last seen in St. Louis, Missouri after killing Elijah and allowing Archer to escape with his body.

  Marlow Black, deceased. Marilyn’s father.

  Two

  Fox

  I shouldn’t be as nervous as I am right now.

  I’m a war veteran. I’ve befriended Russian mobsters. I’ve stood up to — and exposed — the deadliest criminal organization on the planet.

  But all of that somehow pales in comparison to telling a man that you’re going to ask his daughter to marry you.

  Especially when that man is your stepfather and his daughter is one of the biggest stars in Hollywood.

  Maybe Boxcar was right all along. This is weird.

  I push open my car door and step out onto the driveway. It’s been at least a month since I’ve set foot here, mostly because Bennett told me to never come back. Dani included.

  After she fired him as her agent, she moved out of the house she grew up in and we got a place together in the Hills. He wasn’t too happy about that, obviously, but Dani finally found it in herself to take control of her own life.

  We haven’t heard from him since. I’ve kept in touch with my mother, of course. She thought I was dead for two years. I wasn’t about to leave her again.

  I knock on the door as the butterflies twist my stomach. With everything I’ve done, everything I’ve been put through to get here… and I can’t handle this?

  The door opens and Bennett glares at me, looking worse than I thought he would. Shaving has obviously become a low-priority. Laundry, too. He’d be almost unrecognizable without Dani’s eyes staring back at me.

  “Hey, Bennett,” I greet.

  “What do you want?” he asks.

  Charming as ever.

  “Can I come in?” I ask.

  “No. What do you want?” he repeats.

  I glance over my shoulder at the front gate down the driveway. There’s usually a few cameras lingering on the street or a tour bus slowly rolling by full of tourists just hoping to catch a glimpse of Roxie Roberts. Luckily, they’ve moved on to the next hot thing and haven’t managed to figure out her new address yet.

  “We need to talk about Dani,” I say.

  A flash of concern passes over his face but it doesn’t stick around. “Is she okay?”

  “She’s fine.”

  “Then, piss off.”

  I reach out to stop the door from slamming in my face. “Bennett.”

  He sighs loudly and steps back. “Fine. You got five minutes.”

  I follow him inside and close the door behind me. He marches across the front hall toward his study. I move slowly, scanning the shelves and end tables as I pass them by. A thin layer of dust coats everything. He must have fired the cleaning staff. Or they quit.

  Bennett’s study looks about the same as it always did. Stuffed full of his own particular brand of organized clutter. He falls into his desk chair but I stay standing, ignoring the subtle hint to claim the couch beneath the window.

  I take a deep breath, staring down at his tired face. He appears so weak to me now but that doesn’t make me feel any better about this.

  “I’m going to ask Dani to marry me tonight,” I say.

  His eyes twitch. “No, you’re not.”

  “Yes, I am. After the premiere.”

  “And I’m saying no.”

  “I didn’t come here for permission, Bennett. I came here to tell you, in person, so you didn’t hear about it from someone else later.”

  “How kind of you.” He shifts in the chair and it squeaks beneath him. “Is that all?”

  I scoff, holding my anger inside. “What the hell is your problem with me?”

  “Where would you like me to start, Fox?” he asks, smirking.

  “It’s not my fault you married my mother,” I say. “We were teenagers, not children. We didn’t grow up together. Our relationship isn’t as big of a taboo as you think it is.”

  “You think that’s it?”

  “What else is there?”

  He shifts in his chair. “While I don’t exactly like the idea of my stepson diddling my daughter under my own roof, that has little to do with my dislike of you. You’re a fucking punk, Fox. A stupid jock who never would have amounted to anything if I didn’t kick you out of my house. Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t approve of your relationship — not because I married your mother — but because you’re just not good enough for her?”

  I flex my jaw. “You have no idea what I went through to get back to her.”

  “And I don’t care.” He rubs the stubble on his face and laughs. “None of it will make up for the fact that you shot her three months ago. Or am I the only one who remembers that part?”

  “I knew what I was doing.”

  “Oddly enough, the fact that you know how to shoot my daughter through the chest without killing her isn’t actually a huge comfort to me, Fox.” He leans forward over his desk. “Whatever you went through over the last five years doesn’t matter. What you brought home with you does and, honestly, you scare the hell outta me. I can’t stop you from doing whatever you’re going to do and I can’t control her anymore either, but know this: Anything that happens to her from now on is on you.”

  “I know that.”

  “Then, we’re done here.” He sits back and shakes his head. “Congratulations on your engagement,” he says with no feeling at all.

  I resist the urge to argue with him some more. It won’t change his mind and that snark in his tone tells me everything I need to know.

  I walk out of the study, feeling even worse than when I walked in, but I did what I came here to do.

  “Fox?”

  My mother stands at the top of the stairs.

  I smile. “Hey, Mom.”

  “I thought I heard your voice.” She picks up her pace to meet me at the bottom. I extend my arms out to her and she gives me a hug. “Is everything okay with you?”

  “Yeah,” I answer. “I’m fine.”

  “And Dani?” She releases me and takes a quick step back. “How is she?”

  “She’s...” I glance at the closed office door. “She’s great.”

  “I miss having her around, not gonna lie,” she says.

  “Well, you’re always welcome at our place. You know that.”

  She nods slowly. “So, you two are still...?”

  “Yes, we are still.”

  I wait for that look of disappointment but it never quite surfaces.

  Instead, she smiles and lays a hand on my shoulder. “Whatever makes you happy, Fox,” she says. “With what you’ve been through...” she shrugs, “that’s really all that matters to me.”

  I breathe a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Mom. You, too.”

  She clears her throat and
drops her hand. “Speaking of which, I, uh... I’m going to be staying with your grandparents for a while.”

  “In Seattle?” I ask.

  “Yeah.” She hesitates. “Bennett and I are splitting up.”

  “Really?”

  “I tried to make it work, but...” She pauses as a rush of anger shadows her eyes. “I can’t stay with the man who kicked out my son without consulting me first. Keep thinking if he hadn’t have done that…”

  “Mom...” I shake my head. “You can’t put all the blame on him. I chose to enlist.”

  “I know. And I couldn’t be prouder of you for that, it’s just...” She swallows. “He’s not the man I thought he was in many ways. It’s time for me to go.”

  “Well, you know I won’t disagree with that,” I say.

  She chuckles. “I figured.”

  “Let me know if you need anything.”

  “I will.”

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Today, actually,” she says. “I packed a bag this morning. Next step was to call you and let you know, but you took care of that for me.” She glances at Bennett’s door. “What brought you out here, anyway?”

  “I, uh...” I take a breath and reach into my pocket for the small, velvet box. I pull it out and her jaw drops with her growing smile. “I’m proposing tonight.”

  “Fox...” She takes the box from my hand. “Can I...?”

  “Yeah,” I say as nervous jitters twist my insides.

  She opens it and her grin widens. “Oh, Dani will love this.”

  “Think so?”

  “Of course. Vintage?”

  I nod. “Caleb helped me track it down.”

  She snaps the box closed and sighs. “Congratulations, honey.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Let me know how it goes.” She bites her lip. “Should I stay in town? Will there be a party?”

  I slip it back into my pocket. “No, you go ahead. We’ll probably keep it quiet. Might plan a trip up the coast to see you instead.”

  “That works for me.” She steps forward and wraps her arms around me again. “I love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  I give her another tight squeeze as my nerves calm down. It’s strange. All this time, through all the bullshit, it’s still a hug from Mom that fixes everything.

  She kisses my cheek as she pulls away. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks.” I step back. “I gotta go.”

  “Bye, Fox.”

  “Bye, Mom.”

  I step outside, feeling a little relieved that it’s probably the last time I’ll ever have to leave this house. Sure, I have a few good memories of this place but I can count them on one hand. The night I met Dani. Our first kiss.

  But it’s time for me to go, to quote my mother. To walk away from the last decade and begin anew. This ring burning a hole in my pocket is just the start of that. Danielle Roxanne Roberts has been the one thing keeping me alive this whole time. The past is done. The future is waiting. I’m not going to delay it anymore.

  Tonight, I’m going to ask Dani to be my wife. And she’ll say yes.

  I pause by my car, feeling my stomach twist into knots again.

  She’ll say yes.

  I think.

  Three

  Dani

  “Hey, Roxie! Look over here!”

  “Give us a smile, Rox!”

  I do as they ask, sinking a little deeper into that persona. Smiling and twirling Roxie Roberts. Maybe someday I won’t have to be her anymore but that’s not tonight.

  Tonight is premiere night for the most anticipated film of the year, Night Trials, Part 3. The final chapter in the trilogy, thankfully. Flashing cameras, shining lights, and a red carpet. Some will tell you that these things never get old no matter how many times you do them, but after the year I’ve had, I’ve learned that there are far more important things in this world than money or fame.

  Fox.

  I can’t see him but I can feel his eyes on me. Ever since he came home, he’s made it his mission to keep me safe. Even when I’m sure he’s not watching me, the hairs stick up on the back of my neck. I’ll look around and there he’ll be with that hint of protection in his eyes.

  My bodyguard. And none of these people have any idea he’s here.

  They can’t know. If they did, it’d draw his enemies right to us.

  I’ve told him to stay home and out of the spotlight. My life revolves around flashing lights. It can’t be helped. If a news camera isn’t pointed at my face, then someone’s cell phone is. Any one of them could snap a photo of him and expose his location.

  He just smiles and says it’ll be okay.

  I believe him. Why wouldn’t I?

  I scan the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of him in his baseball cap but he’s too good.

  “Roxie, are the rumors true?”

  I blink out of my trance, feeling the familiar ache in my jaw from smiling for too long. I focus on the face of a dark-haired man in front of me. I recognize him. One of those late-night TV hosts.

  “Rumors?” I repeat.

  “That you’re quitting Hollywood.”

  I force a laugh into his mic. “Why would you think that?”

  “You turned down Bruckburg, honey,” he says. “Plus three other career-defining scripts. And I heard through the vine that you fired your agent.”

  I nod. “My father and I decided to cut our business relationship,” I say. “But the rest is just rumors.”

  “So, you’re not quitting?”

  “Just taking a break. I’ve been running nonstop since I was eighteen. I need a vacation,” I joke.

  “That’s good to hear, Rox. This town wouldn’t be the same without you.”

  I roll my eyes. “I don’t know about that.”

  He moves on down the line to my co-star. I continue forward through the haze of screaming fans and blinding cameras, wondering if that sounded as convincing as it did in my head.

  The rumors of my retirement have followed me around ever since The Iowa Incident. Hollywood’s biggest starlet gets kidnapped and ends up fighting for her life in a hospital in Iowa City. The inevitable made-for-TV movie has already written itself. It all made for some good news but an international criminal organization got exposed at the same time.

  Still, the only thing the gossip shows cared about was me.

  Not the assassinated presidential candidate.

  Not the world-wide manhunt for Snake Eyes members that could literally be anyone.

  No. Just Roxie Roberts and her pretty, sliced-up face.

  I’m not that fucking important.

  So, yeah. I’m retiring from this bullshit life the first chance I get. I just have to make it through one last night of red carpets and shining lights.

  I look straight ahead, silently counting the number of steps I have left to take before I can finally duck inside the theater and escape out the back.

  Again, I feel that wave of warmth down my spine. Fox’s eyes are on me. Somewhere in the crowd, he’s watching my every move and the ones of those around me. My valiant watchman.

  I wish he’d let me watch over him, too. He’s been through so much in so little time. He’s seen and done things no one should ever have to go through.

  It’s changed him. He won’t admit it. He avoids my questions about it. There’s a piece of him I can’t touch, not for lack of trying, but because he won’t let me close enough.

  And it scares me.

  He hasn’t slept through the night once since we came back from Iowa. He gets up and walks around the house in the dark, almost as if he’s hunting ghosts. Maybe he is.

  But he always comes back. He slinks into the bed and lays an arm around me. I pretend to be asleep as his lips graze my forehead or my shoulder or my hand, whatever is closest. It’s like he doesn’t think I’m real and he has to touch me just to make sure.

  “Give us one last smile, Roxie!”

  I pause outside the theat
er and turn back around to give them what they want. The crowd waves their hands and screams my name. Cameras flash, blurring my vision until I see spots.

  One last smile.

  I stretch my lips wide. I hold a hand high. In my head, I say goodbye. Adios. Sayonara.

  The door opens ahead of me and my assistant, Lena, waves me inside. I pick up my pace, following her in and leaving the red carpet behind me.

  “Finally,” I murmur, exhaling hard.

  Lena’s stiff lips twitch. She’s done her fair share of these things, too. Later tonight, I’ll tell her my plans to retire. Hopefully it won’t come as too much of a shock to the poor girl but I know plenty of colleagues who would kill for an assistant like her. She’ll find work again in no time. I’ll make sure of it.

  She gestures me to the left. “This way,” she says. “They’re funneling the talent through the employee hall to steer clear of the lobby.”

  “Awesome.”

  I follow close behind her with my head down. The lobby is already packed with PR reps and gossip reporters but I’ve already fulfilled my contractual obligations.

  Lena holds the door open for me and I walk into the shadowed back hallways. She closes it behind us, blocking out the noise.

  The back of my neck instantly turns cold. Fox’s watchful eyes aren’t on me anymore.

  I pause.

  “Come on,” Lena says, stalling a few paces ahead until I catch up.

  My shoes clack along the dirty linoleum floor. “Where is everyone else?” I ask.

  “Just ahead,” she answers, barely glancing back.

  The farther I go, the larger the stone in my gut grows. I’ve been to dozens of these premieres, been led through so many back exits that I’ve lost count, but something about this feels so unnerving.

  We round the corner and I realize why.

  There are six of them, three standing side-by-side along the walls. Black masks and tactical vests. The same as the ones worn by the squad that killed Senator Lamb and attacked me in my apartment.