Corrupted Chaos (Tarnished Empire)
Shain Rose
A NOTE ON CONTENT WARNINGS
As a reader who loves surprises, I enjoy going in blind with each book. Yet, I also want to give my readers the opportunity to know what sensitive content may be in my books. You will find the list of them here for Corrupted Chaos: https://www.shainrose.com/content-warnings
Prequel
Izzy
“You kissed him?” A low voice full of gravel hissed from the side of my parents’ house.
Shit. My stomach dropped, my heart leapt, and my thoughts scattered a million different ways at the sound.
Wincing, I shut my eyes and breathed in the smell of wood burning on that cool autumn night as the fire crackled in the center of our Adirondack chair circle. Maybe if I stayed frozen like that I could wish away the man that owned that voice.
Had he just heard our whole conversation?
A moment ago, I’d been teasing my butthurt brother because he couldn’t stop complaining about his best friend and my old boss, Dante, marrying our sister. So, I’d told him to get over it because, if anything, I should have been the one crying. I’d actually kissed Dante—but that had been before he professed his love to my twin, Delilah, and proposed.
Welcome to my shit show, right?
As I stared at them curled up together in front of that fire, though, my heart didn’t hurt much anymore. I knew he looked at her in a way he’d never look at me. While we were identical in just about every way possible—same wavy brunette hair, facial features, and even curves—I could never hold a candle to the love Dante had for Delilah. Even after I professed my decades-old love for him, I knew it would never be reciprocated because there was no one else for either of them.
I accepted that now after a year of quiet heartbreak. Quiet because I was happy for my sister, quiet because I knew my love for him wasn’t that barreling, chaotic love. Quiet because I wanted to keep the peace and didn’t want my family to worry.
It took a year of burying myself in work and exposing myself to their relationship to really be over it.
And I was over it. But Cade Armanelli, the most judgmental prick I’d ever met, was never supposed to hear about it. This was only supposed to be for family and close friends.
Cade wouldn’t bring that. Dante, him, and I all worked undercover together for the government years ago, and he’d always approached me with an undercurrent of disrespect and disdain. The man didn’t believe in anyone but himself and thought we all hindered his ability to get the job done.
As he stepped out of the shadows, I swiveled around to stare at him as I ignored his question about who I’d kissed. “Jesus, where did you come from?”
The sharp angles of his face wreaked havoc on my insides. No hacker for the United States of America should look the way he did. Tattoos painted his neck and hands, peeking from beneath the collar and cuffs of his suit. His strong jaw rivaled chiseled Greek gods, and his dark hair was so wavy it looked professionally styled, even though I’d bet it wasn’t.
None of it really mattered, though, except for his penetrating dark stare that always held me captive. In the past, he looked right through me, like I was crystal-clear water with no depth at all. Yet, tonight, he studied me like I was a deep ocean, like I was a mystery at the darkest depths of it. His attention, the way he gripped me with that gaze, could haunt even an angel.
“Were you watching us?” I whispered.
I wouldn’t put it past him. Dante and Cade were distant cousins, and Cade always seemed to be watching everything going on with his family. And he had the intelligence to do it, considering he was arguably the best hacker in the world. One that I respected, was in awe of, and loathed all at the same time. When we used to work undercover together, he snickered when someone tried to inform him of something, like he already knew, like he had an omniscient power about him.
Then, I moved into the data security department, away from undercover work, and figured I wouldn’t have to deal with him. Even if he technically was the head of the cybersecurity workforce within the Department of Homeland Security, Cade worked alone. He didn’t need anyone’s help, nor did he show up to the office to ask for it.
“I’m always watching, Izzy,” Cade said in warning, his ominous stare was as abrasive as his tone. Always watching me? I didn’t need him watching what I did or acting as though I couldn’t handle myself. I was sure that’s what he meant by it, too, because he’d said once or twice before I didn’t belong in data security or working for the government in general for that matter.
Still, my body hummed at his confession, as though I was suddenly turned on and enraged all at the same time by the notion of him watching me.
It was ridiculous. Completely and utterly ridiculous. So, I scoffed at him and picked up a stick to roast a marshmallow. My mom had brought probably a thousand of them, knowing all six of her kids would be back in town to hang out.
As he stalked over to our fire, my four brothers sat up, their radars blaring. They’d finally accepted Dante into the family but trusting anyone else with the last name of Armanelli was difficult. Cade was the brother to one of the most powerful Italian mob bosses in the world, and his hacking skills made him potentially even more dangerous. Yet, no one, not even an Armanelli, could make them back down when it came to their baby sisters.
The fire crackled, and its light danced over him, illuminating his perfect bone structure as he said, “Dante, Delilah. Jet’s ready to go.”
Them? He’d come for them? Not me. I don’t know why that was a surprise and why my ego deflated a bit from the thought.
“Tonight?” My sister’s voice sounded shocked but hopeful. Dante must have planned a vacation for them with Cade’s help. It made sense considering Cade had the family private jet. For all I knew, it could have been the presidential jet considering the man was in the news for helping the country all the time with cybersecurity.
I stood so fast my knees popped when my sister got up to clear dishes on a tray table near our chairs. I moved to help, then followed her with my own handful to pad through the lush grass into our parents’ ranch-style home.
I whisper-yelled over the classical music my mom always played in the kitchen to Delilah. “I can’t believe Cade just shows up to our bonfire like this.”
“I think Dante probably called him.” Delilah shrugged, confused by my frustration. I myself wasn’t sure what it was about either. Maybe it was the way he’d confidently told me he was watching, like I was a loose cannon, or maybe it was because every time I saw him, he stirred something in me that he shouldn’t. I needed to keep my life like a calm lake, but when Cade came around, it turned into a tumultuous ocean, waves crashing violently on the shore.
I shook my head at my sister, placing a hand on the worn quartz countertop. “He’s deliberately acting like my babysitter since I’m still working for the government.” I didn’t need anyone behind me looking over my shoulder like I was going to mess up. I’d proven myself time and time again over the course of years of undercover work. And now being in cybersecurity, I was determined to stay ahead of the curve. I even took classes to keep up my skills. “I can take care of myself.”
“Well, he probably wants to make sure you’re safe, considering you’re friends.” She shrugged and put another dish in the sink.
“Colleagues,” I corrected, wrinkling my nose and brushing some of my hair that was frizzing away from my face. “Definitely not friends.”
Lilah peered over at me like she was questioning my sanity. I’d probably announced that last part a little too loudly. “Noted,” she grumbled, and I turned to the sink to wash the barbecue off a dish, hating that I’d let Cade get to me at all.
Still, I’d had enough people not believe in me over the years. And he was the worst of them. He never gave me more than a glance when he walked into the room, and I knew he’d bad-mouthed me when I’d first started.
Suddenly, my sister stopped and pointed over her shoulder, yelling, “Gotta go to the bathroom, Izzy,” as she beelined it out of there.
I spun around, knowing Delilah wouldn’t speed off unless she was avoiding something. And sure enough, the reason was standing right in front of me. All six feet plus a good couple of inches of him loomed over me like he was trying to intimidate me.
He wouldn’t. I didn’t care if he was a whole head taller. The more I thought about it, the more irritated I became that he even attempted to come around me outside of work. I crossed my arms. “Don’t sneak up on me in my parents’ house, Cade.”