Chapter 6

The door of the stretched Lincoln Town Car slammed shut. The soundproof glass separated them from the driver.

Francisqui sat on the leather bench opposite Burleigh. She still gripped the Black Card in her hand. Her knuckles were white.

Burleigh stared at her. He tapped his index finger against his knee. "If you are going to be my asset, you need to look the part. Take the card. Buy clothes that don't make you look like a cheap escort."

He pressed the intercom. "Bergdorf Goodman."

When the car pulled up to Fifth Avenue, Burleigh didn't move. "You have two hours," he said.

Francisqui opened the door and stepped onto the pavement. She didn't look back.

Inside the massive department store, Francisqui ignored the evening gowns. She walked straight to the high-end tailoring section. She bought three razor-sharp black suits, silk blouses, and wide-leg trousers that allowed her to run.

She was buying armor.

Next, she walked three blocks down to a specialty antique shop she knew from her auditing days.

She placed the Black Card on the glass counter. "I need the titanium walking cane," she typed on her phone. "The one with the weighted grip."

The shop owner smiled. He handed her a sleek, black cane. Hidden inside was a solid titanium core, designed to shatter bone. "A gift for an older relative?"

Francisqui typed. For an enemy.

While she waited for the transaction to clear, she pulled up a secure banking application. Using the Black Card's infinite limit, she wired a fifty-thousand-dollar retainer to a ghost-operative private investigator in Berlin, attaching a single encrypted file: her mother's autopsy report. The investigation was finally funded.

She walked back to Bergdorf to pick up her tailored suits. As she entered the shoe department, three women blocked her path.

Kaleigh stood in the center, flanked by her friends. She had tracked the location through the family's VIP shopper network.

"Maxing out a cripple's credit card?" Kaleigh sneered. "Is that how you afford these?"

Francisqui was trying on a pair of black stilettos with needle-sharp metal heels. She stood up. She was three inches taller than Kaleigh now.

Kaleigh stepped closer, pointing a finger at Francisqui's chest. "You are nothing but a-"

Francisqui lifted her right foot. She brought the metal stiletto heel down squarely onto Kaleigh's toes with all her body weight.

Kaleigh let out a blood-curdling scream and collapsed to the floor, clutching her foot.

Francisqui pulled out her phone and hit the text-to-speech button.

"Excuse me," the robotic voice said. "The shoes don't fit."

A security guard rushed over. He saw the Black Card in Francisqui's hand. He immediately turned to Kaleigh. "Ma'am, you need to leave. You are disturbing a VIP client."

Francisqui walked out of the store, carrying her bags and the long, rectangular box containing the cane.

She got back into the Lincoln. She set the bags down.

Burleigh looked at the sharp suits and the long box. He raised an eyebrow. "Interesting taste. Are you going to war?"

Francisqui typed on her phone. I have to dress for the madness.

Burleigh let out a sharp laugh. He leaned forward, grabbing her chin with his large hand. His grip was bruising.

"Remember," Burleigh whispered, his breath warm against her lips. "This card comes with a price. Tomorrow night, I expect a return on my investment."

Francisqui stared into his dark eyes. She gripped the box with the titanium cane. She was ready to give him exactly what he deserved.