Total pages in book: 148
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 143870 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 719(@200wpm)___ 575(@250wpm)___ 480(@300wpm)
When I glance over at him, his eyes are the darkest I’ve ever seen them.
“Was he the one who rigged the boat?” Angelo asks.
Ares nods. “He was documenting his plans in real time. As soon as I knew what he was up to, I called.”
“We stopped, and he must have seen that on the tracker,” Cristian says. “That’s when he detonated it.”
It only reminds me that if it had been even a few seconds later, he might not be sitting here.
“This is insane,” I choke out. “I don’t understand why Elias would do this.”
“Come here.” Cristian pulls me onto his lap, unbothered that we have an audience. “I’ll take care of this, gattina. You don’t have to worry.”
I don’t doubt that he will, but it doesn’t make me feel any better. He almost lost his life because of some lunatic’s delusions. And it’s a betrayal that cuts deep, because I trusted Elias. After they brought me here and kept my secret safe, I was certain he was someone I never had to worry about. But now I know he’s an unhinged man on a warpath who wants to hurt Cristian and do God knows what with me.
There’s also the fact that he could reveal my identity at any time to anyone.
But as I sit with that information, there’s one thing that doesn’t really make sense about any of this. I’ve been here for six years, and I’m pretty sure Elias hasn’t been stalking me the entire time.
“He only started hanging around Black Velvet with Andreas about a year ago.” I glance at Ares in question.
A brief flash of guilt flickers in his eyes, confirming my suspicions.
“I changed his position a year ago,” Ares answers vaguely. “He must have found a new haunt on that schedule.”
“What position was he assigned to?” Cristian asks, not missing a beat.
“Unfortunately, that’s proprietary.” Ares brushes a piece of lint off his suit.
I always wondered if Ares had his men keeping tabs on me, even though I told him it wasn’t necessary. Two of his men used to frequent Black Velvet, but now that I think about it, I haven’t seen them in the last year—when, conveniently, Elias started showing up. The most likely conclusion I can draw is that Elias’s new position was watching over me.
Ares couldn’t have known this would happen, but I wouldn’t be in this mess if he’d just respected my request in the first place.
“It doesn’t matter,” Angelo tells Ares. “We expect that you’ll be handing him over to us.”
“I’d be happy to, if I knew where he was.” Ares shrugs. “It appears he’s gone rogue. He ditched his phone, and he’s cut contact with all of my men.”
“That’s convenient.” Mariella narrows her gaze at him.
“I have no reason to lie about it.” He eyes her. “I’m not in the business of keeping traitors around. Whether you kill him or I do makes little difference to me.”
“We’ll need whatever you have on him,” Cristian says. “And I want all the documentation he collected on Chantel.”
“Of course,” Ares answers, looking far too pleased with himself.
I can tell by the tension in Cristian’s body that he realizes Ares is up to something too. But that’s a problem for later.
“I do mean all of it,” Cristian reiterates. “Not a copy. Not what you pick and choose. I want anything you have from him.”
“And I’m happy to provide it.” Ares removes a flash drive from his pocket, holding it hostage as he glances between us. “I must say, I didn’t have you two getting together on my bingo card, but I’m rather liking this development. Wouldn’t you agree, Mariella?”
Mariella offers him a blank stare, knowing perfectly well he’s planning to use this situation to his benefit in some way.
“Well, I didn’t have fucking my way through Seattle on my bingo card either, but here we are,” she deadpans.
“Jesus, Mariella.” Angelo grimaces.
Ares’s smile falters for a mere second before he slips back into character. “I suppose none of us can say what’s on the horizon. Life is full of surprises.”
With that ambiguous threat, he hands the drive to Cristian and leaves—whistling as he goes.
32
CRISTIAN
“God, this is tedious,” Romeo groans. “If I have to read one more passage of his weird fantasies, I might actually lose my fucking mind.”
I scrape a hand over my face, silently acknowledging how monotonous this has been. The drive Ares handed over contained an entire year’s worth of documentation, and for the past six weeks, we’ve been combing through every detail that might lead us to Elias.
Our men have raided apartments, boats, storage units, and several vehicles—only to come up empty. All we’ve managed to learn is just how deep Elias’s delusions run.
He obsessed over everything from what color Chantel would paint their walls to how many blueberries she ate on any given day. Books she read, meals from her favorite spots, gifts for their “future” life together. He convinced himself they were dining together when he stalked her, or that when she glanced his direction at the club, she was sending him secret signals.