“You know a lot about me, but maybe you missed something. I would never joke about my sister.” He goes over to his backpack and pulls out a laptop. “After our last phone call, I saw exactly where the two of you were headed. What happened yesterday wasn’t an accident.”
“Of course not. He knew who she was.”
“No, Amos. You’re not getting what I’m saying.”
He opens the laptop, clicks through a few folders, and hands it to me.
Photo after photo of Lilly scrolls by—taken at different times of the day since she returned from Paris. Her shoppingwith Theo. Inside the real estate agency. Entering her building, and even here.
Someone had been watching her closely.
“He wasn’t going to shoot her. The plan was to take her, I think. Use her to blackmail you. The kid didn’t take a bullet for Lilly. Jonathan would’ve killed him anyway. There was no reason to keep two hostages—that would’ve been too risky.”
“How did you find this out?”
“I’ve been watching her too. And by extension, watching whoever was watching her. Jonathan and Maria are desperate. Cornered. Their lives are hanging by a thread because we’ve drawn the authorities’ attention to their organization. They needed leverage. I also found files on you and me. They’ve known for over a month who’s been tracking them.”
“Then why didn’t they come straight for me?”
“Because that wouldn’t have been enough. Killing you wouldn’t stop me or the rest of the guys from hunting them down. But taking something that matters to you—Lilly—that would.”
“Fuck!”
How could I have been so arrogant as to think I could keep her safe from all the filth in my world?
“You need to let her go,” he says again. And I know it’s the right thing to do.
But letting go of Lilly would mean knowing I’ll be living in the shadows forever.
“She won’t give up on me,” I say, not out of arrogance but as a simple fact.
I know her well enough now to know loyalty is one of her defining traits. Lilly isn’t the kind of woman who jumps ship at the first sign of danger. Even yesterday, scared as she was, she stayed by Theodoro’s side. If I hadn’t stepped in, she would’ve followed him to the hospital.
“You could break up with her.”
I shake my head, almost wanting to laugh. “Like I said—you don’t really know your sister. If you did, you’d never suggest something so ridiculous. She’ll understand why I’m pushing her away,” I say, already trying to think of a solution. “We could double security.” I’m still grasping at any thread of hope to stay in her life, even though a voice deep down tells me there’s nothing I can do.
“That won’t be enough. They need to think you’ve dumped her.”
“And how the hell am I supposed to pull that off? I’ve never been in a relationship before. If they’re watching me this closely, like you said, they know that. And they probably already know how important she is to me.”
“I have a plan. If it works, you two might get another chance in the near future. But you have to agree that protecting her is our priority right now.”
I run both hands through my hair, already feeling desperate.
I have no idea what he’s got in mind, but one way or another, I know it’s going to hurt her.
“Fine,” I give in, defeated. “Tell me what you’re thinking. And let’s get one thing clear—I’m giving you my trust here, Ethan. I’m trusting that you’re not trying to pull some selfish stunt to keep us apart. Because if that’s the case, don’t waste your time. Lillyana is my woman. Nothing and no one will make me give her up.”
Chapter 58
My whole body aches, as if I’d been beaten, but it’s the mental exhaustion that makes me pull the covers over my head and wish I could stay in bed all day.
Still, I know I need to check on Theo—and I also have to visit Bruno.
He’s already suffered far too many disappointments for someone so small, and I won’t be the cause of another one. I’ve never missed a visit, and the nurse told me he looks forward to them eagerly.
As soon as I woke up, I saw Amos’s note. Just as he asked, I texted him to let him know I was heading to the hospital, then to the clinic.
