Joy and terror spar inside me, leaving me breathless. Eva wants to see me? But…she would never contact me unless something was wrong. We were making a clean break. Had to. Unless?—
“Is she alright?” The words come out strangled.
“All I got is my order,” the man says with a shrug. “She just called, told me to pick you up and take you right over. She’s staying at the Golden Sands.”
I glance back at the house, where warm light spills from the windows and my siblings are probably arguing over what to watch on TV tonight. Normal family sounds from a normal family life that I owe all to Eva.
So if she needs to see me, I can’t refuse. Won’t.
Don’t want to.
“I can’t be gone too long,” I hedge, and turn to head back to the house. “Let me just get my coat and tell my brother?—”
The world goes dark before I can finish the sentence.
Chapter 27
Eva
The phone’s shrill ring cuts through my sleep.
I’m awake instantly, as I always am. The clock on my nightstand reads 3:47 AM—and it’s never good news at this hour. My hand finds the secure phone before my eyes fully adjust to the darkness of my bedroom.
“Yes.” My voice is steady, alert. In our world, middle-of-the-night calls usually mean one of two things: opportunity or catastrophe.
“We have a problem.” Leon’s voice carries the same tone it did when my father was shot. I’ve never forgotten it. And I’ve only heard it that one time.
I’m already throwing back the covers, feet hitting the cold stone floor. “Stefan?”
“No.” A pause that makes my blood turn to ice. “It’s Robin Rivers.”
The world stops.
Every muscle in my body starts trembling, every instinct screaming that whatever comes next will shatter something inside me that can never be repaired. But I force my voice to remain level, professional.
“Tell me.”
“Ivan’s dead. Body was found dragged into the bushes three houses down from the Rivers’ place. Garroted. Nice and clean and quiet.” Leon’s words are clear, but I can hear the tension underneath. “And the Rivers woman…she’s missing.”
The phone gives an ominous creak as my grip tightens. Ivan was one of the best—fifteen years with the Consortium, never missed a check-in, never failed an assignment. If someone got close enough to kill him, they planned this carefully.
“When?”
“Best estimate, she got jumped around eight PM local time when she was taking the trash out. Neighbors saw and heard nothing.”
My mind races through possibilities. The Gattos top the list, of course, since Brie Colombo and the Syndicate began putting the pressure on. But I can’t be blind to other possibilities. It could be anyone who’s been watching, waiting for the perfect target.
“The Rivers children?”
“Safe. They’re at the house with a full security detail I deployed after finding Ivan’s body. Adrian’s asking questions, but we’re keeping him contained.”
Good. At least Robin’s siblings are protected.
Leon’s voice softens slightly. “I know you keep saying she meant nothing to you, but?—”
“Stop,” I snap. “Just stop, Leon. Don’t make fools of us both. Youknowwhy I keep saying that.”
Leon has been with me for years. He knows me better than anyone alive. He’s watched me maintain the fiction that Robin was just another transaction, just another warm body to pass the time.
