Rapid, shaky breaths fill my lungs. A cold sweat drenches my neck. I try to wrap my head around what just happened, and fail. Miserably. This can’t be the end of us. We can’t be over. Not like this, this is all wrong.
Against my better judgement, I go after Cian. We will not end like this.
I search the hallway, the elevator, and the stairwell exit. But I’ve wasted too much time processing and he’s nowhere in sight. I’ll have to catch up with him at home.
He’s threatened my life once before, when we were first married. I believed him then. I thought he’d actually hurt me. After our years together, I know he’s threatening me out of anger and self-preservation. Would he kill me? Truly? No. I can’t bring myself to believe that he would go that far.
On my way down in the elevator, I send a text to Finn, telling him I’m ready to be picked up. Oddly, he doesn’t reply.
Stranger still, when I make it out of the building into the cold, rainy night, the car’s not there. I fidget while I wait. Five minutes tick by, then ten. Traffic and people go about their business all around me as I huddle near the side of the building. I would wait in the lobby, but I didn’t expect Finn to take this long.
Something’s wrong. Very, very wrong.
Did Cian order them to go home and ditch me here? I have to find out.
Heading back inside, I take the stairs down to the valet parking garage where Finn parks as he and Kody wait for me to finish up with work. With most employees already gone for the day, few cars are left in the garage.
I spot the town car easily enough. Even from this distance, I see two figures in the front seats. Why are they just sitting there?
Irritated, and still shaky from everything that happened in Devlin’s office, I quickly approach the vehicle. I need to get home to Cian as soon as possible.
The tinted windows obscure my view, so I pull open the driver’s door. “Finn, what are—?” The question dies on my lips as horror wraps around my insides. “Oh my god.”
Both Finn and Kody have their seat belts on, keeping them strapped in place. Blood drenches the front of their shirts. Their throats cut.
They’re dead.
Shock and grief ripple through my body. Of all of Cian’s men, I was closest to them. We saw each other almost every day. I can’t believe they’re gone. Who would do something like this to them?
I slam the door shut, and spin around, my gaze searching the garage. Is the killer still here?
The place is as silent as a wintery tomb.
Devlin must have done this. Why? Murdering my driver and bodyguard seems unnecessary. Was he afraid I’d call for helpand they’d show up? Possibly. It’s the only logical explanation. He made sure we weren’t going to be disturbed.
Unless… Cian…
No, I can’t start down that train of thought. Cian isnotthe villain, he’s the victim.
Even if he thought Finn and Kody knew about my supposed affair with Devlin… and thought they were hiding that information from him… would he kill them?
In a fit of murderous rage, would Cian do this to his own men?
I’d like to believe him incapable of such an act, but I’m not one hundred percent sure of anything at this point. If he’s tipped so far over the edge that he’d do something like this, do I really know him as well as I think I do?
All of a sudden I’m not as confident about confronting my husband. What if he meant it this time? What if Devlin pushed him too far and there’s no coming back to sanity? Do I risk my own life to find out how far Cian will go?
I hug my middle. Dizziness overcomes me as the world tilts. I steady myself against the car.
I can’t stay here. Going home isn’t an option either.
Turning away from Finn and Kody’s dead bodies, I stagger out of the garage, and into the freezing Manhattan night.
My thoughts tormented by uncertainty, I walk through bustling streets with no real destination in mind. I should call someone, but who? How do I explain what happened? My cousins… then I remember that everyone’s gathered at Gin’s house tonight for her husband’s birthday party. Her place isn’t that far away.
I glance up for the first time in too long, only to discover that I’m no longer in the heart of the city. The busy streets have vanished. They’re now darker, and nearly deserted. How did I get here? How long have I been walking?
Quite a while if the ache and blisters forming on my feet are any indication. I shouldn’t be here. Not alone.
