Maya gave a tiny laugh, one of those weary ones, but it was there. And God, she needed that.
I tapped the table, thinking aloud, “So, who are her people? Her go-to? Someone she might’ve slipped up with?”
Maya shook her head. “She wouldn’t. Annamaria’s proud. She wouldn’t show weakness to her friends, not even if she were bleeding.”
“Actually, I know who’s the girl’s best friend,” I said.
Dom raised his brows. “Diamonds?” His reply was dry.
“Try again,” I said.
Maya’s eyes flicked between us. “Her phone?”
“Bingo.” I pointed at her. “Phones don’t lie. Even the loudest oversharers have one secret stashed in their photo roll or message thread.”
Dom snorted. “Girl’s best friend, alright. It carries every bad decision she’s ever made. And we just need the right one. Let’s hope it’s incriminating.”
“It will be!” I said determinedly.
Dom pointed a pen at me. “And that, ladies and gentlemen, is why you marry a man with a media empire.”
“Former media empire,” I corrected.
He ignored me. “So, how can we get the phone?”
I thought hard, a wicked thing coming to mind, or maybe a not-so-wicked thing. “I know exactly who can get it for us,” I said, scanning Annamaria’s recent posts.
Dom raised a brow. “Legally?”
“Close enough,” I said.
Maya looked between us. “You two are scary.”
I winked. “We’re just getting started.”
43
NOAH
I hauled Napoleon through the tree line, half-dragging, half-shoving, until we reached it.
The cliff. A sheer drop into a mess of boulders and brush. Dense forest stretched beyond, quiet as the grave. This was the exact spot he’d left Maya for dead.
“Remember this?” I asked, ripping the eyemask from his face.
He squinted into the sunlight. Finding him hadn’t been hard. He tagged every spot he visited. This time, it was a cigar lounge in Bozeman. One grab of his collar, and he shut up quickly. I dragged him out the back and shoved him into my car.
No time for games. No room for mercy.
“You know you tried to kill my wife, right?” I said coldly.
“What? No! No!” he blurted.
“Try again.” I pushed him closer to the edge. Loose dirt shifted under his loafers.
“I…I’m sorry. It was an accident!” he begged. “I didn’t know…she was, um?—”
“Shescreamedfor help, and you walked away.” My voicedidn’t rise. I didn’t need it to. “So now it’s your turn to feel what she felt. Alone. Helpless.”
