And Elena walked right into it. Alone. Without backup. Without telling anyone where she was going.
The pleading in her eyes was convincing—I'll give her that. She looked genuinely scared. Genuinely desperate for me to believe her. But I need to know what the fuck is really going on. She's too smart and cunning not to have some kind of angle here.
I need answers. And there's only one person who might have them.
I reach for my phone and call Vito.
"Marco. What's going on?" He answers groggily. I must have woken him up.
"Sorry to wake you. I have news about our situation, and I'll be stopping by tomorrow morning. I'll be bringing Elena."
"I'll be up, you know that. Come have breakfast with us," he offers, and I accept before saying goodbye and hanging up.
I plug my phone into the charger, turn off the lights, and lie down on the couch. My mind is racing, and sleep feels impossible. Another night of little to no rest because of this woman. My little fox.
She was definitely cunning tonight. I'd suspected she'd try something, so I'd positioned myself to watch. When I heard my guy call about her on the fire escape, I immediately went to the back of the building. Sure enough, she slipped back inside, grabbed her shoes, and went out the back way.
She's crafty, but I've been doing this much longer. I followed her on foot for several blocks, staying in the shadows. When she got into a cab, I signaled to Tony and Lorenzo who'd been waiting in the SUV. We followed the taxi to her destination.
As soon as we stopped, I got out quietly and continued following her on foot. She was scanning her surroundings, probably assessing potential danger levels. When she stoppedin front of Whiskey Tavern, my heart rate spiked. I knew immediately she was meeting with the Irish—this was one of their underground establishments.
I watched her enter the tavern, then waited a few minutes before going in myself. A woman greeted me at the door but I brushed past her and stuck to the shadows where I could observe without being seen.
I watched Ronan instill fear in Elena's eyes. Could see how uncomfortable and scared she was. What did she think was going to happen meeting with someone like him?
How did she even arrange this meeting? We've been together for over a week and I've been watching her constantly. I internally roll my eyes at myself—I do watch her far more than professionally necessary. Rafa's been monitoring all her communications. He didn't mention anything about this.
The conversation between Ronan and Elena remained relatively calm until I saw him grab her wrist. Pull her across the table. Haul her into his lap. That fucking bastard.
I watched intently, ready to intervene. Then Elena slapped him across the face and despite the danger, I grinned.
That's my girl.
But when he pulled out a knife and pressed it to her ribs, I was moving before I consciously decided to act.
Within seconds I was standing in the dining area with my gun raised and trained directly on Ronan.
I wanted to blow his head off right there but getting Elena out safely was the priority. Her expression looked shocked but also relieved. Like she was genuinely grateful to see me.
"Mr. Conti! So nice to see you," Ronan said jovially, though I could see his men dead on the floor around me.
"Let's go," I told Elena, keeping my gun on Ronan.
She stepped out of the booth, wincing. Walked toward me.
"I'd like to take you up on your offer, stóirín," Ronan called after her, making an obscene gesture.
My treasure. Like hell she was his anything.
Before I could pull the trigger on this motherfucker, Elena was already moving toward the exit. I kept my gun raised toward his remaining men as we made our way out. You can never be too careful in situations like this.
Our ride home was silent but I could see the tears in her eyes. She was scared and she should be. Ronan isn't someone to mess with and he's clearly developed an interest in her that I don't like one bit. She needs to stay far away from him.
When Vito finds out about this meeting, he's going to be even more suspicious of her motivations. I need to discover what else she's hiding, and quickly.
A little while later, I walk to the kitchen for a glass of water. I'm leaning against the island when I hear Elena's bedroom door open and her footsteps padding down the hall. She appears in the doorway and stops, apparently not expecting me to be awake.
She continues into the kitchen and reaches up to grab a glass from the cabinet. When she stretches, she winces sharply and I immediately set down my water and move toward her. She's holding her side and won't look up at me.
