I didn’t know what I’d do if she didn’t.If she looked at me with the same disgust she did when I first brought her to the cabin.
The door to the office opened, and I glanced away from the monitors.Blake stepped inside, wearing his usual uniform of an all-black suit.Like he’d crawled out of a shadow and forgot to leave it behind.
I once asked him why he always dressed in black, and he joked it was to match the color of his soul.
It was obvious he had demons much like I did.I never pressed him to talk about it.In our line of work, there was an unwritten rule not to ask too many questions.After all, Blake had a certain set of skills that had proven quite useful.
I didn’t ask how he knew how to make a body disappear.Or how to clean a crime scene.Or why he kept scouring every corner of the web for a woman named Chandler Meadows.If he wanted me to know, he’d tell me.
“You look like hell,” he remarked, his eyes going straight to the monitors as he dropped onto the couch beside Cato and scratched his head.
“It’s been a night.”I didn’t take my gaze off the screen.
“How’s she holding up?”
“Good, all things considered.”
“And you?”he pressed.“How areyoudoing?”
“Okay.”I pushed out a long sigh, running a hand over my face as I fought to stay awake.“All things considered.”My words carried a different weight than before.
I was still processing everything that had happened over the last several hours.It wasn’t even noon yet.It had only been a little more than twelve hours since Salvatore had called, sending my night into a tailspin.It seemed like so much longer.Days.Weeks.
A lifetime.
“How’d things go up north?”I asked, turning my chair around to face him.
His dark hair was disheveled, and his brown eyes showed signs of exhaustion, probably from pulling an all-nighter to help clean up the mess I’d left in Maine.
“Handled,” he replied simply.“All traces you were ever at that bunker are gone.Disposed of the bodies, then drove their car to a remote area and crashed it into a tree to make it look like they lost control before setting out on foot.”
“Did you get any hits on who they were?”
“Confirmed Bratva.Lower level, but definitely connected.”
I knew they were, but it was good to have confirmation of my suspicions.Unfortunately, with every confirmed piece of information, it just caused more questions.
“Did you find out anything more about the company the plane was registered to?”
“Nothing yet.But I did find something else that might be of interest to you.”
I perked up.“What’s that?”
He grabbed his phone and pulled up a photo of the art museum seemingly taken the same night of the charity gala I’d attended where I first spoke to Ariana.
Red carpet.Celebrities.Champagne smiles.
“What’s so special about celebrities being photographed going into a charity event?”
“Look past that,” he instructed.“Far right corner.”
I grabbed my glasses and zoomed in, squinting at the two blurry figures.One was Victor Kane.The man beside him was partially obscured, but I recognized him from that night.
“That’s the same man I saw approach Victor at the gala.”I met Blake’s eyes.“Who is he?”
“Maxim Covell.”
I furrowed my brow, unfamiliar with the name.“Is that supposed to ring a bell?”
