His grip tightened a fraction.“If anything has happened to her, we’re going to find her.If she left on her own, we’ll still track her down.”
Chloe nodded against him, even as fear clawed higher.Someone had been shooting real bullets, and now, standing in her sister’s apartment surrounded by violent proof of resentment, Chloe understood that was no longer just about her survival.Danica was nowhere to be found, leaving behind a silent, vicious catalog of hatred tucked away in a closet.
Chloe pressed her hand to her mouth, shaking.This had crossed over into something far worse than jealousy.
She didn’t know where Danica was—or what she might be capable of now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kayne stood in thekitchen long after everyone else had scattered to quieter corners, the house settling into a tense, watchful hush.He stared at the security monitors without really seeing them.One question wouldn’t leave him alone.
What if it was Danica?
He didn’t like how quickly his brain accepted the possibility.Didn’t appreciate how little resistance it offered.He didn’t enjoy thinking it, or how easily the pieces began to line up once he allowed the thought to exist.
Danica Giordano had access.
That was the part that wouldn’t stop grinding at him.
She’d been in the club more than enough times and had wandered freely.She’d laughed with the construction crew, flirted, lingered.Cameras could’ve been placed slowly and carefully over time with no suspicion.She knew where Chloe wouldn’t look and which rooms felt safe enough to ignore.
She could’ve copied Leo’s key fob.It was easy enough if you knew what you were doing, or paid someone who did.Leo was careful, but that didn’t mean he was invulnerable.Not when family was involved and trust did half the work for you.
But the shooting, that was the sticking point.Danica didn’t feel like someone who knew her way around firearms, but Kayne had seen civilians learn to shoot frighteningly fast when anger, desperation, or obsession fueled the effort.All it would take was a few hours at a range, a couple of YouTube videos, and someone willing to teach her for money, or for attention.
Motivation was the real accelerant.Jealousy could be sharp.But desperation?That made people inventive.
Kayne scrubbed a hand over his face.Chloe was upstairs, trying to sleep and failing.He could feel it in the house, the way her anxiety hummed through the walls like static.It ravaged him that the threat might be coming from someone she’d tried to protect.
A soft footstep sounded behind him.
“Kayne.”
Anja’s voice was low and controlled.That meant it was not good news.
Kayne turned.“You found something?”
