“He’s not at the estate.” I trace the map with my finger, forcing my mind to work the problem. “Too exposed. He knows we’re coming for him.”
“The warehouse, then,” Matti says. “It’s fortified. Lots of exits.”
I shake my head. Something’s not right. Aurelio’s paranoid, but he’s also arrogant. He wouldn’t hide in a warehouse like a rat.
My phone buzzes. Valentina is calling.
I almost don’t answer, but she’s one of our best hackers, and if she might be calling about Aurelio.
“What.”
“Well, hello to you too, sunshine.” Her voice drips sarcasm. “I heard you’re planning the big finale with dear old dad.”
“You want in or not?”
She’s quiet for a moment. “Not.”
That surprises me. Valentina hates Aurelio as much as the rest of us.
“You don’t want to play a role in his final moments? Have your say? Get a shot in?”
She snorts a laugh. “Zero interest in spending one more minute of this life thinking about that fucking fuck.”
“Fine. I’ll call you when it’s done.”
“Vin, wait.” Her tone shifts, losing the edge. “Why did you do that to that girl? That bitch is the nicest one you’ll ever find, she cooks like a God damn dream, and she fucking puts up with your shit. I literally could not build a better woman for you. What’d she do?”
My jaw clenches so hard I hear my teeth grind. “None of your fucking business.”
“So it just ended? Just like that?”
“It wasn’t a fucking breakup. We weren’t together.”
“If you say so.” The pity in her voice makes me want to put my fist through the wall.
I hang up before she can say anything else.
When I look up, Matti and Tommy are both staring at me with the same looks they gave me when I came back from the Irish meeting reeking of Ashlyn’s perfume. The same looks they’ve been giving me since I destroyed Sophie at Siena’s party.
“Don’t,” I say, the word coming out like a warning shot.
“We didn’t say anything,” Tommy says carefully.
“You’re thinking it. Don’t.”
Matti leans back in his chair, arms crossed. “You’re the one who moved into her place. You’re the one who got involved when everyone told you not to. You’re the one who—”
“I said don’t.” I’m on my feet, hands flat on the table, leaning toward him. “We have work to do. Or did you forget we’re hunting the man who’s been torturing us our entire lives?”
“Hard to forget when you’re acting just like him,” Matti says quietly.
His words split me right down the center like an ice pick. I straighten, jaw working, my hands curling into fists.
“Fuck you.”
“You broke Sophie’s heart in front of everyone,” Matti continues, his voice still maddeningly calm. “Grabbed her throat, told her she was nothing. That type of shit doesn’t sound familiar to you?”
My vision goes red. “That’s not what—” I can’t finish the sentence. No way I’m going to tell them that Sophie is different from any of the women my father fucked with and abused. And I’m not ready to admit to myself that I have to marry Ashlyn much less tell them about it.
