“I’m going to check on Mira.”
I climb to my feet and quickly pull on my jeans, then walk around the bed. I wrap my arms around her as she finishes pulling on her pants, holding her to my chest and stroking my hand through her hair.
“I know this is a mess,” I murmur.
More than a mess, killer.
“But I like being with you, Elle. And Mira. And that’s more than I can say about anyone for a long, long time.”
She smiles, looking up at me. “I like being with you too.”
We kiss, then she leaves the room, and I watch her go. I sit on the edge of the bed, trying to blot out that voice.Killer, killer, killer.
I must be a bad, bad man. Elle has no idea who she just really slept with.
I step into the en-suite and splash cold water on my face, staring at my reflection. I look lazily satisfied and anxious at the same damn time somehow.
Usually, I can think of all my very real, acceptable justifications. These people deserve it. They’re worse than lowlifes. They kill innocents, women, and children. I don’t feel remorse. I am fucking vengeance.
But now I’m picturing the look on Elle’s face if she learned I’m a criminal too.
Elle bursts into the room, breaking me out of my morbid thoughts. “Mira’s missing!”
“She must be close to the property. The sensors would’ve tripped.”
“We have to find her.”
She runs from the room. I follow, jogging down the hallway, out onto the porch. No one is at the front of the property, and I don’t see anyone at the back either. She must be hiding under the bed or something. Back inside, Elle is clutching the counter with one hand, the other squeezing a handful of her shirt.
“We need to check the cameras,” she says, voice desperate.
“Did you check everywhere?”
She glares at me. Shit. That probably wasn’t the best thing to say. But it’s not like this boyfriend stuff comes easy to me.
I grab her laptop, still unlocked from when I signed in earlier. I go to the security website and log in, then check the footage. “Fuck,” I whisper, pieces clattering together in my head. Things I should’ve thought about, anticipated.
“What?” Elle says, walking up next to me.
“Someone looped the feed,” I say, gesturing at the screen. “See how it blinks every fifteen seconds or so? Watch.” The forest remains still, then slightly shifts. “You’d have to know to look for it.”
“What does that mean?” Elle demands.
“It means that this sick bastard hacked your WiFi before I used this laptop. Or he installed key-tracking software on your laptop. It doesn’t matter how. What matters is that this property is compromised. I’m finding Mira, then we’re leaving. Wait in the bedroom.”
“No way.”
I spin on her, practically hyperventilating. “Elle, please. I need to focus on this.”
“I amnothiding like some scared little bird when my sister is out there. We’re wasting time. I was here before you, Rhett, and I’ll be here after!”
She glares at me, red-faced. My first instinct is rage. Absurd and unfair. She’s right. I can’t control her. And wearewasting time.
“Dammit,” I snap, grabbing my gun from the holster. “Mira! If you’re in here, come out right now! Mira! Search the house again. Carefully. Every inch. Triple check. I’ll be right back.”
I turn and stride away, hoping she listens. The house does need to be checked… and I’d also rather keep her inside. Goddamn Conti, hounding her like a dog. I raise my pistol and stalk through the trees at the edge of the property.
I step closer, push my foot through the sensor. Immediately, my phone starts ringing in my pocket. I answer it, type in the security code, then step out. So the sensors are working. Which means Mira has to be either in the house or hiding in a goddamn…
