I could see how hard it was for Nikki to tell me. She’d been as excited about the wedding as if it was the real deal. And as for me…it felt real to me too.Fuck.It had felt like my heart had been ripped from my chest.
“How’s Nikki?”
“How do you think?” he snaps. “This thing is eating her up inside, goddammit! We had the doctor here yesterday worrying about her blood pressure. He’s got her on bed-rest till further notice. The babies…” I hear him give an exasperated sigh. “I should never have left her there. That fucking woman of yours is a walking fucking disaster! I swear, when she comes back, I’ll—”
“You’ll what?” I bark. There’s silence for a moment. “Anyhow, she’s not my woman. I think that much is pretty clear.”
“You got that right. And you dodged a bullet, if you ask me. If Nikki wasn’t so damned freaked out about finding her, I’d wash my hands of this whole fucking shitshow!”
“I’m really sorry,” I repeat. As much as I’m as worried as Nikki is – probably more so – I can get where he’s coming from. We did everything we could to help Andy. I may have been the one taking the trip down the aisle – and wearing my fucking heart on my sleeve while I did it. But Dario and Raoul had stepped up to the plate at every opportunity. She’d had the best security money could buy, a celebrity wedding booked and paid for, all of the Caraldi resources at her disposal. And she’d simply walked out.
Okay, I know I had a part in that. The revelation that I’d been investigating her family – not to mention that I’d known the truth about her brother’s life of crime before his death… I heave a sigh. Yeah, that would have freaked her out. But if being around me was impossible, surely even she should have realized it was safer with us? Safer with the guards assigned to protect her? And yet she’d evaded the bastards. I’d almost ripped Tony and Mikey a new pair of assholes. The two of them were supposed to be guarding her with their lives. But when we check in her suite, the only sign that she’d left was a note. A fucking note.
Sorry. Changed my mind. A.
It had been so typical of the damned woman that I hadn’t even bothered to suspect foul play. Though I probably should. And even if Whitlock hasn’t gotten his hands on her, I have no doubt she has something idiotic planned. Like tracking him down herself.
Fuck. Don’t let her be doing that.
“Look, I gotta go,” Dario is saying. “I know this is fucked up. I’ll call you, okay? If I hear anything at all, you’ll be the first to know. Just…just take it easy.”
“Thanks, brother,” I say. I don’t drop the term often; he’s only just found out about sharing a mother with me, and it’s still dangerous territory. But I need him to know this isn’t a business favor I’m asking. This means more.
“If it’s any consolation, Raoul’s got his network on it 24/7. If anyone can pick anything up, it will be him.”
“Yeah.” I rub my eyes. I know they’re bloodshot; they ache from lack of sleep and a tension headache that just won’t let up. “I’ll wait for your call.” Dario cuts the line without another word, leaving me mulling all of it over. I’ve had people of my own tracking every possible lead. Nothing. It’s like she never existed.
Even getting a surveillance team on Whitlock hasn’t turned anything up. Though that doesn’t ease my concerns. All it tells me is that she hasn’t made her move on him. Yet.
But she will. Sure as I’m walking and breathing, Andy Carter’s going to do something that puts her life in danger. And this time I won’t be around to save her.
Chapter 3
Mateo Ricci
“Nope, no new Jane Does since your last call, Ricci. Yesterday.” He emphasizes the word, and I can hear mild annoyance in Newton’s voice before he rings off. The forensic pathologist has been my last port of call, and I felt sick just dialing his number. But I’ve run out of options.
Over a week has passed. Still no word. No contact, even with Nikki; if Andy would get in touch with anyone, it would be her. I’ve stopped calling Dario to ask if there’s been news. I know he’ll let me know if she reaches out. So far, there hasn’t been a thing. Nothing from my contacts at the police department. No sign of her lurking in fucking Whitlock’s world. And although that should be a relief to me, it’s not. She may not have ended up on Newton’s slab, but that doesn’t mean she’s not rotting in some shallow grave somewhere.
“Fuck!” I dash a hand through my hair, feeling frustration surge. I haven’t just been ghosted – the woman’s gone completely off-grid. It’s making me crazy. I do this for a living, goddammit. Track people down. Get into hidden underworlds and seek out those who don’t wish to be found. Usually, when I don’t find them, it’s because they’re dead.
She’s not dead.
I pace across the living room of my apartment and tell myself the same thing I’ve told myself a dozen times today. She can’t be dead. I won’t accept it.
Though the place feels like an empty shell without her in it. I miss her. The scent of her. Her voice. Waking up with her warm skin against mine.
I’ve never missed anyone before. Never had to. My whole life has been about seeking revenge for my mother’s death. Taking care of my little brother. Making Ernesto Caraldi pay for the things he did to my family. Now that’s gone, and for a time, I had… I had Andy. Someone who needed me. Or so I thought.
“Goddamn idiot,” I mutter. “You knew this could happen from the start.”
I’d hoped it wouldn’t.
Why? Why did I think there could be something between us? The whole “wedding” thing was a crock of shit from the beginning. Who the fuck was I kidding anyhow? That Andy Carter would actually marry me…and then what? We’d move into a nice little home with a white picket fence and have two kids? Sure.
I turn on my heel, ignoring the leather sofa that reminds me of her writhing against me each time I walk past it. I head up the stairs to the room where everything came crashing down the day that she found me going over all my leads. The whiteboard is still up on the wall with its damning map of connections and photographs. The images Andy saw that proved I’d been lying to her.
“I did it to save her… Someone has to take that fucker out, dammit!” I wish she was here now so I could explain it and not stand here like a damn fool talking to myself.
