The answer, of course, was simple. Because she knew I wouldn't let her go, and she'd taken the first chance she'd gotten to leave.
I rubbed my temples with my fingertips. No. No matter what I tried to tell myself, deep down in my black soul, I knew that wasn't the only reason.
Sheknew. I felt the certainty of this all the way down to my bones. She'd figured out my secret and finally saw me for the monster I truly was. Not because of my scars or the abuse inflicted upon me. But because of whatI'ddone.
Shadows encroached on the edges of my vision and my palms grew clammy. How could she ever forgive me?
What if she never did?
Inhaling deep, I realized it didn't matter. I was no hero, and I'd never claimed to be one. I'd never pretended to be anything but what I am. But if there was one truth I couldn't deny, it was that Luna had seeped into the cracks of my cold heart, and now that I knew what it was to be with her, I would do whatever had to be done to get her back. I didn't care if she forgave me or not. Eventually, she'd learn to live with what I'd done.
She was mine now, and I wouldn't—Icouldn't—let her go.
CHAPTER2
Tristan
My cell phone vibrated in my coat pocket. "Yes?" I snapped without looking at the screen.
"She's not at her brother's," Matteo told me, and I closed my eyes as something heavy settled in my gut. If Luna had shown up anywhere near that college campus, he would've found her. He was one of my most trusted—and discreet—contacts and I paid him well to remain so. "He hasn't been to any of his classes all morning, so I went to his dorm room. Neither of them was there. No one's seen her or her brother anywhere around the building since yesterday."
I stilled, my blood running cold as my worst imaginings became real. "Were Logan's things in his room?"
"Yes. Everything was there. His roommate told me he hasn't seen Logan since last night when they were hanging out. He got a strange phone call in the middle of a video game and Logan went out into the hall to speak to whoever it was. He said he seemed off when he came back into their room. Logan told him he was meeting someone for a late dinner and left shortly after. He wouldn't tell him who it was that called, and he hasn't seen him since. The school's camera footage only showed him walking away from his dorm and getting into a black sedan. There was no sign of Luna anywhere."
I didn't ask him how he'd gotten a hold of the camera feeds. I didn't need to. Matteo was damn good at his job. And if he said she wasn't there, I believed him. "What did the car look like?"
"Black, as I said. Nondescript. Dark windows. I couldn't get a read on the plates. The video feed was too blurry to make out the numbers."
"Thank you," I told him. "I appreciate your time."
Grabbing a screwdriver from one of the kitchen drawers, I strode to my bedroom and entered the walk-in closet. Carefully, so as not to leave any telltale marks, I pried up a few of the floorboards and set them aside so I could access the safe hidden underneath. My thumbprint opened the door, and I took stock of the weapons and ammo I kept hidden there. It would do.
Retrieving a black duffle bag from the top shelf above me, I loaded everything into it except for one pistol. Taking the bag and the gun to my bed, I quickly changed out of my suit before stashing a box of ammo into the outside thigh pocket of my tactical pants and sliding one of my favorite knives into my left boot. Then I holstered the pistol at my side as I reviewed what I knew so far.
Luna and Logan were both missing. Luna would do anything for her brother. Hell, she'd sold herself to Gino to take care of him. I also knew Gino would have someone watching Logan, and if she'd snuck out to see her brother, he would've grabbed her before she got anywhere near him.
Gino suspected that I'd taken Luna, but he had no way of proving it.
Still, my gut told me that if I found Gino, I'd find her. And probably her brother, too. He'd likely used Logan to lure her away from the safety of Luca's compound. And instead of coming to me for help, she'd left to deal with it on her own. Just like the stubborn, infuriating woman she was.
Enzo was leaning casually against the side of my house with his arms crossed over his chest when I walked out the front door. I barely gave him a glance.
"Where are you going, T?"
"Where do you think?" Opening the passenger side door of the SUV, I threw the duffle bag inside and slammed the door closed. As I walked around the front of the vehicle, he met me at the driver's side door. I leveled a look at him. "What."
He took my impatience in stride. "Luca told me Luna is gone."
I stared at him and said nothing.
"Do you know where she went?"
"No."
"Do you know why she left?"
"No." Recognizing the lie for what it was, I shook my head and tried again as I got into the SUV. "Yes." That didn't quite feel right either. "Maybe."
