No. I’m not playing his game. I will find him, because this ends now. I look at the one person who should have information about Victor, only she’s getting rolled onto a gurney. With one last glance toward a distracted Valentina, I curse myself for my decision and follow. I will be back before they’re even done.
Upon seeing me, Naomi smiles and raises her hand for me to take. I hesitate before taking it. “You're here.” She smiles.
I narrow my eyes at her. Even beaten up, she still has the energy to be fake. “Where is Victor?”
Her smile falls, and her eyes lower. “I don’t know. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.”
“What was supposed to happen?”
“He tricked me and lied to me, and I was a fool who believed him. He didn’t even stay to take care of me after the fight.”
I pull my hand from hers, ignoring her regrets and excuses. “Do you know where he might be?”
“Probably somewhere hiding and planning his next scheme. He owes a lot of money, and he will do anything if that will make him some money or save him from someone’s wrath,” she says before she’s put in the ambulance.
“How are her injuries?” I ask the paramedic.
“She doesn’t seem to have broken anything. Just a few stitches, but because she was unconscious for several minutes, she will need to be checked properly.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
I watch the ambulance drive away and turn to leave when a movement catches my attention. I move slowly and carefully, pulling my gun from behind me. I approach slowly when a cat jumps out of the dumpster.
“Really? A cat.” I shake my head and put the gun back, ready to leave, when a piercing pain explodes in my neck just a second before everything goes black.
thirty-four
Valentina
This was the moment I dreamed of. The moment when I won my first match. Excitement explodes in my chest, and I need to share it with someone. I need to share it with Gabriel.
I search for him. He was right here a heartbeat ago, stalking toward me with that proud, promising heat in his eyes… right up until the medics dragged me into their circle, checking my injuries.
I follow the doctor’s finger, barely listening, until a flicker of movement snaps my focus. Naomi is being wheeled out on a gurney. I know I should feel something like pity, but I don’t. Not even close. A sharp hiss rips from me when the doctor presses my ribs, but my gaze stays locked on her battered form. And that’s when I see Gabriel, trailing after her stretcher. Anger ignites inside me, and I wish I could go back in time and beat her to death.
“No concussion. Your face needs a few stitches, and you have broken ribs,” the doctor says. “They should heal on their own,but to be sure there isn’t anything serious, you should get an X-ray and have complete rest for a month."
I nod, ignoring the cheer of the people. I hop out of the ring and follow Gabriel as quickly as I can, but getting past the crowds with my broken ribs is hard. I can move only so much, and when I reach where they went, there is no one to see. Has he gone with her to the hospital?
I refuse to believe that. Something must have gone wrong.
Pain erupts in my chest, and I blame it on my ribs as I go back inside and get into the shower.
I sit in the changing room for far longer than I should, time dragging like chains while I wait for Gabriel to walk through that damn door.
He never does.
Only when his men inform me that the gym is cleared out and that Gabriel is nowhere inside do I finally leave.
He’d better have a damn good explanation…
When I wake up, I reach for Gabriel’s side of the bed, which is cold. Disappointment overwhelms me. He didn’t come home. I get out of bed and search for my phone, hoping to have a message from Gabriel. Nothing.
I ignore the rest of my notifications and press dial on his number. It rings until it goes out. I dial again. Nothing.
During the next hour, I keep calling, but I get no answer.
I need to know what’s going on. Why is he ignoring me? I search for his phone on the tracking app I have for him. He isn't at the office, nor anywhere I know that belongs to Cosa Nostra. I search the address on the map, and it shows a hotel.
