Ian sighed. “If he’s there, he could easily be toying with you. The Delucas were known for tormenting people before they killed them. Him leaving the bullet for you seems like something he’d do.”
“Yeah, I know,” I replied regretfully. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.Iwas the one who was supposed to go after Vincent, not the other way around.
“Why don’t you just come back to us and finish the mission? You can resign again once it’s done.”
It sounded so simple coming from him, but it was anything but.
Leaning against the wall, I ran a hand down my face. “I can’t just up and leave right now,” I said.
Ian huffed. “I’m telling you, Parker, finishing this mission will set you free. What you’re feeling is unfinished business. You’re just like the rest of us. We can’t rest until we’ve finished what we started.”
If he only knew.
“That’s not my problem,” I admitted.
“Then, what . . .” He stopped mid-sentence and then sucked in a breath. “What aren’t you telling me?” When I didn’t answer, a knowing laugh echoed through the phone. “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re seeing someone, aren’t you? Let me guess, a sweet and innocent southern belle?”
Now that made me laugh.
“Not exactly. She’s feisty, headstrong, and a pistol of a female. The woman doesn’t take shit from anyone, especially me.”
Ian burst out laughing. “Sounds exactly like my Grace.”
“So you see,” I began, “I can’t just up and leave. Ayla doesn’t know what I am. I wouldn’t know what to tell her if I did go away. The last thing I want is to lose her.”
“I understand. Not everyone can handle what we do,” he replied sadly. “But there are those whocan. My wife is one of them. Not to mention, both of my brothers are married, and their wives know, as well.”
His whole family was part of the Circle of Justice. I knew I had to tell Ayla soon; I just didn’t want it to be tonight.
“All right, I’m going to get back to Ayla,” I said, moving away from the window.
“And I’ll get Reed searching anything he can find in downtown Charlotte. If Vincent’s there, Reed will find him. I’ll let you know as soon as I have confirmation.”
I stopped at the elevator and pressed the button. “Thanks.”
“What are you going to do if he’s there?” Ian asked.
The elevator doors opened and I walked inside, already feeling the dread pool in my stomach like acid. “I’m going to get Ayla the fuck out of here and to safety. Then, I’ll come back and finish what I should’ve done six months ago.”
“Sounds good, brother. But for now, just hang tight. We don’t even know if it’s really Vincent you saw.”
The bullet engraved with his initials pretty much confirmed my suspicions, but there had to be amillion people in the world with the same ones. The problem was that I didn’t want to hang tight; I didn’t want to wait for answers. Unfortunately, I had no choice.
I said my goodbyes to Ian just as the elevator doors closed. When I got up to Kat’s floor, I walked into her condo to see Ayla in the living room. She stood up the second she saw me.
“Hey,” she whispered, hurrying over to me. She grabbed my hands and I could see the worry on her face. “Is everything okay?”
I peered around the room. “Where’s Kat and Jonah?”
Ayla nodded toward the hallway on the other side of the living room. “They went to bed.”
Taking her hand, I pulled her down the opposite hallway that led to the guest bedroom. I couldn’t keep her fully in the dark; I had to be somewhat honest with her. Once in the bedroom, I let Ayla go and shut the door quietly.
She crossed her arms over her chest, the concern on her face growing with each passing second. “Talk to me, Declan.”
I nodded. “I thought I saw someone.”
Her brows furrowed. “Who?”
