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Chapter 13 Salvador
“Where’s my wife?” I say to no one in particular when I enter the kitchen.
The two people chopping vegetables pause to look around like they thought she was here too.
Edward enters from the opposite side of the room, and when he sees she’s not here, he shrugs. “She must have already gone to the gardens.”
“That’s where I just came from,” I say and glance around the room again. “She was on the cameras entering the kitchen but not exiting.”
“Are you sure she wasn’t outside?” Edward asks, but there’s less conviction in his voice this time.
Over the years I’ve learned to trust my gut, and as the seconds tick by, I get a sinking feeling. Edward must have the same suspicion because we both turn to the basement door at the same time.
“It should be locked,” he says right as I grab the handle and twist it open.
“Well, it’s fucking not,” I spit at him as I barrel down the stairs.
Jema is full of curiosity, so I should have known she’d try to go down to the basement at some point. There’s nothing down there I’d be afraid for her to see—well, at least that she’d be able to see. There’s no way she can get into the vault. I’d be happy to show her the rest of the stuff I have down here. Sure, it’s not exactly legal, but I really don’t think she’d care all that much.
What is bothering me is that I know for a fact that the door was locked, so if she got it open, she was the one that picked it. That means that at least some of her memories are back, and she’s not telling me. Does that mean there are other things she’s not telling me?
I do a quick scan of the storage rooms but keep moving in the direction of the vault. My gut is telling me that’s where I’ll find her. She’s too curious not to want to know what’s behind a locked vault door, and I need to come up with a way to explain it.
As soon as I come around the corner, my stomach drops. Jema isn’t at the vault door, but it’s wide open. My heart hammers against my chest as I slowly approach, but then I hear a sound that makes my blood run cold.
“Please,” Jema cries.
All other thoughts leave me, and I don’t think about what to do; I just react. I take off running toward her even as I hear Edward call out from somewhere behind me.
When I get into the room where Joey is being held, I see he’s got his hands around Jema’s neck and he’s on top of her. The sight of it sends me into a rage that clouds my vision, and I rear back with all my might and kick him in the ribs.
I feel the bones along the side of his body shatter under my foot before he rolls off of Jema and onto the floor. He gasps and sputters but otherwise doesn’t make a sound. I’m certain I’ve punctured a lung when he begins to spit up blood.
“Salvador,” Jema whimpers, and I have to blink a few times to clear away the fury clouding my vision.
“I’m here,” I tell her as I pull her off the ground and into my arms. “I’ve got you now; you’re safe.”
“Safe,” Joey manages to grit out. “That’s a fucking joke.”
I put Jema on her feet and then block her from Joey’s view. I don’t want him looking at my wife.
“Do you want to tell her the truth or should I?” I keep my eyes on Joey, but I can feel Jema stiffen against my back.
“What truth?” she says as she tries to move around me.
“Mr. Roven, should I…?”
Edward is in the vault now, and I know what he’s asking: if I need him to get Jema out of here or if I want him to take care of Joey while I get Jema out of here. Either way, we both know she needs to go. A small part of me wants to do exactly that. I want to hide this from her forever and never let her see the dark side of what I do. But deep down, I know it’s important that she understands why I’ve done this.
“It’s fine,” I tell Edward. “No more secrets.”
“Someone explain something to me,” Jema says.
“Joey took money from my organization," I say and turn to face Jema. “There’s a guy named Ryan that works for me. He keeps an eye on all the accounts and helps me clean dirty money.”
Jema doesn’t seem shocked or scared off by this information. If anything, she nods in understanding. “Okay, that makes sense.”
