Page 93 of Love Me

“Get me all you know about the principal of Preston.”

“On it.”

“I’m getting frustrated. It’s been two years, and what do we have to show for it?”

“Financial stability. None of them will be able to track the money I’m wiring into our offshore accounts.”

“Still, I need to move quicker with the plan on how we can disappear and not be found.”

Bailey hacks into my laptop and shows me pictures of Cillian from the past and present. In many there’s also the guy from the gala. While we didn’t meet, there was something about him, that eye color so damn familiar.

“Do a search of the other one as well.”

They must have done something to his face because there are no similarities. But shock makes me mute when she shows me old medical and dental records.

“It’s a match,” she says.

“So he’s been alive all this time.”

“Sebastian came back to get revenge, surely.”

“Let’s pay him a visit.”

I drag up Celine’s last visited address and yank a hoodie from my closet. Putting it on, I run down the stairs.

“Where are you going?” Celine asks.

“Right now? Away from your secretive, lying self.”

I try to sidestep her, but she blocks my way. “I asked you a question.”

“Fine, tell me the truth.”

She opens her mouth but then clamps it shut. So damn stubborn.

Maybe because I am going into the unknown, but I wait, hoping she’ll confide in me. Her fiery eyes lock on mine, and I wrap my arms around her. A simple hug, and she goes from rigid to soft. I love her so damn much. I’d wait a lifetime and beyond for her.

“I am still your friend. That will never stop. That boy who promised you things… who had no idea he couldn’t keep them, will first and foremost be your friend.”

“What are you playing at?”

Her distrust hurts worse than this entire situation. “Test me, then. Fuck knows, it’s everyone’s favorite activity.”

I open the door and shut it. You were the one I thought would be the exception.

In my car, I follow the main road leading away from Greenville. After ten miles, I turn right, driving down a long road until a thick gate appears.

Only two guards roam the perimeter. I park on the other side of the road and slip through the night undetected. I jump over the fence, and alarms go off around me. A few red spots mark my chest. I am impressed by how invisible the guards are.

Two guards wearing all black appear from the shadows. I lift my arms in surrender, and they shove me to the ground, pushing me to my knees.

The door opens, and Sebastian, Celine’s father, and Cillian, Mia and Hunter’s father, appear.

“What is with this ruckus?” Sebastian asks.

“An intruder, sir,” one guard responds.

I jerk my chin up and watch Sebastian watching me.

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