Page 57 of Shadowed Obsession

Tonight, the deer wins, but the lion cradles her in his arms as consolation.

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losing game

César

10:16 a.m. | the day after ‘the fourth incident’

Staring across the table at the Hales after spending the night with Deirdre Klarke has me on edge. I’ve answered all their questions without sweating. Except the deeper ones, of course.

Last night, something shifted, I fear. Her mask dropped and so did mine, in a way. They hadn’t requested for me to be ashands onas I have. Literally.

I’ll admit I have a tendency to romanticize things, but after this case is closed, what if there’s a possibility she could forgive me? For the stalking, flirting,andeventual blackmailing.Should she develop feelings for me, dropping the bomb that I’m only here to blackmail her would be the ultimate betrayal.

Yeah, not happening.

We can’t have a future after this, and if I suggested it, I’d be deserving of whatever she gave me. I’d expect a punch, drink to the face, or another gunshot wound. But since Deirdre has a flair for the dramatics, I’d say all of the above.

The Hales have a few questions about Regina Delvecchio that I quickly answer, carefully curbing the obvious ones about hermissing husband. Assuring them that while there’s speculation that she played a role in his disappearance, there’s no evidence to confirm this.

But of course, that doesn’t matter to them since they’re always looking for a reason to be afraid of non-white people. I could probably shout “boo” at this table right now and scare the fucking shit out of them.

Not going to do that, but it would be entertaining.

By the end of the meeting, I’m tasked with acquiring more information on Regina, since Deirdre really is the “good girl” she claims to be on paper.

Her cousin, on the other hand, is an interesting character who keeps herself very busy. The intel I could pull on her alone would draw this case out while unfortunately providing enough information to lengthen these meetings. Which I am not looking forward to.

And the way they speak about Regina bothers me. As if she isn’t a human being but an irrational killing machine. I don’t disagree with her being a killer, but they shared that same kind of implication when presenting Deirdre’s case and they couldn’t have been more wrong.

A thought crosses my mind that makes me question if I have truly lost it. The deep dive into this family has me wondering what really happened to Cidro Delvecchio. Billionaires don’t just drop off the face of the earth,especiallynot ones in the mob.

What if I proved that I’d be useful to her family? It could be what saves me from a similar demise as her ex, and after all, she’s convinced that I’malreadyworking for them.

If her family did hire me, I’m certain I could find more answers through skip tracing and finally give them some much needed closure. Something to keep in the back of my mind should I need it after the case, because I’m not certain I’ll agree to another assignment from the Hales moving forward.

My mind flits back to last night with Deirdre. She didn’t have to tell me anything that she didn’t want to. Her allowing someone to be there for her was out of character for her. At least for the character that she often stars as.

I did manage to get some sleep while holding Deirdre in my arms. She stayed in the same spot and didn’t appear to have left the bed at all.

Still I ran out of there before sunrise.

The risk was already too high, and I needed to hear myself think. I don’t like that I ran out on her, but maybe she’ll understand. I sent her a text that I needed to come into the office early, but she hasn’t responded.

She was vulnerable, and so was I. Maybe it would be best to just leave it at that.

I’ve fucked up and have found more ways to do so on a consistent basis now. At this point, I should speak up and remove myself from this assignment. That would be the right thing to do. I’d just need to come up with a good excuse. But it always comes back to money. Ireallyneed that money. My family really needs that money, and that’s why I’m here now.

What if I withdraw myself just enough to put a pin in this? I can do that, right?

That’s easier said than done until I’m rewarded with a flashback of her crying and my stomach drops. I can’t be the cause of more tears.

But becoming involved with a subject is not only frowned upon, it could end my career—or even my life—if I’m not careful.

I’m aware of how ridiculous it sounds to even consider a possible future with the woman I’ve been stalking and lying to. Knowing I’ll need to stay far away from her after this is all over unsettles me. That idea seemed a hell of a lot easier before I knew what she felt like in my arms.

We both have our secrets, but at this point, I’d do anything to keep them between us. Because if they got out, we both stand to lose what we’ve worked so hard for.

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