Page 95 of Thorns of Silence
“Well, it just happened. The fucker only talked this afternoon. It seemed an odd time to bring up the Brazilians during this rehearsal dinner. This event was weird enough.”
I shook my head. “What if the Brazilians attacked while we were here?”
He rolled his eyes. “I put extra surveillance on this place and her apartment.” Of course he did. “Do you think they got to her?”
I shook my head. “No, I think Amon has her.”
He let out an amused breath. “Ah, a love triangle.”
I flipped him off. “Fuck you and your triangles. Any chance I can get a copy of the apartment surveillance?”
Darius flashed me a grin. “If you ask nicely.”
I gritted my teeth. “Please.” I was starting to see why Amon wanted to murder the man.
“Why, yes. I would love to share my intel with you.” He grinned and reached for his phone. A second later, my own phone buzzed and I slid the message open, fast-forwarding through the surveillance footage. Amon and Reina never arrived at the apartment, but Phoenix did, and not long after, she left. Alone.
I turned to Cesar. “Check all train and bus stations, airports, anything. Phoenix took off.” Then I dialed up my mother.
Riiing. Riiing. Riiing.
No answer. What the fuck was it with everyone tonight? Was it a full moon and I missed it? I pulled up the tracker I had on her devices and saw she wasn’t even in Paris. She was in Japan.
“Cesar, go check Amon’s penthouse,” I said, although I doubted he was there. If he kidnapped Reina, he would be on the move. “I’m going to see if Phoenix is with her grandmother.”
“Do you think Phoenix could be with Amon?” Cesar asked. While it’d be better if they were all together, I sincerely doubted she was with them.
I went to get my car when I remembered I no longerhada car. Fuck, had Phoenix planned this all along so I couldn’t follow her?
“Cesar, I need a fucking ride,” I snapped and flicked a look at Darius. “Check to ensure the Brazilians don’t have either one of them. I’ll stay in touch.”
Then I whirled around and stormed down the block toward Cesar’s car.
“Maybe you should let her go,” Cesar called out to me, hot on my trail. “She’s already shot you, maced you, set your car on fire—”
“That could have been someone else,” I snarled.
The look he gave me called me out on my bullshit. Fair enough.
“What is your obsession with her?” he muttered.
If only I fuckingknew. For some reason, I couldn’t get her out of my head. And after three years of keeping my distance, I only wanted her more.
And now she’d run. Goddammit, it shouldn’t be this hard to get a woman to fall for you.
THIRTY-SEVEN
DANTE
My driver came to a stop in front of Marchetti’s restaurant, Rosa Spinosa, in Rome.
Cesar climbed out of the car, his eyes sharp on our surroundings, then stepped aside to hold the door for me. The man was downright paranoid.
Marchetti and Agosti stood outside, dressed in impeccable Italian suits, looking like businessmen rather than the heads of one of the five Italian families. Romero and Konstantin stood right inside the glass door of the restaurant, and by the looks of it, they were arguing. DiMauro wasn’t here which wasn’t surprising, but Aiden Callahan was.
“Dante,” Marchetti greeted me.
“Was it really necessary to have this meeting here? We were all in Paris. It would have made sense to do this there.”
