Page 83 of Game of Love
“I’ll start by checking out people I can find with links to The Ra.” He nodded. “I think the key is to figure out what they’ll do next.”
Yeah that was exactly the problem.
What would they do next, but also who was involved. What if it was Balthazar?
If it was him indeed… if we got confirmation about his involvement then that was where my focus would switch.
We may not know who Giovanni was working for but getting Balthazar would eliminate one hell of a threat.
I wouldn’t pretend that my ulterior motives in getting the guy weren’t eating away at me, and I wouldn’t pretend that I wasn’t worried about Jia.
When desperation took over people played dirty. It just made me wonder why they hadn’t dished the dirt yet. The dirt being the usual route the average bad guy took. Take her as ransom and demand Giovanni give them the prints. That was Balthazar’s style, although I’d never known him to negotiate.
So, maybe it wasn’t him…
I wanted to voice my worries about her but held off. I wasn’t ready to talk about Jia yet and the feelings I’d developed for her. Feelings and fears.
She could get taken. She could. It was a possibility and a variable I had to factor in.
It wasn’t like it might not happen? It could absolutely happen.
None of their attempts so far had gotten them what they wanted.
There’d been two attacks. First attack took out four knights when they thought the prints were at Giovanni’s warehouse. Next attack was at the casino when they came for The Chameleon.
All failed attempts that would push them to desperation if I couldn’t get the prints and stop the problem in its tracks.
So should I do?
My heart wanted me to get my ass to her place and watch over her twenty four seven.
After all, I wouldn’t have trusted anybody to protect my girl better than me.
But that was just the thing… she wasn’t mine.
She wasn’t mine to worry over like that, even though she felt like mine.
That was the difference between her and anybody who’d come after Claire. That something that drew me to her made her feel like she belonged to me.
Crazy for so little time…
I stood up and walked over to the window.
The city lights were just about taking over daylight, piercing through the night so they could stand out in vibrancy. Bringing temptation into Sin City.
All together the lights looked alluring, enticing, and sometimes like a mess. A scramble of emotion. Not quite one nor the other.
Just like me.
Whether it was Balthazar or not, Jia was in danger.
She was the innocent in the mix and the innocents always got involved whether they wanted to or not.
It would only be a matter of time.
Time… my old friend. I couldn’t allow something to happen to her knowing I might have the power to stop it.
How would I pull it off though and still do my job?
