Page 19 of Fatal Love

“We are pretty sure he blew up your house.”

I stumbled into Michael, who tugged me into his arms and held me steady.

“Let me talk to Brighton.”

“He’s here. You’re on speaker.” I whispered, still in shock at the news my house was gone.

“Brighton, how much did you hear?”

“All of it, sir. What can I do to help?”

Antonio walked in, tugging a shirt over his head. “Everything okay?”

“Who else is there?”

“Um.” Rachel paused and took a breath. “Antonio Anastasi.”

“Antonio Anastasi?”

Silence filled the room as the three of us stared at the phone. I had no idea what was running through his mind right now, and honestly, I didn’t care. At this point, my job was already tanked. He probably thought I was sleeping with Antonio, which I was, but what he didn’t know was I had slept with them both. My body blushed with the memory of our night together.

Mike surprised me when he spoke. “Antonio, can you keep her safe?”

“I can.”

“Do it. I don’t care where you take her, just keep her safe. And Antonio.” Mike sighed into the phone. “No one can know she’s with you. It would completely unravel your sister-in-law’s case. You understand, right?”

“Yes, Sir. I won’t tell anyone. Only you and Michael will know.”

“We need to keep Dmitri and the FBI in the dark about our newly formed relationship as well. We might be able to use it to our advantage, okay?”

Antonio glanced over at me and smiled. “I understand.”

“I’ll be in touch.” I disconnected the call and tossed my phone to the bed.

“This is crazy. Did you hear what he said? I need to see.” I tugged out of Michael's hold and pushed past Antonio to head downstairs.

I had to see for myself. Someone had destroyed my house. The remote felt heavy in my hand as I turned it on to a local station. Sure enough, crews were outside my home covering the burning mess that had once been my place of residence. Black smoke and charred wood stood frozen on the screen, mocking me from behind the glass. The anchor’s voice echoed through the room, his words heavy with fear and sadness.

“Police say the explosion appears to be the work of an arsonist and that they have yet to recover the homeowner—who has now been identified as state prosecutor Rachel Hill.”

Antonio turned off the TV and stood in front of the screen. “Rachel?” He glanced at Michael and shared a silent understanding. “I know this is hard, but right now, everyone thinks you’re dead or missing. We need to let them keep thinking that.”

My body dropped without thought to the couch, overcome with sadness. Tears spilled down my cheeks as I stared blankly at the ceiling.

“I’ve ruined everything.”

“No.” Michael dropped beside me and tugged my hand into his. “You haven’t. This is all Dmitri. You aren’t the only one whose life he's ruined. You have to know that deep down.”

My head knew his words were true, but my heart was fracturing into a thousand pieces—much like the career I had spent the last decade cultivating. I inhaled a deep breath, letting the air fill my lungs, and then blew it out. Something needed to change, something drastic.

Was this meant to make me pause and reflect on my life?

It didn’t matter. Either way I was going to have to choose at some point. For now, I just needed to survive. “What are we going to do now?”

I glanced over at Michael, surprised to see the worry etched on his face. “You’ll stay here.” He stood and walked over to Antonio. “The longer they think she’s dead, the better off she will be.”

He nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket as he stepped into the kitchen. “What about you? Aren’t I putting you in danger if I stay here?” I watched Antonio in the kitchen, curious as to who he called.

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