Page 26 of Fatal Love

Donny grew silent. “I see.”

“See what, Donny? Rachel is being hunted.” I scoffed.

“You're in love with her. What other reason would you have for reacting like this?”

I growled, trying not to lose my shit more. “What?”

“It’s no big deal if you are, but this changes things. She’s not just someone who can save Riley. She’s important to you.”

“Jesus Christ, Donny. I didn’t realize you were a relationship guru—nor did I realize you were so interested in my love life.”

“Get a grip, Antonio. I just thought…” his voice trailed off, causing me to glance at Michael.

“You thought what?”

I could hear the grin in his tone when he replied, though his answer wasn't what I suspected. “I thought you and Michael were a thing.”

“Fuck.” Michael shook his head. “Look, Donny. Now isn’t the time to get into this. Can you just focus on finding her? We can worry about this later.” Michael slammed the phone down when it when dead, filling the room with a deafening silence. Somehow, Donny knew about Michael.

Which made me wonder if Massimo knew, and just hadn’t said anything. “He knows about us.”

“It’s not important right now.” Michael shoved the phone in his pocket and walked toward the security room. “I don’t understand how she got out without tripping the alarm.”

I followed him into the tiny room and smiled when I realized how. Rachel had disarmed the entire system and I could see the turmoil etched in the lines of Michaels face. He was blaming himself since he'd shown her how to operate it, in the event she needed help. I never thought she would use it to sneak out, though.

“We shouldn’t have kept her in the dark.” Michael shook his head. “If we had been honest about everything we knew, maybe she wouldn’t have felt the need leave.”

“Let’s go sit down. There’s no sense standing around bitching. You’re right, Donny will find her—and when he does, I’m going to spank her ass for doing this.”

“What if he doesn’t?” Michael sighed, his shoulders sinking with the thought.

“I thought I was the worrier?” I cocked an eyebrow at him. “She’s strong—remember?”

“Yeah. You’re right.”

Michael and I sat down. There was nothing we could do but wait. Donny would find her if Rachel was still out there. If she wasn’t… I would kill Ivanov with my bare hands. It was already dark and not knowing when she left, meant we didn’t know how long she'd been gone. Michael and I had been with Agent Jackson for a couple of hours, making my gut church with worry.

My pulse quickened when I saw Madison’s name flash across my screen. Michael shared the same concerned expression when I shot him a look and pressed the device to my face. “Madison?” I held my breath.

“Antonio, you need to come to the club. We have Rachel.”

The blood rushed into my ears. “What? Say that again.”

“She’s here.”

Michael's face filled with concern and his eyes were watery with emotions I knew reflected in my own gaze. “Why didn’t you bring her back to Michael’s?”

“She walked to the club, Antonio. I found her outside the back entrance, nearly unconscious.”

“We’ll be there in thirty.” I shoved the phone into my pocket and turned to Michael. “Rachel showed up at Discoteca. Madison found her nearly unconscious in the alley.”

He stood and headed toward the door. “Let’s go. I’ll drive.”

We climbed into the car, silence filling the tiny space. Michael laced his fingers with mine and finally spoke. “She’s going to be fine.”

“I know. But being here isn’t safe for her. She needs to go where she won’t be a target so easily.”

He's sigh told me he'd been thinking the same thing. “What are you thinking?”

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