Page 19 of Tristano

I’m going to New York City, though, so close enough.

She’s quiet for a moment as I drive down the road.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see her shake her head.

“What’s wrong?”

“This isn’t me. I don’t catch rides with strangers. I pay attention to my surroundings, but it wasn’t enough,” she says as a tear tracks down her face.

“I’m sorry.” My hand flexes on the gearshift to keep from reaching over to her.

She jerks her chin toward the road. “I think that’s the driveway.”

Without a second thought, I slow down and pull off the road.

“Where are we going?” she pants, clenching the blanket.

“Don’t worry, you aren’t going to get out of the car, but I have something I need to take care of before we head home.”

“W-what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to right a wrong,” I tell her as I slow down. “Tell me, what’s your name?”

“Serena.”

“Well, Serena, my name’s Tristano. Just think of me as your personal devil.”

I shut off my lights and drive by moonlight farther down the driveway.

“That man will never hurt you again. No one will. I’ll make sure of it.”

My head jerks, causing me to almost fall out of my chair, startling me awake.

“Motherfucker.” I groan and rub my face.

It was just a dream. No, not a dream. A memory. One that’s haunting me.

I made a promise that no one would ever hurt her again, but here we are. She’s been snatched again. As far as I can tell, she wasn’t undercover. I hacked into her uncle’s computer. The last assignment she was on ended the Thursday before she was taken.

The only reason he listed her as missing under her undercover name is because he lied to his superiors. He’s covering for her while trying to find her himself.

He’s doing a shitty job of it, which is why I hate the local police. They have too much red tape to cut through. She’s already out of the city by my calculations, which means he will never find her.

I will though.

I look around the quiet office and see Greer sitting at her desk, staring at me.

“Can I help you?”

“You said her name in your sleep,” she says softly, making me tense.

“What time is it?” I ask, changing the subject.

I know she wants to press me on Serena, but she also is aware that I’m being cagey for a reason.

The reason being Serena has slowly become the most important person in my life. It doesn’t matter that I can never have her. I couldn’t care any less that she is law enforcement and may turn me in one day.

She’s also a beautiful, intelligent, funny young woman who stole my heart. At first, I just wanted to stay in touch to make sure she was receiving the care she needed. Then I showed up when she graduated from the police academy.

---