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This answer appeases him and he laughs. “Yeah, I’m sure they all were.” He laughs harder.
I laugh along with him. “So, you know Mr. Blackstone?”
He realizes he’s given himself away by his comment, and he stops laughing. “Yeah,” he scratches along his eyebrow, “now that you mention it, he is familiar.”
“What do you know about him? Does he hang out at the club often? Will he be there this weekend?”
Eddie’s eyes widen, and I realize I shouldn’t have just rapid-fired questions at him. “I don’t know anything. Just met him a few times.”
I back off the questions, trying to get Eddie back on my side. “I’ve never been to an actual party at Mr. Hollingsworth’s house.” I give him my best innocent eyes, batting my eyelashes at him.
He smiles. He’s so easy. “I will be there to show you around.”
I run my fingers over the buttons of his white dress shirt. “I can’t wait.” I glance at my phone, acting like I’m late for something. “I better get going, but I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye, Sophia.” He grabs my hand, bringing it to his lips and kissing my skin.
“Goodbye, Eddie,” I drawl out his name.
As I walk away, waiting to make it a block or two away from his bakery before I hail a cab, I think about how there’s no way I’ll be seeing that man soon. I have to just believe the eighteen-year-old blonde from Brooklyn Heights will have her mother call me. And that when she does, there will be a big lead for me to find Bishop.
I need to speak to Rosa. Did she give me bad info?
Maybe I’m not qualified to find him.
Maybe I’m just paranoid.
I should probably focus on what I want out of life and put this vendetta to rest. But then I think about my family in Naples. My younger brothers and how they’re most likely men by now. I’d love to know what became of my sister. Did she ever marry?
I tried to find them for a while once I escaped and got on my feet. However, I couldn’t. They moved. Changed their names, so as not to be targeted by Marco Caputo again. No one knew anything.
I’d been trying for so long, but it costs money to look, and that’s something I’ve never been privy to in my life.
I was working, but was able to swing some time off when the tip of what Bishop was up to came to me, and I had to take the opportunity to kill him.
Did Rosa give me bad info because she knew Dean Maddox was going to kidnap Mia? If that’s true, does Bishop know all of Dean’s plans?
I need to find Dean and warn him.
Chapter 16
Dean
* * *
Twenty-four hours ago, I was a naive man that believed Sophia and I were on the way to finding Bishop Blackstone. I believed. I’ll even dare to say I found myself falling for Sophia.
Ok, maybe not falling, but seriously attracted and was forming a connection. A friendship with her.
That was until the moment I found out she slipped out of my apartment like a thief in the night. I was furious when I realized she’d left.
And I am livid my men can’t find her.
“How hard is it to find a woman in New York?” I yell at Leo.
“Dean, we’ve got men staked out at her apartment, so if she goes there, we’ll find her. We’ve also got men watching the DeWinter home.”
“Where else could she be?” Did she find out info about Bishop she didn’t feel she could share with me?
“What will you do about tonight?” Leo asks.
I shrug. “I have to go. I’ll just say my wife is sick or something.”
“Won’t it be weird that you’re going to the party without her?”
I slam a fist on my desk as I rise from my leather-office chair. “What else am I supposed to do? I won’t lead on that she left. And I don’t want to be rude to Hollingsworth.”
Leo shakes his head, like he’s not on board with the plan.
“I can tell you one thing, if I find Sophia, I may just lock her up.” I’m not kidding either.
I’m fuming. I’m angry with her, yes. But mostly with myself.
“Dean, take a breath. We’re close to finding him. Bishop doesn’t surface, ever. If you’ve got a lead, you need to take it, whether or not Sophia is with you.”
I nod, running my fingers down my stubble. “Yes, exactly.”
I won’t let the pain of knowing Sophia left me without a thought in the world about how I feel stop me. Not that I have any big feelings for her, but there’s something that was building. Maybe it was only building for me. Maybe I’m just feeling sentimental because we shared something on the island of Pico during the hurricane.
