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“Lake,” I growl, my jaw taut. “Apparently, she left last night.”
His lips curl into a smirk as he takes hold of his remote and points it to a screen behind me.
When I twist around, there’s a grainy video of a woman inching closer toward a jet, her face unidentifiable in the darkness. She wraps her arms around some man before voluntarily boarding the plane. Is Ryder right about her?
“We’re investigating her disappearance,” he says.
“You need to find her and bring her back,” I exclaim, my tone authoritative.
Finnegan drops his head in disagreement with a shake. “That’s impossible. She won’t come back, but we’ll look into who she is and what happened.”
“Do you think she’s the mole?”
A thin smile creeps onto his lips. “I’m not sure, but she’s no longer your issue—she’s ours now. Your job is to stay focused on what you agreed to, and keep your family in line.” He meets my eyes with a stern glint. “One slip, and you’re out. I don’t care if you end up in a ditch or at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.”
My throat tightens as I steel myself against his words. “And all of our assets? Properties? Finances?”
He flicks his wrist nonchalantly in reply. “We explained yesterday that we have the right people to manage everything during the time you’re here.” His expression darkens as he continues solemnly, “If you end up needing to change your identity permanently, then we’ll liquidate them and convert them accordingly at the moment of transaction.”
Taking a deep breath, he adds, “For now, you live under the temporary identity we gave you—Callahan Kershaw—and follow my rules.”
A beat passes between us in silence before I speak again. “But for how long?”
“I wish I could give you a timeframe. Unfortunately, every case is different.”
“And Lake?”
Finnegan releases a heavy sigh. “I wish I had an answer.”
My brow furrows, and I press further, “You think she’s dirty?”
He cocks an eyebrow and laughs. Then clears his throat and says, “Sorry, old habits die hard. If you’re asking if she could be the mole, then the answer is: I’ll look into it.”
I rake my fingers through my hair as I tell him about my conversation with Ryder. Finnegan nods slowly and says, “He could be right, or he might be trying to divert suspicion from himself. We have to take this slowly and carefully until we figure everything out, okay? You have to be patient.”
It’s easy for him to say. He’s not trapped in a town that’s stuck in the past with people he can’t stand and betrayed by the woman he loves.
Me… well, as soon as I’m out, heads will roll, even Lake Zimmerman’s. She won’t get away unscathed. I’ll find her and make her pay for her betrayal.
My heart feels like it’s being shattered into a million pieces.
She left me.
She betrayed me.
She… she made me fall for her.
The mere thought of never seeing her again feels like a suffocating weight on my chest, an endless ache I can’t escape no matter how hard I try. My whole world has been ripped apart, and I’m left alone, lost and broken, trying to pick up the pieces.
I know I won’t forget her, but I won’t forgive her.
* * *
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