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I was in pieces. She was out there, somewhere, on her way to meet that crazy woman. And there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it. When Radoslava ran off with Cody, I’d called Callahan and told him to hold off on the SWAT team, since we didn’t know where to send them. I could call him again and get an APB put out for the pick-up truck, but in a city the size of New York, there was no way they’d find her in time.
I shook my head as I walked into the living room. “I should have known it was Paige,” I growled, kicking at a mound of shattered glass. “I was living under the same fucking roof with the woman for two weeks. I should have spotted it.”
“She’s a spy,” said Bradan. “Lying’s what she does. None of us saw it, either. It’s not your fault.”
Isn’t it? If I’d kept my distance from Lorna and just been a damn bodyguard, maybe I’d have been more objective. Every time I was around Paige, I’d gotten embarrassed and awkward because she was the BFF of the woman I was falling for. I’d wanted her to like me. I’d been worried she’d come between us. I’d never had time to be suspicious.
Kian put a hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get her back.”
I glared, about to snap at him. But he just looked at me levelly, not flinching, and my shoulders sank. He was just trying to help. And he knew what I was going through, from when Emily was in danger.
Gina arrived, her face pale and drawn. “That psycho bitch took Cody?” She was in a flight suit, ready to fly us wherever we needed. The problem was, I had no idea where Lorna had gone.
Gabriel led me over to one of the couches, its cushions shredded by bullets. He sat me down, then squatted in front of me. When we’d started the team, he’d been the last person I’d have wanted advice from. I’d seen him as a criminal who couldn’t be trusted and he’d seen me as a boy scout: we’d endlessly butted heads. But when the shit went down, he’d shown that he’d sacrifice everything for the team. He’d come to be a good friend and he was the smartest of all of us. If anyone could help, it was him.
“You’ve been there for everything Radoslava’s done,” said Gabriel. “Mexico, the marina, everything. You know her better than anyone. You’ve got to get inside her head. Where would she meet Lorna?”
I shook my head. Gabriel was a charming thief, a master con man. He was the one who was good at reading people, not me. “I’m not like you.”
“Bullshit. You knew where to find Lorna, when she ran off upset. You knew when Cody was being bullied. You’re good with people: that’s what makes you a good leader. You just don’t think about it, you do it on instinct. Now what can you tell us about Radoslava?”
I wasn’t sure he was right, but I had to hope he was. I thought about it for a long time. “It’s about her family. Whatever happened in Poland scarred her for life, turned her crazy. She hates the McBride family. But she hasn’t tried to kill Miles, or Cody. It’s all about Russ and Lorna.”
Gabriel nodded. “Okay. What else?”
I scrunched up my brow. “It’s like she’s trying to taint the legacy they’ll leave behind. At the marina, they were opening a new building…but now everybody will remember that that’s where Russ McBride died. She tried to shoot Lorna when she was at the site of the hospital they were building.” I looked around. “She attacks us here, even though it’s well protected, because it’s the family home and the building that Russ built.”
“Alright,” said Gabriel slowly. “So what else connects Russ and Lorna? What’s their legacy?”
I had no idea. I scowled and turned away, glancing around the wrecked room. Then my eyes fell on the model of Manhattan, with its McBride buildings picked out in blue. They’d been torn apart by bullets but I still recognized them. The skyscraper we were in right now, the hospital, the marina…
I froze. I was staring at a blue skyscraper that was lying on its side. Hudson Tower. The first skyscraper Lorna had designed. The one that passed the baton between father and daughter. Was that it? Or was I just grasping wildly?
I racked my brains, remembering looking up at the half-finished building, just after we helped the string quartet get out of the mud…
The mud. The ground had been all churned up. Russ had said you needed a four-by-four. I looked at the rain hissing down outside. The whole site would be a swamp, tonight. That’s why Lorna took the pick-up truck, when there’d been other cars closer.
