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Adriano shoots him again, and again, enough to maim and incapacitate him, but not kill him. Not yet. I catch my breath, and push to my knees. I brace myself and stand.
"Who are you and what are you doing to my wife?" Adriano says.
"You…killed Reno," the man managed to gasp out.
"Of course I fucking killed Reno. He was stalking her." Adriano's eyes flash to mine. "You took it with you?"
And I know, right then, that the file didn't belong to Adriano. He was the one that confiscated it.Reno. Reno, that name on the piece of paper I found in his wallet. It wasn't a place, it was a person. The person who was stalking me.
I'm speechless so I only nod. The sudden rushing awareness of relief floods me.
"I have a team of men here ready to take down your entire crew," Adriano says. “And we're not afraid of dying."
"I’d listen to him, they’re definitely not afraid. If I were you, I wouldn’t fuck around with him.”
The man cries out when Adriana steps over to him and presses his foot on the man's forearm. With one yank, he rips off his shirtsleeve, revealing a tattoo of the Mexican flag.
"Fucking cartel, aren't you? Suspected as much when I found connections to Reno."
"Cartel?" I ask. "As in the one that abused and hurt my best friend?"
Eden, suppressed in a cult… a cult run and entirely funded as a front for cartel operations.
Oh my God.
Adriano looks at me, his eyes chillingly cold, but his voice pleasant and friendly. "I'll ask your permission. May I kill him?"
"Not this time, darling. I think it would be far better if you took him back for questioning first, don't you agree?"
Adriano smiles, and my heart sings once more. "Yes, sweetheart. I think that's an excellent idea."
* * *
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
“MOM”
Quinn
If we were normal people,we’d have hours of questioning ahead of us and we’d likely be facing arrest. But we are definitely not normal people. The police came alright, after Adriano’s men took their hostage with them. They took one look at Adriano andapologized.
“Don’t apologize to me,” he growled, and I swear to God they all took a step back. “My wife is the one owed an apology. That asshole could’ve hurt her mother or even worse, and he’s a wanted criminal in this state.”
I get my apology.
When we go back in my mother’s room, it’s been cleaned and smells faintly of antiseptic. My mom is blissfully unaware of the bloodbath that just ensued. I’m shaken, but relieved. My mother is safe. I’m safe, and so is Adriano.
But where does that leave us?
“We have a lot to talk about.” Adriano stands in the doorway looking tired and weary, but doesn’t enter, as if he knows he doesn’t belong here. His smile fades as quickly as it came now that everything’s been cleaned up.
I nod. “We do.” I don’t know what that conversation will entail, but I want some answers.
Wordlessly, he frames my face between his hands. My throat tightens at the look in his eyes. “Stay, Quinn. That’s all I’m going to ask. Just stay and hear me out.”
“I’m so confused, Adriano,” I whisper.
“I know, baby.” He kisses my forehead and squeezes his eyes closed before he looks at me again. “And you need to spend time with your mother. But I’ll wait for you.”
