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Nova
“We traced the number to an old motel down south near Rockdale.” Agent Delove spread out photos on our coffee table. ‘Motel’ was an understatement. I scanned through the pictures, scrunching up my nose at the stained carpets and run-down furniture. It was an absolute shithole. It was hard to imagine Ryzen staying in a place like that. Oh, how the mighty had fallen.
“And?” Cian handed Delove a cup of coffee and sat down next to me. God, he smelled good. All I wanted was for Delove to get the hell out of here so that I could snuggle up in Cian’s arms and pretend like none of this was happening. I glanced down at the photos, my stomach turning. Not that that was going to happen anymore.
“Goodacre was long gone. The night manager said he left in the middle of the night, but not before trashing the entire room.” Delove gave me a pointed look. “I’m assuming he did not react well to how you handled the phone call.”
I gazed down at my coffee cup, the porcelain burning my hands slightly. It probably hadn’t been the smartest way to handle the situation. But damn, was I fucking sick of all this. I was nearing a breaking point, but not into fear or sadness—into absolute madness. But I couldn’t go there. Not after everything that had happened. Things had just been starting to feel normal again.
Delove loosened his tie. “He could be anywhere by now.”
“Pretty sure he’s coming this way.” I huffed and took a sip.
“Nova.” Delove sighed and leaned back. “He’s desperate and dangerous. Don’t provoke him.”
He was right, and I knew that. But there was a part of me that didn’t care. Maybe Ryzen needed to be provoked. Then maybe, just maybe, we could finally catch him.
“I think we should revisit the conversation regarding witness protection. Let us protect you until we find and lock him away.” Delove puckered his lips as if that was the best idea he had ever had.
“No.” I shook my head. “There’s no way in hell I am doing that. Ryzen will not control how I live my life.” I placed my cup on the table, coffee spilling over the rim. “Youhad him, Delove. Andyoulet him get away. How am I supposed to believe you could protect me”—I glanced at Cian, and he nodded—“protectuswhen you couldn’t even keep Ryzen locked up? That was your job, and you fucked up.”
Delove visibly gulped and averted his gaze for a moment. “I know,” he whispered, then cleared his throat. “It was a complete fuck-up on our end. We’re still trying to figure out how Ryzen and his brother Riddick were able to get out.”
“Where the hell is Dobbs, anyway?” I glared at him.
“That’s another reason I’m here.” Delove straightened in his seat. “To let you know that Agent Dobbs has been relieved of duty. Technically, he’s retired. Forced retirement. After this whole fiasco, it was for the best. He started making some crazy accusations over the past few weeks… It was just his time.”
My eyes widened. Shit, I hadn’t been expecting that. Dobbs must have been pissed off to be forced out of his position. All those years chasing Voledetti, trying to build a case, and it was all for nothing. I almost felt bad for him.
“I’ve taken over the Voledetti case, and believe me when I say that I am doing my absolute best to put the right men behind bars. The real bad guys are going to pay for their crimes.”
There was something in the way Delove spoke that made me pause, but I couldn’t figure out what it was. Maybe he would have better luck on his own, without Dobbs bringing his emotions into the case. Maybe, just maybe, the Voledetti family was going to get what they deserved.
Milliani’s face popped into my head, and my heart softened for a moment. That poor woman. The heartache and anger she was going through due to what her family had done to her was unimaginable. The only thing I could do was try to help her get back a sense of normalcy.
“What’s the plan, then?” Cian leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees with his hands clasped. “For Goodacre? We can’t just sit back and do nothing.”
“That’s exactly what you need to do.” Delove held up his hand when Cian objected. “Let me handle this. We’re following his trail, and I know he will slip up.” Delove gathered the photographs and stuffed them back into his folder. “In the meantime, I would suggest beefing up your security at your office and at home.” He walked over to the doors leading out to the terrace, his hands on his hips. “I don’t like how close that murder was from here.” He glanced over his shoulder at us, a knowing look in his eyes. The rock in my stomach grew. Great, he was thinking the same thing we all were—that Ryzen was probably the one who had killed the security guard on that roof. “Cian.” Delove tapped on the glass sliding door. “It would be advisable to put up privacy film throughout the unit for the time being.”
“Consider it done.” Cian bumped his shoulder against mine. We had already discussed that, and someone was coming out later today to put film over all the windows.
“And Nova.” Delove turned to face us, his expression unreadable. “Try to stay out of the tabloids.” He walked over and opened his briefcase, and tossed a copy ofThe Weekly Weton the table.
My mouth fell open at the cover. It was a picture of me and Valik laughing and eating pastries outside of Stan’s.“New Love Interest for Kidnapping Victim?”the headline read. I scanned the article quickly, my face growing hot at the blatant lies written about me. It had the usual made-up bullshit. That I was a scorned fiancée. That I’d made up the whole kidnapping and memory loss to get back at Ryzen for breaking my heart. That I was just a dumb bimbo out to make a quick buck. A man-eater. Disgust coursed through my veins when I saw Piper Lawless’ name at the end. Of course it was her.
I threw the tabloid back on the table, shaking my head. “That so-called journalist needs to be fired,” I huffed, my nostrils flaring. Damn, I hated letting her get to me. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. How someone could just write flat-out lies and think it was OK. It was stupid of me—naïve, even—to think that everyone had a conscience. Because clearly, she did not.
“Agreed,” Delove muttered. “Just do your best to avoid her for the time being. I don’t need her calling my office every hour complaining that you assaulted her in a parking lot.” He raised his eyebrow at me.
I crossed my arms against my chest and lifted my chin up. “Lies. Absolute lies.”
Delove shook his head, but I saw the slight grin he had. He didn’t believe me, but it wasn’t like he would do anything about it. Technically, she had touched me first, so if anyone should be accusing someone of assault, it was me.
Cian walked Delove out, and I sagged into the couch for a moment. This week had been a whirlwind of emotions. I had been so happy to find the dress of my dreams, to marry the love of my life soon, yet it was all threatening to crumble all around me because some psychopath just wouldn’t go away. I had never thought I could feel this much anger before, yet here I was, ready to do anything to get Ryzen to stop.
Cian leaned against the doorframe, his hands stuffed in his pants. “I’m sorry, little star.”
I scrunched up my nose. “You have nothing to be sorry about.” It was absolutely not his fault that this was happening.
