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Or was there someone else in my life that I needed to consider? Was someone in my past that I had once trusted responsible for all the death and carnage?
The thought was chilling.
It reminded me of something my father had said to me when I was little.
“I don’t like that story,” I said. “I hate it.”
Daddy closed the book and regarded me with a sigh.
“Little Red Riding Hood should have known he was the wolf. If she knew he was the wolf, she wouldn’t have gotten eaten.”
I laid my head on my fuzzy pink pillow, and snuggled up against Daddy’s side. Daddy was always so warm. The musk scent of his aftershave had faded during the long day, but it still lingered on his neck with the hopeful promise of a new morning.
“I know, honey. But it has a good message.”
“That out there somewhere, there’s always a wolf waiting to eat us?”
“That we need to be careful, because people aren’t always who they seem.”
People aren’t always who they seem.
My eyes blurred with tears.
“People think you’re the wolf,” I said.
I hated it when Daddy looked sad like this. He sighed as he swiped a tear from his cheek. “We told you not to watch the news.”
“Mr. Mike was your best friend,” I said. “He made you sound like a bad guy.”
Daddy stroked my arm.
“The truth will prevail, honey. Don’t you worry, okay? Everything is going to be okay.”
Of course, it hadn’t turned out okay then, and now, my instincts screamed that someone in my life might not be who they claimed to be.
My fear begged me to bury my head in the sand, warning me my heart couldn’t handle any more damage. But I refused to live in the shadows of doubt, haunted by fear.
The time had come to face the truth—because it was no longer a question ofifI wanted to know the truth. I needed to learn the identity of the Windy City Vigilante and to determine whether the trust I had so painstakingly started to build was destined to crumble under the weight of betrayal.
If it did, the ramifications would be irreversible. I’d never feel safe enough to allow anyone in my life again, not even mere acquaintances.
Anger radiated off of Hunter.
If he was the Vigilante, why would he risk getting caught today to warn me of impending danger? He could have told me himself, could have simply beefed up security.
Unless…unless he’d acquired that intel about Franco acting as the Vigilante and thus had to pass along the warning in disguise.
“I’m getting you the head of my security team,” Hunter said.
I pressed my finger against my temple.
“This isn’t up for debate,” he snarled.
“It’s not that. It’s just…this whole thing rattled me.” But not in the way Hunter probably assumed.
I mean, here I was, wondering what the chances were thatHunterwas theVigilante, for God’s sake.
Until I uncovered the Vigilante’s true identity, I wouldn’t be able to look at anyone without suspicion, would I? The trust I was working so hard to finally build would be on pause, wouldn’t it?
