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I collapsed into my chair and put my head between my legs, clutching my cross so hard it dug into my fingers. Oh God. If he found out I was checking Easton’s EXODUS account too, he’d take everything.
Damn him for putting me in another impossible situation. Miss Jacobs had done so much for me. I’d already betrayed her enough. But what if Drew did something to Gabriel’s scholarship with Saint Pius? Or made us move back to Houston?
I couldn’t let that happen.
Why did he care so much about what Miss Jacobs had asked me to look at in EXODUS anyway? As far as I could tell, what was in the past was in the past. Carter Energy had been sold and there was no getting it back.
If Easton’s account was different than Mulaney’s, maybe Drew’s was different too.
I had to get that login information.
I yanked on my necklace. Who did I think I was? Nancy Drew? If I got caught—no, I couldn’t. It wouldn’t be just school or home as consequences.
I let out a frustrated groan. As long as Drew was my puppetmaster, this would be my complicated life. This had been going on for as long as I’d worked for his family’s company. I was tired of dancing to his tune.
That login felt like my ticket out. Or maybe I just desperately wanted it to be. Just because I got it didn’t mean I had to do anything with it. Right?
Chapter Thirty-One
Carlos
“How doyou handle someone who isn’t who you think they are?”
Big green eyes stared up at me, searching. “I’m not sure. Not very well.”
I toyed with a lock of her hair, ever amazed at Holly’s honesty and strength. She placed a hand on my stomach and adjusted in my arms. We’d just put Gabriel to bed and were now cuddled on the couch.
I’d had an entire day to mull over Eduardo’s betrayal. The fucking head of the Abarco cartel. For years. At first, I’d been blinded by anger, then I’d felt like a fool, but now fear had set in. He was the only person in the outside world who knew how to contact me.
Just when I’d been about to smash the burner phone, Donato had stopped me. He’d taken it to see if we could glean any evidence from the device. After all, Eduardo had been the one to give it to me. Thank God I hadn’t told him my exact location. But that didn’t mean my sister, and now Holly and Gabriel, weren’t possibly in danger. At least he wouldn’t know that I was aware of the truth. As Donato pointed out, we had some time to plot our next move.
“Carlos. What’s going on?” The worry in her voice had me tightening my arm around her.
I longed to tell her everything and at the same time wanted to keep her as far away from all of it as possible.
“Someone I trusted . . .” How did I put into words what he’d done? Betrayal didn’t seem strong enough.
“Let you down,” she finished so I didn’t have to. “Is that going to affect your farming?”
I hadn’t even thought about crops or what would become of the compound. There was no question Eduardo’s cartel wanted the property for themselves. I didn’t care other than how it would impact the people of my country.
“Yes.” Her hair was silk around my rough finger, one that had pulled a trigger more times than I could count. The contrast was profound.
She was a beauty. I was a beast.
“Do you have to go home?”
Home. I hadn’t had one of those since Mama died. Until now.
“I probably should return, but I’m not.” I traced down her jaw. “And that place is not my home.”
Understanding filled her eyes. She splayed her hand on my chest, and her touch soothed me. I lifted her hand and kissed the tips of each of her fingers.
I had an obligation to Holly, Gabriel, and Muriella. If I was dead, I couldn’t fulfill that. The problem was, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could stay alive. Eduardo was aware of how valuable the location of my whereabouts was to my enemies. If he found me, he could sell the information to the highest bidder and get rid of me.
It was for the best if I left New York. Thank God I’d stopped short of telling Eduardo about Muriella.
My new burner phone rang. I answered without saying a word.
