Good. I haven’t been out long.
I start to pick myself up. The pain from my cracked rib causes me to grimace. Other than that, though, I don’t seem to have any broken bones from my fall, so that’s still good.
It could have been worse. I could have died tonight.
After shaking the dirt off my clothes, I glance back at what’s left of the house. Even under the moonlight, I can tell there’s not much. Blown to pieces.
I have a feeling the man who tried to blow me up was the same man who dealt Antonio the same fate. The Ghost. And just like last time, he knew I was coming. He set a trap for me.
Why? How did he know? Who told him? The only person I can think of who knows that Allie and I intended to visit this house is Taylor, but I don’t think he’d do anything to hurt Allie. He’s in love with her. I determined as much from the way he was looking at her at the bar and from his reluctance to let me take her home.
He wouldn’t hurt Allie. But he could hurt me. In fact, it would be good if he got rid of me. What if he knew Allie wasn’t going to be here?
I touch my chin. If so, that would mean that Taylor is in contact with Sergio Bianchi, with the Ghost. Hard to believe, but possible. Probable even. Maybe that’s how he was able to get all that information.
I hold my injured side and start running.
It’s time to scrape the mask off that son of a bitch.
~
“I didn’t do it!” Taylor tells me with his hands up, his eyes on the barrel of my gun pointed straight at his forehead.
For someone who’s supposedly a genius tech guy, I was able to find his apartment fairly easily. Sneaking in was even easier. All I had to do was turn the power off and all his alarms were rendered useless.
He was sleeping then. Now, he’s wide awake and trapped in a real-life nightmare.
“I swear I didn’t tell anyone else about the Bowles House,” Taylor tells me. “Why would I do that? I wouldn’t put Allie in danger or let someone else barge in on her investigation after she’s worked so hard.”
“But you wouldn’t mind putting me in danger, would you?” I ask him with narrowed eyes. “In fact, I believe you want me out of the way.”
“Because I’m in love with Allie?” His confession takes me by surprise. “You noticed it, huh? Even though Allie doesn’t have a clue.”
So I was right.
I grit my teeth. “So you do want me out of the way?”
“I don’t think Allie should be with you, yes,” Taylor admits as he looks into my eyes. “But if you’re suggesting that I tried to have you killed, you’re wrong. You didn’t force Allie to be with you. She did that on her own. She chose you. Losing you would only make her unhappy, miserable even. That’s not the Allie I want to have. If I’m going to win, it’s not by getting rid of you. It’s by convincing Allie to let you go.”
I search his eyes. I can tell every word that left his mouth is true. He’s serious, too.
He really is in love with Allie.
I lower my gun. “Fine. I believe you.”
I put my gun away, but as I tuck it back in its holster, fresh pain stabs my chest. I grunt.
“Are you alright?” Taylor asks me as he gets out of bed. “You’re hurt, aren’t you?”
“I’m fine,” I tell him.
“You just accused me of trying to kill you, which means someone tried.”
I guess he is smart.
“Let me see.”
He grabs the flashlight on the bedside table and shines it on me. I lift my shirt and glance down at my bruised skin. Taylor frowns.
“A broken rib. I think I can help with that.”
My eyebrows furrow. “I thought you were a tech guy. Don’t tell me you’re a doctor, too.”
“I’m not,” he confesses as he leaves the room. “But I know how to patch people up, too, like Allie. I’ve patched her up myself a few times.”
He means she’s been hurt before?
Outside the room, I hear something open, then a whir. In the next moment, the lights come back on. Taylor comes back into the room with a medical kit.
“I can’t put a broken rib together,” he says. “But I can bandage you so that it doesn’t bruise more or hurt so much when you move.”
I touch my side and wince. “I’d appreciate that.”
I’d bandage myself, but I know I’d have trouble. Taylor can do it better, faster. It’s not my habit to ask for help, but I don’t turn it away when I need it, either.
I sit on the edge of the bed and Taylor starts.
“How long have you known Allie?” I ask him to make conversation.