“Did you go to a counselor in France or Spain?” He purposely kept any inflection out of his voice. He was an Archambault in that moment. His family policed the riders and every aspect of their system. If she had confessed to a counselor that she became violently ill in the shadows and that she feared she would become addicted to the pain and fear she got when riding, and the counselor allowed her, even recommended she continue, the counselor needed to be pulled.
“I went to the one in Spain. They only have one, a male counselor. I hesitated, at first, to go to him, but he was approved by the international council, so I made myself go.”
“And you told him everything? How sick you got? What the doctor said about your body and the nerve endings inside the tubes?”
“I made myself be very honest, even about my need for pain. It was difficult, but I did it. I will admit, it was a little surprising when he suggested I continue to push through by taking the various classes. I also confessed I started going to the underground clubs in hopes that when I went into the shadows, I wouldn’t have the reaction and he agreed it was a good idea.” She looked up at him. “It wasn’t, Elie. I do fine for a while. I can make myself go a couple of weeks, three, four, but then I’m wound up, restless, moody. I start needing not only pain but that edge of fear and dominance.”
He had already noticed she began to get edgy and needed him to initiate their sexual games. He had no problem with that. He didn’t want her to think there was anything wrong with her, which she clearly did. What was wrong was risking her life in the shadows in order to find relief. The counselor should have known better than to allow her to continue.
“I hated the way I was, but I couldn’t stop the cycle. I went for counseling, I took classes, I did everything I could, and then when I went back to shadow riding, I found myself delaying coming out of the tubes after my mission for as long as possible, just to get some relief, even though it was so horrible.” She continued her confession in a low voice.
Elie didn’t like the way she looked miserable and embarrassed. Humiliated even.
“There is nothing wrong with you, Brielle. You’re the most wonderful, courageous women I’ve ever met. I love you exactly the way you are. What would I do if I didn’t have you? You don’t need to risk your life in the shadows when you have me. Your cravings match my own so perfectly.”
He brushed a kiss in her hair. “But you can’t do any more shadow riding.” He made it a decree. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I did everything I could to stop, Elie, I really did. At the same time, I am a shadow rider, and I’m good at it. I was needed when Leone and Raimondo were in trouble and I instinctively acted.”
Elie continued to massage her neck. “I would expect nothing less of you, bébé. You are incredibly courageous. I wish, at times, you were less so.”
“I’m always terrified when I go into the shadows. I usually have time to meditate when I know I’m taking a rotation. I can prepare myself a little bit in advance.”
“We really need to come to terms with this, Brielle. I can’t come home to a slaughterhouse like that ever again. You nearly died. It was your blood everywhere. Leone was bad, yes, but you were the one bleeding out. Dario and Raimondo performed CPR on you and kept you alive long enough for the surgical team to set up. Arnold had to find where you were bleeding and close it off.”
His voice was strained all over again. He had to remove his hand in order to keep her from feeling the way his body tensed up all over again. The anger once again began to bubble up, seeping out of the well, escaping just enough to release the pressure cooker so he wouldn’t explode. He slid off the bed and stalked over to the window, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Stefano had taken Dario to task for not following protocol and releasing the names of his personal protectors to the investigators to vet. Dario had admitted they were men he had known since his childhood and he was protecting their past. Stefano made it clear that if they were ever to be allowed around the family, they had to earn the same trust that Dario had. He also pointed out those few minutes could have cost Brielle and Leone their lives.
Dario had taken the dressing down from Stefano without a murmur, something Elie had never thought possible. Raimondo had sent for Nicoletta and Taviano, the two closest riders. They had come as soon as possible and they’d been horrified at the blood-soaked state of Elie’s home.
The two riders had assisted Dario and Stefano in providing an adequate explanation for Asier Fredrick’s untimely death. They made it appear like he’d been robbed after he left Elie and Brielle and was on his way back to the airport. As for the men who had traveled on the same plane with him but were never seen with him, they didn’t bother creating a false narrative to explain their deaths. Those men had no association with Interpol. They were known associates of the Toselli family, according to Stefano’s investigators. That made it easy. So Dario simply made them disappear.
Since Fredrick had died after he’d left Elie and Brielle’s home, they had been prepared for the police to ask them questions. Fortunately, as they were relatively newly married, it wasn’t inconceivable that they were traveling around, Elie showing his bride the sights. They finally met with the police, Vinci, Stefano’s lawyer, with them, in the Ferraro Hotel, where they were having a romantic getaway as they hadn’t had a proper honeymoon yet.
“It wasn’t like I planned it, Elie,” she reiterated.
“Maybe you shouldn’t have opened the door. I was supposed to be there with you. Isn’t that the entire premise of shadow riders? I have to have an alibi when I’m out of town doing my job. You provide that alibi. I’m in this house with you. You never should have allowed the agent into our home in the first place. That was your first mistake and a direct violation of our rules.” He swung around to face her again.
Brielle ducked her head, her wild mass of curls falling around her face. “I know. I’m used to being the rider, not that I’m making an excuse, Elie. I take responsibility for my actions and I know I have to face Stefano at some point for a disciplinary action.”
Like hell she would. Being shot six times was enough discipline as far as Elie was concerned. Stefano wasn’t going to take her to task. Elie could do it and no one else. She owed him an explanation. They would work out their problems between them.
“I’ve never been on the other side, the one providing the alibi. I just didn’t consider until he actually was in the house what I was going to say if he asked about you.”
“How was it possible you weren’t alerted prior to him walking out the door?” That was something that really nagged at him. Her family had certainly made her question her belief in her ability to hear lies, but she had gained so much confidence in herself, he found it difficult to believe someone could sit with her and lie for an extended period of time and she wouldn’t realize.
“I’ve gone over the conversation with him in my head numerous times. He never once said anything that could have been a lie. Not until he mentioned his wife and gardening. He didn’t do that until he had the door open.”
“He didn’t raise any alarms prior to that?” He found that a little shocking.
“I was uneasy during the interview, but I put it down to you being away. There was a big storm and you were in an airplane, flying. I had all kinds of reasons for being uneasy. Even when he seemingly made the job offer, he only said that Interpol needed people like me, not that he did. He was already standing and walking to the door when he actually said something about helping me with the process and I just knew then. He kept up the commentary, bending down toward the bushes. He’d hidden his gun there. I tried to warn Leone, but he was throwing his body in front of mine. I remember pushing him, trying to get him inside the house.”
Elie didn’t want to hear any more. He knew Leone had gone down, taking the bullet meant for Brielle. The Tosellis were going to pay for that. They were going to pay dearly. The Archambault investigators, as well as the Ignazio family investigators in Spain, were also working to uncover information on the Toselli crime family and the ties to the Santoro family in New York and the Colombo family in Los Angeles.
At first, Elie and Stefano had planned to take care of the problem on their own, but the attack on Brielle had been too blatant and it was the third attempt on her life. She was a female shadow rider, married to another shadow rider. All shadow riders would rise up to find a way to track down those plotting to kill her and dispense justice. The Archambault family, in particular, was incensed. They had wanted the union, and in spite of Elie’s reluctance to come back to France, he was a rider and carried the genetics they needed to continue the line.
Stefano’s investigators were on it. Dario and Valentino’s man, Bernado, was on it. The three crime families had no idea a storm of pure fire was coming after them and all because they thought themselves invincible—and invisible. They had no idea what true invisibility really was.