But that was why he was so furious, wasn’t it? Because he’d cared, he’d let himself fall for me again, and I really had deceived him this time. People who were wounded when they were feeling vulnerable went even farther onto the defensive than they might have otherwise.
This couldn’t have happened in a worse way if Holly had planned it herself.
My spine stiffened. Part of me wanted to stay and fight, but I had the feeling I wasn’t going to win. Not with my words alone, anyway. I needed proof—to convince both Ezra and the three men standing around me that I knew what I was talking about and that it was a good thing I’d dug deeper.
“Fine.” I grabbed my duffel bag, which I’d kept packed in case I needed to make a hasty exit, and slung my purse over my shoulder. “But you need to know that things aren’t how they look. I’m going to confirm what I’m already almost sure of, and then you’ll be hearing from me again.”
“Don’t you dare—”
“I’m going!” I shot back, and marched past Darius out of the room.
I didn’t stop walking until I’d gone down the stairs and out the front door. It was fully dark outside, pitch-black between the streams of lamplight. I closed my eyes, gathered my resolve, and strode onward.
I’d figure this out. I’d show them; I’d make them understand.
I’d better, because my heart already felt like it’d been broken in two all over again. And this time it might be my fault, not theirs.
* * *
I managed to find myself a grungy hotel room, slept for a few hours, and then started digging around online. When my efforts didn’t produce anything to my satisfaction, I called up Wylder, since it wasn’t as if my connections to my family could be any more exposed now that I wasn’t even in the Rosano home.
“Auntie Anthea,” he said in his teasing tone, way cockier than any seventeen-year-old had a right to be. “What’s going on?”
“I was actually hoping that computer genius friend of yours could do a little hacking on my behalf,” I said.
Wylder laughed. “Oh, I’m not good enough for you now? I’ll find Gideon. He’ll probably break out the champagne to celebrate getting picked over me.”
“When you learn how to work computers like he does, I’ll come to you for my digital needs,” I said dryly.
Three hours later, I’d hired myself a rental car and gotten the address of Holly Eisener’s most recent apartment in the city. After that, it was a waiting game.
I tailed Holly when I spotted her platinum pixie cut behind the wheel of the Camry that Gideon had also determined was registered to her name. She had a very banal day of driving to the dry cleaner’s and the gym and then an office where she had a short shift as a receptionist. Then she drove back to her apartment building.
I was just considering giving up for the night when the Camry eased out of the parking garage long after the streetlamps had flickered on. I drove behind her as she wove through the streets and out to a stretch of warehouses along the river. She cruised around the back of a small concrete building.
I parked my rental farther down the street and paused to pull on my thin jacket that I’d already prepped for particularly dangerous operations. A tiny pistol was tucked into a nook at the wide base of one of the flowy sleeves, a few needles discreetly hidden in the other.
Stepping out of the car, I smoothed the skirt of my dress flat as if that would soothe my jittering nerves too. Then I slunk over to the building through the darkness. When I reached the lot behind the warehouse, the view in front of me told all the story I needed.
Holly had gotten out of the car and walked over to a garage-style door at the back of the building, which was now open. A light had come on overtop of it. She was standing there, peering at stacks of boxes, several of them with manufacturer names printed on them. I recognized them as companies Ezra often used as a front. She had her hands on her hips and her head tilted to the side as if she were sizing them up, though for what, I wasn’t sure.
She hadn’t managed to move all of the merchandise yet. I guessed that wasn’t surprising. Brant didn’t have the kind of reach to unload a huge shipment of that much value all at once—definitely not without the other Hell Kickers catching wind of it.
I snapped a few silent photos with my phone. Would even that be enough proof for Ezra?
I wavered for several seconds, and then I skimmed through my contacts to find Felix’s number. He was the only one who’d bothered to make sure I had it after our reconciliation the other day—for the same reasons that he was the one I’d have wanted to reach out to anyway. He wasn’t inclined to hold grudges unless it was absolutely necessary.
My brother had asked me not to tell the Rosanos about my suspicions, but I didn’t see any betrayal in ensuring they found the evidence for themselves and drew their own conclusions.
The three of you should get down here ASAP, I texted him, and included my current location.You’ll find out everything you need to know about who you should really be pissed off at.
What are you talking about?he wrote back moments later.What crazy shit are you trying to drag us into now?
I’m trying to make sure you see the truth. Unless you’re not interested in that after all. Anyway, since when did you mind crazy?
There was a longer pause. The dots appeared, showing Felix was typing. I peered down at the phone, willing the words to hurry up and appear—and the hard muzzle of a gun pressed against the back of my head.
“Throw that phone away,now,” Brant’s voice said from right behind me.