“Okay. What the fuck is going on?”
“I can’t tell you right now. Just please trust me and do this one thing for me.”
“Does this have anything to do with this Alessandro?”
“Not a damn thing, but I need to see if I’m crazy or not. You’ll be able to tell me.”
Clarice took a deep breath, wrinkling her nose as she always did when she didn’t like the sound of something. Maybe I was nuts, but why had he left a book? The other stuff he wouldn’t have thought about. Tristen had purposely left it on top of the nightstand before he’d left. I hadn’t thought anything about what I considered strange behavior until the recent drive from the cabin near the mountains.
“Okay. But you will fill me in. Right?”
“As soon as I get back.”
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she offered, the concern on her face increasing.
So did I. “Relax, girl. I’m finally having fun for once. And I’m taking your advice and pushing aside my past.” I plastered on the sweetest plastic smile I had, fearful that she’d ask too many questions.
“Then I’m thrilled and of course I’ll do it. Maybe not until tomorrow. I have a busy day ahead.”
“Then what are you doing here? Go.”
Her laugh was one I hoped I’d hear again soon. “Okay. You owe me details. Lots of them, including about that hunky man out there.”
“I promise we’ll have a bottle of wine or two and I’ll tell you everything.”
She squeezed my arm before heading toward the door. It was impossible not to notice the hard onceover she gave Alessandro as she walked by. If he noticed her blatant lewd glance, it didn’t register. He’d been resting against the side of what I’d learned was a rental car since we’d arrived, the dark sunglasses unable to hide his intense stare.
I turned around, purposely avoiding his heated gaze. I was surprised he hadn’t rushed inside, taking me by the arm, chastising me for taking too long. That would come later. Was it possible Tristen was alive? Really? At this point I couldn’t be certain of anything. My entire world had been turned upside down. Everything I’d believed in for the last five years was a complete lie.
“Brittany, did you take the trash from the back room out last night?”
Her nose wrinkled as it always did when caught in forgetting whatever closing duties. At this point, I hoped she’d been reliably forgetful. “I’m sorry, Sierra. I carried a bag around the store when I collected trash, and pitched it into the dumpster when I left. I’ll get it now.”
I threw my hand out a little too quickly, shocking her. “No, don’t worry about it.”
“Okay.”
Of course she was looking at me strangely. I glanced at the roses before heading into the back, staring at the trash can where the card had been tossed. Thank God it wasn’t full. I dragged the entire contents to the back door and out to the alley where the dumpster was located, picking out the empty bottles of wine and napkins, wrinkling my nose from the smell of uneaten cheese. After two minutes, I was completely discouraged, ready to toss the rest before my captor suddenly appeared.
Then I noticed it. Leaning over, I grabbed the envelope, hissing from the sight of red wine staining half of it. After glancing over my shoulder, I carefully peeled the flap away, sliding the plain white card into my fingers. At least fifty percent of the words had been smudged into red blobs.
But I knew the quote even though I could only read a few words.
“The undead did not love, but they remembered love with a savage loyalty,” I whispered the words penned by Kim Harrison and closed my eyes.
I also knew who’d said them more than once.
Tristen.
CHAPTER14
Alessandro
“Are you going to tell me why you demanded I meet you here?” Cruz asked as he swaggered toward me, yanking off his Ray-Bans, peering at me with vindictiveness in his steely eyes.
I took a deep breath, enjoying the brisk morning air. While I enjoyed certain aspects of being in New York City, I preferred the beautiful landscaping and turbulent waters of the Atlantic Ocean. With the sun casting a reflective glow, the early morning vista was spectacular.
But that wasn’t why I was here.