Page 70 of Beneath The Truth
“Probablynot.”
“You know I can’t go with you if you’re heading back into the Quarter,” Rix said, talking aboutMountnow.
“Don’t need you to.Don’t wantyouto.”
“If he doesn’t like what you have to say, you might not walk out of thatbuilding.”
The cartel didn’t acknowledge the authority of anyone in this city except Lachlan Mount, and no one knew exactly how he held that sway over them.But if he could help me put all these pieces together and get answers, it was a risk I was willing to take.Maybe a stupid one, but at least it wascalculated.
“I’ll come out,” I said, hoping I was right.At this point, I didn’t have many otheroptions.
“Goodluck.”
I nodded at Rix as I headed to the corner to catchacab.
36
Ariel
Ishutmy laptop and stared out at the water.Esme was tasked with researching the top cognitive specialists in the New Orleans area so I could select one for Dad.My instinct was to find the best in the world, but I knew Dad couldn’t just hop on a plane and fly somewhere for a doctor’s appointment.They were still running tests at the hospital, and Heath had asked me to wait to stop by because all the commotion had upset Dad, and he was trying to keep him settled.It frustrated me to no end that he didn’t want me there, but I didn’targue.
I felt helpless.My fingers itched to dig through more department files, but Rhett had made me give my word that I wouldn’t do itwithouthim.
There were a million and one other things I could do for work, but my mind was too chaotic.I was a scatterbrained mess, and that wasn’t going to help anyone.I needed to center myself and find some calm so I could kick ass when it wasmyturn.
My gaze drifted from the lake to the pool—a completely over-the-top, ostentatious, resort-style swimming pool with a grotto and waterfall that was sitting there unused.I couldn’t remember the last time I’d put on a bathing suit.Maybe an hour of relaxing would give me what I needed to be able to keep charging forward at my normal pace?I’d learned the hard way a few years ago that I couldn’t work 24/7 without taking a few hours to just breathe nowandthen.
So maybe that was what I’d do, and I’d be more effective when thetimecame.
Fifteen minutes later, slathered in sunblock and clad in a bikini from my suitcase that I didn’t remember asking to have packed, I made my way down and snagged a towel from a neat stack in the pool house.The thickly padded lounge chair called my name, and I opted to soak up a little much-neededvitaminD.
I lasted a whole five minutes before Idriftedoff.
The realistic dreamsucked me in.I was walking down a beach hand in hand with Rhett, my gauzy white dress billowing in the breeze, when he stopped to pick me up and spin me around.Once I was dizzy, he laid me down on the sand and knelt beside me to whisper inmyear.
“You’ll never get away from him.He’s the only one who endsthings.”
Wait,what?
The menacing voice hissed in my ear, jerking me from sleep as Rhett’s face morphed into someone dark, a black ski mask covering everything but his mouth.I blinked to try to change the image in front of my face, but it stayed.Itwasreal.
“You hear me,bitch?”
OhmyGod.
Ifroze.
“Yeah, that’s right.You see me.You hear me.Don’t fucking forget it.You can hide in a fortress all you want, but he can get to you.Hesays when you’re done.Notyou.”
Paralyzed by fear, I remained completely motionless except for my blinking eyes.I watched while the man rose to his feet with a malicious smile and bolted towardthelake.
It took me a minute to process what had just happened and yell for help.The sound of a boat ripping away from the shore drowned out thesound.
I snatched up my phone, poised to tap in my code to unlock it, but a text message notification popped onto the lockscreen.
Unknown Number:I told you to be on a plane.That means you get on a plane.You do not let another mantouchyou.
My brain spunback to the text I’d gotten from Carlos yesterday, followed by his email with the plane ticket.After I’d confronted him about the pictures of him screwing another woman, I thought the plane ticket was some ridiculously misguided last-ditch effort to return things to the status quo.I couldn’t understand what planet he must be living on for him to think I’d respond, let alone use it.Apparently, his expectations had beendifferent.
