Page 70 of Possessive Sinner
The line goes dead. I lower the phone slowly. Salazar. Impatient. Stupid. Or desperate. Either way, he just crossed a line. There is only one reason Salazar went after Stacy without killing her. He wants Audra.
That is not going to happen. I grind my jaw so tightly, my molars groan in protest.
The moment I make my way through the living area, I stop. Audra is standing there. Barefoot. Pale. Eyes locked on me.
Fuck. She heard.
"How long have you been standing there?" I ask.
Her lips part slightly. "They… tried to take her?"
Her face is an unreadable mask. I search for traces of hysteria or panic, but there are none. Her eyes are sharp as understanding moves through them.
I exhale slowly. "It's handled. She's fine."
Her gaze doesn't waver. "Who?"
There it is. Notis she okay. Notwhat happened. Just—who.
I study her more closely. Something has shifted. Last night she broke. Now? Now she's putting herself back together. Piece by piece. Harder. Colder.
"Cartel," I tell her, still watching her.
She tenses. "The same ones?"
It's not really a question. I nod once.
"They're not going to stop, are they?" She wants to know, her voice detached, dispassionate.
I don't lie. "No."
She nods as if she's expected that all along. As if she just made a decision. One I'm not sure I'm going to like.
I'm right too. Her next words take me nearly off balance. "I want to see them." That gets my full attention. "The men you caught," she clarifies. "I want to see them."
"No." I've never meant that word as much as I do right now. There is no way in hell I'm letting her get more involved than she already is.
Her eyes flash. "You don't get to decide that."
"I do," I counter, stepping closer. "When it comes to your safety—I absolutely do."
"This is about me," she snaps. "My husband is dead. They just tried to take my mother. You don't get to shut me out of this."
Her voice doesn't rise. It sharpens. I see it now, too. Clear as day. That look in her eyes. I've seen it before. Right before someone decides they have nothing left to lose. Fuck.
This is exactly what I didn't want.
"You don't know what you're asking for," I warn her.
She takes a step toward me. Her expression changes into a hard mask. One I would've never thought she'd wear.
"You see, that's where you're wrong," she tells me quietly. "I'm not asking."
My eyes narrow. There it is. The steel I knew was simmering underneath her façade the entire time. Cold, unyielding determination. She lifts her chin, meeting my gaze head-on.
"I know who you are, Gabriel D'Amato." Hearing my full name on her lips does something I don't like. Or maybe I like it too much.
"I know what people say about you," she continues. "Mafia. Dangerous. Untouchable."
