Page 59 of When She Unravels
They sit down, and I head to the bar cart in the corner of my office. While the two of them stare at each other mutely, I type out a text to Ras.“Office. Urgent.”
Cazzo.The woman who I was inside of less than an hour ago is married—married—to the worthless pile of shit who abducted my sister while she was on a graduation trip to New York. Married to the man who murdered Mari’s best friend and took my sister to a basement to put her through what I suspect would have been hours of brutal torture. A sour taste floods my mouth. Did Ale follow her to Ibiza to finish the job? And I led her straight to my sister. Guilt wraps around my throat like a noose.
I open a small metal box hidden behind a whiskey bottle and take out a sedative. From experience, I know this one is tasteless when it’s dissolved. I fill two glasses with mineral water, crush the pill between my index finger and thumb, and drop the powder in one of the glasses. The bubbles mask any residue.
“I’m so glad you’re okay, Martina,” Ale says behind me.
I have to stop and take a deep breath so that I don’t slap her across the face. How dare she say my sister’s name with that lying mouth?
She glances at me. I hand her the drugged water and put on another smile. I swear, each one costs me a year of life. It feels like a gash carved across my face.
I’m worried she’ll nurse the glass for longer than I can control myself, but she does me a favor by downing the entire thing in one go. There’s a slight tremble in her hands. I imagine tying them together with a rough rope and watching her make herself bleed by fighting against the restraints.
Mari takes a small sip and turns her face up to look at me. She’s waiting for my directions. My sweet, gentle sister.
When she got back to me, I vowed to her I’d make the culprits pay for what they did to Imogen and her. She didn’t know who took her. They’d knocked her out after they shot Imogen, and when she came to in that basement, the sedative hadn’t fully worn off, and her memory of the man was fuzzy. But she remembered the woman. The one who’d seemed like an accomplice until she’d shot the captor and helped her escape.
Mari doesn’t know why the woman helped her, but I’ve lived long enough to know that in our world selfless acts of kindness are as rare as a quiet night in Ibiza. No one does something like that if it’s not in their self-interest. Ale must have had an ulterior motive when she freed my sister.
And I’ll do whatever I must to figure it out.
Ale slumps against the chair. “I feel strange,” she says as her eyelids start to droop.
About fucking time.
I get on my haunches in front of her and curve my palms around the arms of the chair. I don’t trust myself to touch her right now. Martina doesn’t need to see how her brother deals with good-for-nothing liars. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
Her head lolls before she manages to bring it back up. “I can’t feel my legs and arms.”
For the first time since Mari screamed, I allow the mask to drop. A slow frown spreads over Ale’s face as she takes in my expression. “Damiano…what’s happening to me?”
“There’s a sedative spreading through your blood stream.”
Fear flashes in her eyes, and for a moment, she looks so terrified that I feel a faint pang of pity. But then I remember who she is and squash that pity like an annoying fly. “You promised me an explanation.”
She tries to nod. Her chin bumps against her chest. I push my fingers into her hair and pull her head back up to look at me. “I don’t need your promises,” I whisper. “I’ll get every last drop of truth out of you.”
Her body goes totally limp. Behind me, Mari lets out a strangled sob.
I let go of Ale, but when she starts to slide off the chair, I pick her up before she falls to the ground. Not because I care if she gets hurt, but because I can’t risk her banging her head and losing her memory. First, I need to get all of the information hidden in its confines.
Ras appears in the doorway. His gaze scans over Martina and I before halting on the body in my arms. “Should I call a doctor?”
Roughly, I pass Ale to him. “No. Turns out she’s the wife of the assassin who took Mari. Take her to my house and put her in the secure room.”
Ras’s brows shoot up his forehead. “Merda.”
“You were right,” I say. “I should have been more careful, but now we’ll finally figure out who’s behind the entire plot.”
Ras looks down at her. Suddenly, I want to rip her out of his arms, but I push the ridiculous feeling away. We slept together. Once. There’s no way I feel anything for this woman that would jeopardize my ability to interrogate her.
“What do I say to her friends? They’re all scheduled tonight.”
I move to my desk. “Tell them she left the island.”
“They won’t believe it.”
“Then do your fucking job and make them.”
