Chapter 25
TWENTY-FIVE
Milo
I gazed out the window as thick clouds darkened the city sky. The weather matched my mood: ominous, threatening, and uncertain. Could I ignore what Chance did? Something I would never do if not for Sable. Or do I make him pay for betraying me?
If I kill him, she’ll never forgive me, but I can’t let him get away with what he did. If he overheard me and Lucas discussing business, and then gave that information to my enemy, I would have to make him pay.
The more concerning part of this equation was figuring out who Sable’s loyalties were with. Me or Chance? I might be able to forgive her actions if they were only about protecting her brother because he was such an idiot.
The hardest part would come into play if I discovered she wasn’t who I thought she was. Could she have been working me this entire time? Setting me up from the beginning ?
Was she that conniving, or was I too mesmerized to see what was really going on? What if she gave up her virginity not because she wanted to protect her brother but because they were working for someone who held all the cards?
My cell phone buzzed against the wood of my desk. I turned from the window and glanced at the screen.
“Marchello,” I answered.
As much as I wanted to hear my brother’s voice, I knew this call would change the course of my relationship with Sable.
“You have a pretty wicked storm heading your way.”
“The snow is already falling.” I dropped into my chair as the exhaustion settled into my muscles. “I hope you’re enjoying the sunshine.”
“I wish you could have stayed with me,” he said. “Made it a real vacation.”
“Well, maybe next time.” I stared at the door, waiting for Sable to come back, but she hadn’t in over two hours. “Did you find out anything?”
“Lorenzo found one of the shooters from the pier.”
“That was quick.”
“Turns out he comes from Florida,” Marchello said. “We caught a break.”
“I’m guessing Lorenzo and his team extracted some information.”
“The shooter works for Medina.”
“Is that really a surprise?” I leaned forward and rested my elbow on the desk. “He took the cars to fuck with us.”
“That was the initial plan.” The sounds of birds flying overhead on the other end of the line tipped me off that Marchello must be on the beach. “He wanted to bring your attention to the dealership so he could focus on expanding his business. ”
“Anything else?”
“They knew you were going to be at the pier because Bello tipped Diego off with information he received from one of our employees.”
“Chance.” I gritted my teeth at the thought that I had allowed myself to fuck up so royally. “Bello is working with Diego?”
“I don’t know if it started that way, but when Chance went to Bello with the information, Bello knew where to take it.”
“Motherfucker.” I slammed my fist on the desk. “I’m sorry, Chello.”
“This isn’t all on you,” he said. “I brought Medina into our lives with the whole Gian shitshow.”
“Yeah, but at least you know Lissia wouldn’t betray you.”
“I can’t confirm that Sable was in on anything,” Marchello said. “Her name never came up during the sharpshooter interrogation. She could be a victim of circumstance.”
“That’s not a chance I’m willing to take.” I caught feelings for a woman I should have been more cautious of. I wouldn’t let a guy into my house or around my family without being absolutely certain they wouldn’t fuck me over. Shouldn’t the same rules have applied for someone I let into my bed?
“I’m coming home,” Chello said.
“No.”
“You can’t tell me what to do.”
“I can, because you told me to take the throne.” I stood and went to the window, wanting nothing more than to have him home and calling the shots. “There’s nothing you can do here. Let’s neutralize Medina and then we’ll talk about you coming back. ”
“Spoken like a true leader.” He snickered. “What are you going to do about Chance?”
“Blow his head off.” The snow had picked up in the last ten minutes, but that wouldn’t stop me from dealing with the traitor who had already crossed me once before. “I’ll have to handle Bello too.”
“Bello will be easier than Chance,” he said. “Why don’t you let me handle Chance, so you can deny accountability. We can make it look like a drug deal gone wrong. Sable doesn’t have to know it was you.”
“I think we’re past that, but I appreciate you wanting to do that.” I grabbed my suit jacket from the back of my chair. “Kiss Lissia for me, and stay safe.”
“Milo,” Marchello said. “Take a few minutes to think your next move through. I’ve been where you are.”
“I’ll call you later.” I ended the call as a numbness came over me.
I had to decompartmentalize if I expected to do what needed to be done. It was one thing to say Chance made stupid choices because he didn’t know any better, but what he did was too deliberate for me to forget. He put my family in jeopardy, and I would never forgive that.
“Milo.” Ax knocked on the door.
“Come in.”
He opened the door and stepped into my office. “Have you seen Sable?”
“Not for a couple of hours. Have you checked with Angela?”
“I’ve checked this whole place twice, and I can’t find her,” he said. “She’s not answering her cell either.”
“We had a fight.” I came around my desk, knowing what we had was more significant than an argument. “She’s probably being defiant.”
“She knows she’s not supposed to ignore my calls or texts,” he said. “This feels off.”
“When you find her, take her back to the penthouse.” I motioned toward the window. “The storm is approaching faster than I thought. I have some business to deal with, so order her dinner and keep her there. Make sure she doesn’t leave.”
“As soon as I find her, I’ll get her out of here.”
“Milo.” Lucas joined us. “We have a problem.”
“Did you talk to Marchello?” That was fast.
“No.” Lucas had a file tucked under his arm. “Is everything okay?”
“No, but is it ever?” I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “Let’s deal with your problem first.”
“I’ll go look for Sable,” Ax said.
“Sable’s missing? That could be part of our problem.” Lucas said, causing Ax to hesitate.
“What do you mean?” I asked. That cleansing breath I’d taken had done nothing to center me. Fuck yoga.
“There is an SUV missing from the fleet.” Lucas tossed the file on my desk. “It’s one of your personal ones. I looked it up when we realized it was missing.”
“It should have a tracker on it, shouldn’t it?” I opened the file and read the vehicle information summary. “It’s brand new.”
“Delivered last night,” Lucas said. “Tracker hasn’t been installed yet.”
“It was taken from here?” Ax took out his phone. “I’m going to try Sable again and do a sweep of the building.”
“When you find her, bring her to me.” I needed to get my shit in order. A missing girlfriend, a spy in the midst of my organization, and now a stolen SUV. What the hell was going on ?
“I’m on it.” Ax hustled out of the office.
“How serious is it?” Lucas asked. “What did Marchello find out?”
“Bello tipped Medina off. He stole the Lamborghinis, and then sent the shooter, and probably called the cops, hoping I would get caught holding the bag.”
“How did Bello know where you would be?”
“Chance.”
“Hmm.” Lucas gazed out the window. “That’s unfortunate.”
“What else are you thinking?”
“We have a missing SUV, a mole working for us, and now you can’t find Sable, who happens to be related to the mole.” Lucas rubbed his chin. “You have too many problems.”
He must have read my cluttered mind. I texted Sable to respond to me immediately.
“I’ll take care of the problems.” My phone stole my focus as I waited for Sable to text me back. “Get Josh on the security cameras around the building and have him pull surrounding surveillance. I want that SUV found.”
“We know who has it.”
“Then find him so I can eliminate him.”
“Chance took it.”
“This kid has a death wish.”
“There’s a pretty good chance his sister is with him,” Lucas said. “How are you going to justify your actions in front of her?”
The fucking bracelet. I swiped through the apps on my phone until I found the one with the tracker from the bracelet I gave her. I had put the device in the bracelet in case my enemies found a way to me through her. I never expected to have to use it to hunt her down .
I sprung out of my chair when I pinpointed her location. “Hold the fort down. Let everyone go home before they get stuck here.” I grabbed my gun from my desk drawer and secured it in my waistband. “Call me when you have confirmation on the stolen SUV.”
“Where are you going?”
“To get what’s mine.”
I hustled down to the garage, looking for Josh or any of my guys to take me to find Sable. If she had fled with Chance, that would be the ultimate betrayal.
I didn’t have time to wait for a driver.
Sliding into the Porsche, I synced the tracker app into my Bluetooth and pulled her location up on the dashboard screen.
She must have left right after leaving my office, because according to the tracker she was in New Jersey.
I recognized the isolated location because I had been to the lake before.
What the hell is she doing there?
I pulled out onto the hectic, snow-covered Manhattan street. My wheels spun as I turned the corner and headed for the tunnel. Taking this car wasn’t the smartest idea, but Chance and Sable already had a big lead. I needed to get to them before this storm got any worse.
As I drove faster, images of Sable flashed through my mind. I recalled how much she stood out that first night at the club. Nervous and out of place. But she was the most stunning woman in the room.
The moment I led her onto the dance floor, I was under her spell. The attraction was more than physical. I had never experienced anything like it. The immediate influence she had over me was lethal, and I knew it.
Letting her walk away that night was a smart move. One I would have regretted, but I cut her loose. She found me. Desperation took over and she needed me. Fuck, was that all a set-up to get Bello information for Medina?
Her vibrant eyes had clouded my judgment. Was her showing up at the same restaurant I dined in a coincidence? How did Bello know she and Chance would be there? Did Sable really place all her faith in me, or was she coaxed to do it to save Chance?
Maybe she had a valid reason for running today? I shouldn’t have told her my plans for Chance. That was too much for her to accept. I knew better. Discretion was vital in my world. I had broken all the rules when it came to her. My father would be so disappointed.
After I had driven for what seemed like hours, I turned onto a back road. Because of the storm, visibility was low. According to the GPS, I wasn’t far from my destination. I had been so hasty to get to her, I had dismissed Lucas when he said I couldn’t take care of Chance in front of Sable.
I hated that he was right, but I should have listened. Instead of acting on impulse, I should have waited until the storm passed.
Maybe she got out here on her own. But how? She wouldn’t have stolen the SUV, would she? Perhaps she ran away because she was afraid of me. I should have kept my suspicions to myself until I had a better handle on the situation.
I made the wipers work as fast as they could, but they couldn’t keep up with the falling snow. I slid onto the opposite side of the road because I couldn’t see the lines. Navigating to the correct side of the road took some maneuvering. Porsche tires were not made for ice.
“Fuck!” I swerved to avoid a large branch and skidded off the road. Slamming my brakes, I veered into a tree and smacked my head on the driver’s side window. The impact rattled my skull, forcing me to close my eyes .
The swishing of the wipers against the windshield lulled me into a strange state between being awake and falling asleep. I pressed my hand to my head to stop the gush of blood that trickled into my ear. A chill ran through my body as I fought to open my eyes.
Sable.