44. Ares
Ares
Lourdes disappeared less than twenty minutes ago alongside the doctor I had flown in before dawn.
Daria’s voice filters through the secure line in my ear, crisp and efficient as always. “She responded well to you showing up?”
“She ran into my arms,” I answer, watching a nurse step outside to smoke a cigarette. “That was more than I expected.”
“How much further do you want me to dig into her father?” Daria asks.
“I’m convinced Lourdes knows nothing about money stolen from Yuri Volkov,” I reply. “She would have sold the evidence back to the Bratva to get the money for her sister’s care instead of risking prison to steal from Nathan Craig.”
Another brief silence follows before she continues. “Do you still want me to check for safe deposit boxes? Storage units?”
“Yes,” I say immediately, because that is the obvious vulnerability. “Quietly. I don’t want inquiries that trigger flags. Something made her father change her sister’s name.”
“Consider it done.”
“Good,” I reply and end the call.
A rumbling under my skin won’t settle. It’s the same buzz as the night I met Lourdes.
“I’ll return shortly,” I tell the driver and open the car door. “Keep it heated and running.”
“Yes, sir.”
I climb the steps and catch a whiff of the cigarette smoke a nurse is risking frostbite to inhale into her lungs. “Disgusting,” I murmur and go inside.
The receptionist’s eyes light up like she’s never seen someone like me. “Can I…help you?”
She sounds like she hopes I have a wife in here who doesn’t remember me, and I’m lonely.
Not. Happening.
“I’m here for…” I spot Lourdes down the hall.
I take quick steps toward her, until seconds later, I have her securely in my arms.
“How’d it go?” I close my arms around her.
“It went great.” She sinks against me.
“I have what I need,” Dr. Masters says, adjusting his tie. “However, I must get back to New York as soon as possible, Mr. Zervas.”
“I will ready my jet for you, Charles.” I text the pilot and the limo driver to accommodate Dr. Masters and then to return.
“Are you going back to New York, too?” Lourdes asks me with a voice that breaks my heart.
Like I came all this way to just leave her.
I lay a gentle kiss on her lips. “Not without you.”
When Charles Masters leaves, Lourdes brings me to the waiting room. There’s a look on her face that I’ve not seen before.
“Dr. Masters suggested transferring her to New York a few days before Christmas,” she says, her voice threaded with fragile excitement. “He said he will oversee the transfer himself. Make sure she’s moved with dignity.”
“They will have full access to my plane, of course.” I stroke her face.
“Thank you.” Lourdes smiles with gratitude. “Once she’s settled, I can resume visiting.”
“And you shall spend all the time you want with her.” I lower my mouth to her hair, breathing her in.
For a fleeting, dangerous moment, I kid myself that this warmth is normal and uncomplicated. Nothing about love is uncomplicated.
Not for me.