CHAPTER 36
“They couldn’t find him,” Javier says as he enters my room. “But I found this.” He hands me a small package of pills. “His bag had at least ten in it.”
Angelo bolted after shoving Lana. No matter how many times I shot him, the bastard got away. My men followed him for several minutes, but they couldn’t corner him and eventually lost his trail.
The bastard confessed everything before he left.
The day they had a “date”, he slipped a sleeping pill in the water bottle.
If I hadn’t been in her room that night, he would have taken her, or Finn.
He wanted to climb to her window and take them, but Lana never opened it.
Then he realised I was coming in, so I ruined his plan.
Even if he had made it, I would’ve seen him through the cameras. I won’t let anyone lay a hand on Finn. I failed Lana, but I won’t fail my son. My dad never let anyone hurt me, and I intend to do the same with my kid.
Javier, on the other hand, spent the evening under my mom’s care because Angelo left him unconscious.
Once she set him free, he searched the house for clues, even in the yard.
I checked the camera footage and saw how the bastard gave Lana a bottle of water.
That’s probably how he managed to drug her.
“Do you think it has anything to do with this?”
“I guess… I found the bag near the horses, and one of these was empty. Liz says it’s a stimulating drug.”
I clench my fists. Javier digs further into the bag.
“I also found these.” He pulls out two bottles of pills. “I think they’re for sleeping. And there were some pictures of the place. I don’t know why he would want them.”
Angelo drugged Lana and took advantage of her under my own roof. All because I wanted to show her I was better than she thought. All because I suspected something was wrong with Angelo but still didn’t intervene between them.
How? I asked Javier to watch over her, and he did most of the time. I saw how he stayed close whenever Angelo tried to hold Finn or get near Lana—but the bastard still managed to give her the drugs!
“Love is weakness.”
The bastard took pictures—proof they’re alive. If he works for them, then everything I did to make them play dead was in vain. They knew she was alive, obviously, but now they know where she is and who she’s with.
“After you leave, make sure to leave them in my office. I’ll have it analysed as soon as I can.”
“Yes, sir.”
“And stop with the ‘sir’ thing! I was ignoring it just so he wouldn’t mess with you.”
A smile slips. “Okay. Sorry.”
I nod and slam the door shut.
“Love makes you weak,” the voice says again, then laughs.
I dial Ian’s phone. He picks up immediately. There’s music in the background. The bastard is not even working!
“Cassa—”
“Angelo almost raped Lana under my own roof. All because I was listening to you!”
He sighs. “Are you sure he was going to rape her? She’s a Müller. You can’t—”
“Are you seriously going to play that card?”
“You know what they say about those girls. They’re a hot mess.”
I huff, disgusted. “You’re a fucking pig. No wonder why my dad never fully trusted you.”
He falls silent. That’s what hurts him the most, but he’s such a prick he makes zero effort to be better.
“You’re stepping—”
“No. You crossed the fucking line. I bet you didn’t even search for me those months I got lost. You got a snitch in, after everything I’ve done to keep this shit going, and you are just four months in charge and everything fucks up.”
“I kept the organisation afloat.”
“You did? That’s why we were failing on almost every rescue?”
“No, that was because you were the one telling others to sabotage the missions, all because you wanted to fuck that Müller. Have you forgotten already?”
“You fucking talk about her again, and I’ll cut your tongue and feed it to you,” I hiss.
He falls silent again. He always does this.
“You’re out for five months. I’m still honouring my father’s memory by not killing you or firing you, but if you ever cross the line again, you better wish I won’t find you.”
“Fine. But I’m telling you, boy, that man had nothing on him. Clean records. Check for yourself. You’re losing your mind over a woman who’s not even worth it, and your father would—”
I hang up. I swear, if he dares to show up tomorrow, I’m going to fucking kill him.
After hours of self-loathing and monitoring Lana through the cameras, I’m finally calm. She doesn’t look like she’s thinking about what happened earlier. For now, I’ll ignore it until I decide otherwise. She’s had enough.
Me: I’m in my room.
She won’t come out. The drugs have passed, and she doesn’t want me. I’ll have to keep fighting for us… when I come back.
Rain drizzles outside. I light a cigar and admire the garden through the window.
She wouldn’t have taken the offer, not even if she wanted to. It’s raining and a little cold. One of her fantasies was for me to hunt her down, but London weather ruins everything, so I rented an entire floor for our last night as bachelors instead.
It was one of the best nights of my life. She told me she loved me for the first time… and it was also the last.
She did text me she loved me, but it wasn’t the same. I couldn’t reach my phone to tell her I loved her back, and since that day she hasn’t said a thing. Not even my name, in a good way, when it sounds so perfect coming from her lips.
I draw on the cigar. The front door creaks open, and a few seconds later, a shadow slips out, darting toward the woods.
I smile. I overestimated her.
Lana is all mine.