Page 87 of Craving Chaos

Think, Shae. Where would Mari take Noemi?

Not her apartment or the house. She shares a photography studio with two other people, so that’s unlikely. Could she have gone to her rooftop? No other place comes to mind, and it makes sense. Whatever is going on is personal for her. She’s likely to go somewhere familiar. Somewhere she knows I could find her.

“I think I know where they are.”

CHAPTER 51

RENZO

Our plan makes sense. I understand it. I know that being where I am on an adjacent rooftop with a sniper will do Shae more good than if I were standing next to her. The logic isn’t lost on me, yet I hate it so much my body vibrates with the need to go over there.

“How long will it take you to get set up?” I don’t want to rush him, but I want to be ready. Shae and Conner will be on the roof any second. She was right. We spotted Noemi and Mari from our vantage point above her, being careful not to let ourselves be seen.

If it were up to me, I’d have our hired gun take the woman out as soon as his sights are aligned. Shae insisted we give her the chance to talk to Mari first. I get it, but again, I don’t like it.

“One more minute,” the man says evenly without taking his eyes from his task. He moves with a preternatural calm that baffles me. He’s one of two marksmen used by our family when the situation calls for it, though this is the first time I’ve ever seen either of them in action. It would be far more fascinating if my cousin and the woman I love weren’t both at risk of losing their lives.

As if on cue, Shae and Conner slowly step from the stairwell and onto the roof. Mari whirls around, clutching Noemi in front of her with a gun to my cousin’s head.

This will be the ultimate test of my trust, and even I have no idea if I’ll pass or fail.

CHAPTER 52

SHAE

The mind’s ability to perpetuate denial is mystifying. No matter how improbable, I still held out hope that Mari wasn’t responsible. That there’d been some horrible misunderstanding that had led us to the wrong conclusion. But when I step onto the roof and see her holding Noemi hostage, there’s no denying the truth.

“You,” she growls, jabbing the gun at my cousin. “It’s you. You’re the one.” She looks terrible. Dark circles under her eyes and a frenetic energy so unlike the woman I thought I knew.

“Mari, this is my cousin, Conner. Do you know him?” My voice is infused with calm. I would bet my life that she has feelings for me, and if I show her compassion, I’m hoping to get through to her. I want to find out what the hell is going on and do my best to resolve it without anyone getting hurt.

Mari’s chin quivers, her face contorting in hatred. “I know he’s the one who killed my twin brother. For nothing. He showed up in a rage at my parents’ house looking for information, desperate to hurt someone. My brother was the only person at the house.”

So that’s what this is? Revenge? She used me to get close to my family, then … stole our guns? It still doesn’t make sense.

I look at Conner, trying to sort it out.

His eyes narrow. “I remember the night you’re talking about—it wasn’t that long ago. Earlier that day, we’d been in a car chase when your people tried to kill my wife.” He nods at Noemi. “I remember that day well, and I never killed anyone at that house.”

“No,” Mari agrees. “You punched him so hard that he fell back and hit his head—"

“He was never even unconscious.”

“It didn’t matter,” she screams, then calms herself before continuing. “Two days later, he collapsed, dying instantly of an aneurysm from that head injury. You. Killed. Him.”

Fuck, this is so much more complicated than I imagined.

I can understand why she’s upset, but the chances of that sort of thing happening are so incredibly slim. Conner may have punched the guy, but his death was an accident. A horrible, tragic accident.

When I look into Mari’s vengeful stare, I know she’ll never see it that way. To her, Conner will always be the man who stole her brother from her. But that doesn’t explain going out with me for six months and breaking into my place. Why not go after Conner from the beginning?

My thoughts fly at me a million miles a minute as I try to process everything in real time while simultaneously trying to figure out how to defuse the situation.

“If that’s the case, I’m sorry,” Conner offers, the strain of his forced calm evident in his stilted tone. “But I had no way of knowing that would happen.”

Mari’s face twists with disgust. “No, but it’s okay to go around beating up people because you’re upset?”

Conner’s jaw flexes as his hands lift placatingly. “You’re right. I was wrong. But Noemi isn’t a part of this. Please, let her go. You want someone, take me. I’m the one who killed your brother.”

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