Page 79 of Forever Mine

“That’s probably how Nicolas found you. Or whoever he was working for. They must have had your sister under surveillance. As soon as that transfer went through, they had a general area you lived in. They could easily hack the bank records and find your address,” I tell her.

“Holy shit, I never thought of that. Our apartment was in Emily’s name originally, so they would have had difficulty tracking me there. But then, when I moved into my shitty studio apartment, it was under my Nana’s name because she had better credit.”

“So the guys looking for you had a general area, probably a county, but it took longer to nail down a city.”

“And then I moved here. But he found me pretty quickly here,” she tells me. My jaw clenches as I ponder how long she fucked around with him.

“Once they figured out you were using your grandmother’s maiden name, it would have been easier to track you. Plus, you got your realtor license here. That’s a public record. So a quick google search brings that up,” I explain.

Monica sighs and puts her head on my chest again. I bury my nose in her hair, inhaling deeply. Her scent calms me. Hell, her presence calms me even more.

“I still don’t know the connection between Nicolas and whoever is trying to get to me, Gabriel. I can’t help but feel scared,” she admits.

“I know,querida. But we’re making progress. We’ll get there.”

As I slowly stroke my fingers up and down Monica’s spine, I’m riddled with questions and unknowns. Who is pulling the strings? Is her family involved? Who in her family knows where she’s located now? Is this a personal vendetta or a major mafia war that will inevitably bring unknown criminals out of the woodwork?

Monica falls asleep on my chest, right where I want her, and I fight my brain to settle down. I need sleep. Nothing is going to get solved tonight. I check the security system app on my phone, ensuring it’s activated and all cameras are working. Then, I plug my phone in before pulling Monica close to me. Her heartbeat syncs with mine as her breaths lull me to sleep.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Monica

I hate feeling unfinished.

That’s the only way I can describe my emotions right now: unfinished. I’m missing something, and I don’t know where to go from here. I’m in a constant state of discourse. Half the time, I’m so fucking aroused just being near Gabriel and wanting him to fuck me unconscious. The other half of the time, I’m near the brink of tears because of intense anxiety and worry. The line between the two is paper thin.

Marcus and his attorney have refused any meetings. Dammit. Nicolas. I have got to quit thinking of him as Marcus. I didn’t press charges on him tailing me and hitting the bumper of Gabriel’s car. In turn, he didn’t press charges against Gabriel after Gabriel beat the shit out of him. I had hoped if there weren’t any criminal proceedings, he would be more willing to divest why he was tasked with dating me and what the end goal was, but we’re at a stalemate. In fact, they’ve gone radio silent.

Liam asked to meet with us privately, which has me incredibly concerned. Gabriel is trying to keep me relaxed, but I’m wound tight. Even a couple quick orgasms from his tongue don’t fully relax me. Not that I didn’t enjoy his focus, though. The things he can do with his tongue are ridiculous.

By Liam’s arrival, I’m wringing my hands and sweating profusely. I just know he’s going to drop some bomb.

Liam arrives with an MSPD officer who looks familiar. “Monica, Gabriel, this is Officer Matt Turner with MSPD. I’ve asked him to consult on this case as a friend. He’s not here in an official capacity.”

“Oh, you’re the officer who helped Liv a couple of times,” I say when I recognize his name. I’ve never met him, but Em pulled up his social media profiles, so she knew who they were talking about. Em was bound and determined to hook me up with someone here to ensure I put down roots, even when I was still living in Oklahoma.

“And you’re the Oklahoma sister Liam has told me about,” Matt says warmly. Gabriel clears his throat as he slides an arm around my waist. I stifle a giggle as Gabriel so eloquently and blatantly stakes his claim. “Gabriel, it’s nice to meet you. I understand you put one hell of a beat down on the suspect. I would have too if he came after my woman.”

I feel Gabriel relax ever so slightly next to me as Matt lets him know he understands I’m unavailable. Liam smirks at me as all three men look down at me. I mean that, literally. They’re all over six feet tall, and I’m tiny.

“Can we all sit down, please? I’m feeling … small,” I admit, and the guys chuckle before we move into the family room.

“Okay. I’m not going to beat around the bush. We can’t find Bianchi or the attorney; his apartment has been wiped clean.” Matt is a straight shooter. Harsh, but I appreciate his bluntness in this situation.

“Wow,” I breathe. “Wiped clean? Like, literally wiped clean?”

“Yeah. Not a fingerprint anywhere. Nothing. It’s as if he never existed, and the apartment has been empty for months.”

“But you do have accurate fingerprints from his arrest?” Gabriel asks, and Matt nods.

“We do. We added the fingerprints to a couple of state and national databases, so we’ll know if he shows up elsewhere, regardless of what name he claims. If he shows up, that is,” Matt says.

“What does that mean?” Gabriel asks.

“He’s probably dead,” I blurt out. All three guys look at me with varying forms of shock written across their faces. “What? I know how it works in the mob. He’s a risk. His cover was blown. Doesn’t matter who his family is. He was probably taken out. I wouldn’t be surprised if the attorney was also collateral damage and was killed.”

“She’s probably right,” Liam murmurs.

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