Page 110 of Heart of a Villain

It was hard on his end to do anything other than plot murder. It was all he’d been doing for weeks—planning when he would go to Brazil, how he would arrive, and teaching himself how to have patience in order not to show up and end things immediately. A man like Lorenzo deserved to suffer, and a quick death showed him too much mercy.

Wren entered the kitchen, and when she spotted him, she nearly tripped over her bare feet. She’d left for a few days to spend time with her family in Wisconsin. While she was gone, Thanasis left, but according to the rest of the guys, he didn’t go back to New York or Greece. Then, when Wren returned to Sweden, so did he.

“Um…” She plucked out an AirPod. “Were you…gardening?”

He nodded. “No.”

“Which one is it?”

He shook his head. “Yes.”

“Do I want to know what’s in the bag?”

“You do not, and you probably should not come any closer.”

She extended a palm. “Say no more. I’m just looking for Seda.”

“She’s not here?”

“I haven’t seen her. Wanted to see if she wanted to catch a movie with me and Mo.”

“And Thanasis and Giorgio,” he finished.

“Yeah, well…” She shrugged. “But you haven’t seen her?”

Although he’d allowed things to cool between them, he saw her every day. She’d moved to one of the vacant guest rooms, but he never went to bed without stopping in to say good night. They remained cordial, and he wanted to do the same things they’d been doing up until the birthday trip, but she needed time. He would give her time. Taking a step back conveniently gave him room to plan his next moves anyhow, starting with the bag over his shoulder.

“Give me a chance to clean up and,” he tugged on the bag, “put this in the garage freezer, and I’ll help you find her.”

He started off.

Wren opened her mouth as if to say something but then snapped it shut. Something about the look on her face caused him to stop and turn.

“Where is she?” he asked.

She squinted. “Well…I’m not sure. I have an idea, but I’m not sure.”

“Gatinha,” he said, softening his voice, “whatever it is, tell me. I will deal with it rationally.”

“She was talking to someone earlier about meeting up. At a restaurant. They sounded…” She cocked her head to the side. “Honestly, it could have been a deep-voiced woman.”

“It sounded like a man?”

“A little. Maybe.”

“Okay.” He nodded, the corners of his mouth curved downward as if impressed, though he clearly wasn’t. “Did she say where this restaurant was?”

“N—”

“No matter. I can find it. When was the last time you saw her?”

“Before you left to,” she motioned to him, “do some gardening.”

“I didn’t plant anything. I dug something up.”

She grimaced, massaging her throat. “Larke said I’ll get used to the weirdness, but I don’t think I ever will.”

“Do you want to put this in the freezer for me while I get cleaned up?”

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