Foley went on. “Whatever he did to figure it out, he did a hell of a job. Finding a missing girl and discovering the existence of a secret cabal of pedophiles is no small feat. We all wish he’d told someone instead of racing out there alone and getting himself shot, but I suppose the past is the past. Knowing him, I’m sure he had his reasons.”
“I can speak to that, actually,” I said softly. “He told me when he found me, in the few minutes we had together. He did tell someone that he’d found out about the Circle—Dwyer. Dwyer told him to keep it quiet for a while, and that he’d help him sort it out. When he arrived at the mansion that evening, he thought Dwyer would be there with a whole crack team of other agents to help him take the place down. He had no idea he was being lied to and set up to be killed, seeing as Dwyer was actually in the Circle.”
It was a close enough approximation to the truth.
“I see. That makes sense.” Foley sighed. “Well, now that slimy bastard Dwyer isn’t around, West will be getting promoted to his old position. As soon as he’s recovered enough, that is.”
I smiled. “Good. He deserves it.”
He nodded slowly and scratched at his jaw again. “He does. I’d really like to know how he figured it all out in the first place, though. Purely out of interest. He had some pretty wild theories at first. You know, when he first told me about his search for you, he actually thought the Heartbreakerhad you. Crazy, right?”
I smiled thinly. “I guess.”
“Speaking of the Heartbreaker, it’s a shame he’s dead, really. We know how and why he chose his victims now, but we’ll probably never know who he was or how he found out about the Circle.”
“Some mysteries just live on forever,” I said evenly. “I suppose he’s one of them.”
“Yes. Anyway, you probably need to get some more rest.” He straightened his back. “I’ll see you later, Celeste.”
“Thanks for coming to see me, sir.”
He stepped out, and I turned to Alex with raised brows. “Did you hear that? Apparently the Heartbreaker had me.”
He chuckled and cocked his head to the side. “Had?”
I gave him a mischievous grin and reached for one of his hands. “I guess I should say ‘has’ instead. The Heartbreaker has me.”
And he always would.