Page 126 of Relentless Sinner

I know exactly what he’s thinking. Someone told Salvatore where Gabriella and I were going to be. Only a handful of people knew we’d be at the beach house.

My phone cannot be tapped. Neither can any of the devices we brought with us. One of my people here fed the enemy information. I need to find out who it is.

“I’m going to link up with Micah and search the other side of town.”

Vladmir seems more reassured with that answer and bows his head. “Alright, Pakhan. Let me know if you need me.”

With that, we leave.

Wary of who to trust, I insist on driving and traveling by myself. I’m an hour away from Micah.

Before I leave, I check my phone for messages and see there aren’t any. The last time I used it was to check in with Andrieu to make sure Gabriella is safe. She is. They got back an hour ago.

I wish I could head home and be with Gabriella, but I’m more useful out here dealing with the threat.

I can’t believe the first time I told my wife I loved her was when I was rushing off to deal with a threat that could have gotten me killed.

She told me she loved me, too. Those words have carried me through the last few hours because I wanted to live to hear them again and again.

I tear down the road, cursing myself for not following my instincts about Salvatore. I should've locked him up before he had the chance to put his plans into motion. Now I've left myself wide open while I hunt his ass down.

I knew this was going to happen, so I should have acted. I didn’t because of Gabriella. I didn’t want her to think badly of me.

But I’m sure now that her father has attacked and tried to take her, she’ll feel differently if I kill him.

Micah told me the mercenaries Salvatore hired are known for human trafficking. They were the same type of sick fuckers who kidnapped Gabriella before.

It disgusted me to no end because Salvatore knew what she’d been through and what would happen to his daughter if they’d taken her tonight.

I don’t know what kind of deal he had going with them, but I’m sure it would have involved re-marriage and they would have needed to wait for her to turn twenty-five to get her fortune. Then I’m sure they would have sold her.

I’ll never forget the look of terror on Gabriella's face as that man tried to take her. It was only chance that I heard her screaming at the back of the house.

I was all the way at the front, dealing with the men who were attacking from that side.

They’d snuck onto the property. If we’d been home, it wouldn’t have happened because they would have been dead before they reached the gates.

I reach Micah an hour later and he helps me in my search for Salvatore, which takes us through the night.

At sunrise, I get the unfortunate message that Salvatore has left New York.

My intel found details of him boarding a small private plane, but since they didn’t log the destination, we don’t know where it was going.

The news is like another kick up my ass.

“Damn it,” I seethe, looking back at Micah. We’re standing by my car. We were just about to get in when I got the call. “What the fuck am I going to do now?”

Micah offers a hopeful look. “We'll try to find him.”

“How? I have no destination.”

“Something has to pop up. He wants Gabriella, so he has to come out of hiding to get her. You just have to be ready when that happens.”

“I want to get to him before that happens.”

“I know. We just have to keep our eyes open. For now, it looks like you have a rat in your fold. Who did you tell you were gonna be away?”

I release a heavy sigh. “My father, Eve, my guards, Eric, and Estelle. It’s hard to think that one of those people betrayed me.”

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