Page 56 of Unravel You

“If you need help with anything, you’ll let me know, right? I have a lot of friends who, for the right contribution to their election campaign, are willing to pull all kinds of favors for me.” I sounded like an asshole saying it, but it was the truth. I couldn’t touch marine special operations forces, but politicians? They were my specialty.

“Thanks, man. I’ll remember that.” Wesley slapped my arm, grinning. “I’ll need to call on you soon. Just gotta get my shit together first.”

Zack returned with a server. She had a tray with ten beers. Her brows furrowed when she saw there were only five of us.Two apiece, he mouthed to her with a wink.

I took a swig from my glass. Straight ahead in my line of sight, I saw him. My blood rushed through me, and I jerked to my feet. Was he a hallucination? Was Valentina’s ex in Atlanta? It seemed so impossible. That asshole lived in Arizona. He had no reason to travel fifteen hundred miles to the South, especially after I paid him off to give up custody of Max.

Had he come all the way here to make sure he got the other half of his money? I’d have to check with Dom later. Or maybe he was here just to mess with my head again, as he’d done before. Not this time. Valentina loved me. I trusted her. Wesley gripped my forearm, but I shook him off.

I needed to find out if the asshole sitting at the bar with that stupid smirk on his face was Alex Maio. My barstool toppled over when I bolted toward the bar. On a Friday afternoon, the place was already crowded with patrons having drinks after work. I shoved them all out of the way, keeping my eyes on Alex. This wasn’t a coincidence. He was here to play his stupid mind games, as he used to, with Valentina.

Before I reached the bar, another guy rammed me in the stomach. The rumble of wood scraping wood filled the room, and everything went still for a second. No one was there for a fight. So why the hell was this guy attacking me for no real reason?

I shoved him off me. When he scrambled to his feet, he came face-to-face with me and my four brothers. Five on one… His eyes went wide, and then he scampered out of the bar, knocking a couple of drinks off tables as he went. What a douchebag.

I returned my attention to Alex, but of course, he was gone. It was him. I was sure of it. Through the window facing the street, I saw the sway of the gray button-down shirt he wore over a black T-shirt. Tyler followed close behind me as I jumped over the chairs blocking my way.

Outside, Alex stood at the corner, his phone between his hands as he typed furiously. He was waiting for someone. I adjusted my gait, sidestepping other pedestrians. Did Valentina know he was in town? I hoped not. She was terrified of him. Even after six years of being away from him, after the beating I gave him a month ago on her behalf, Alex Maio would always be her monster under the bed and in her nightmares.

When he saw me coming at him, he took off running again. In retrospect, paying him off had been a bad idea, but at the time, all I could think of was keeping Valentina and her son safe. To give Valentina piece of mind knowing Alex no longer had legal claim as Max’s dad.

Tyler gestured with two fingers for me to keep after Alex while he went around through the alley. Alex ran ahead, yelling something into his phone. At least I had that satisfaction. He was scared shitless of me. He rounded the corner. A black SUV jumped the curb and scooped him up before it careened away from me.

Tyler met up with me and slapped me on the back. “Who the fuck was that?”

“Alex Maio. Valentina’s ex from Arizona.” My voice was laced with acid and anger.

“He’s a long way from home, isn’t he?” Tyler turned in place, his focus high over our heads. No doubt he was looking for security cameras. “How did he even know where to find you?”

“No idea. I’ll alert the guards back at the house.” Last time Alex showed up at my door, he’d done it because Bridget paid him to feed me lies that made me doubt Valentina. I made the huge mistake of not trusting her back then. Alex had a fucked-up way of twisting his words to make her look like a gold digger. No way in hell was I making that mistake again. Valentina loved me. Even if her instincts kept telling her to run, she loved me. I had no doubt about that. “He won’t get to her.”

I called my head of security in Arizona. When Alex had signed the custody papers for Max, I had one of my guys bug his phone. Not entirely legal, but I didn’t give a shit. “Alex Maio is in Atlanta. Why the hell was I not notified?”

“My apologies, Mr. Cole. His last known location as of last night was Flagstaff, Arizona. The clicking of his keyboard filled the air. “Looks like he’s gone dark.”

I gripped the phone tighter. “And Bridget? Where is she?”

“She’s gone dark too.”

Chapter15

We Said No More Secrets

Valentina

“Hey, Mom. Where are you?” Max’s face appeared on my screen for a second before it swirled around the room and settled on a shot of the ceiling.

I sat on my vanity chair. Max had sent me a video message last night. I’d replied with one of my own because by the time I’d gotten it, he’d already left for school. I grabbed my phone and dialed Em. Her phone went straight to voicemail. When I called the house, I got a ring but no answer. Maybe they were doing maintenance or something.

A new message appeared on my phone from Derek’s security detail. Max’s trip for next Thursday had been canceled. Why would Derek do that? And why would I hear it from the guards and not him.

I dialed his number. When he picked up, I didn’t bother with a hello. “I didn’t cancel Max’s trip. Why is your team texting me to let me know Max wasn’t coming?”

“Actually, that’s my bad.” Derek stood by the bathroom door with a weak smile.

“What happened?” I ended the call on my phone. “Why can’t he come to Atlanta?”

“I swear I canceled the trip on my way upstairs. Sometimes my guys are too efficient.”

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