Page 22 of The Art of You

All horrible and bloody.

She’s alive. She’s safe.I had to drill those words into my head so I didn’t have a heart attack.

“We don’t know who killed them. The truck was left abandoned, and the rain washed away any evidence of a possible third person there.” My father’s use of the word “possible” stole me free of the hellhole I’d been in—thewhat-ifsandwhat-could-have-beensrunning rampant in my brain—and back to him. “The question is,” he said rather steadily given the subject, “why not also kill you and Isabella? Even if this person was in a rush to take off into the woods, they’d have had time to take you two out, especially if you were unconscious.”

“You’re telling me those two men were executed, and wehave no proof anyone else aside from me was there to pull the trigger?”Is that what you’re saying?

“Unfortunately.” My father rubbed his eyes. “I’m hoping your saving grace is the fact that when the police arrived, they found you unconscious and still strapped upside down in the Porsche.”

I processed everything he’d shared, trying to wrap my head around the information. “Just tell me it wasn’t my Glock used to kill them.” I uncurled my fist and looked down. “Any residue?”

“They swiped your hands. Isabella’s, too. No residue. Your tox reports were also clean.” My father blinked, and I knew the moment he connected the dots of what I’d admitted. “Wait, you were carrying?”

“Of course I was carrying. The lockbox I’m sure the police already found in the trunk will be empty because I, uh, was holding it when . . .”Shit.A new memory unlocked. After the accident, I’d been prepared to take a shotifneeded. “So you’re saying the police didn’t find my gun there when they arrived?”

My father shook his head no. “No murder weapon, which is another reason I don’t think they’ll charge you yet.” He quickly removed his phone from his pocket and held it between his palms, probably itching to call two people. First his campaign manager, then his army of attorneys.

“Redact the wordyetfrom your statement,sir.” Constantine was always going to bat for me. When my father didn’t answer him, he focused back on me. “Your hunch about Eduardo and Chris was right, or they wouldn’t have come after you. They had to be insiders. They were probably hoping to catch up with you and force you to take them to the men we had as hostages so we couldn’t turn them over to the FBI. They didn’t want them giving up their names in an interview.”

My father’s exasperated sighs and overall agitateddemeanor were starting to grate on me, but they didn’t seem to bother Constantine at all. He went on with his theory, ignoring my father completely. “There had to be a third person in that truck with them, someone they met at the gas station, but we can’t prove that since the cameras were off.”

“And maybe this third person realized Eduardo and Chris intended to take out his buddies instead of rescuing them, so he surprised them alongside the road and killed them,” I added, following his line of thinking, in agreement. “He kept us alive to come after us later, figuring he could force us to locate his detained friends. He didn’t want anyone to know he’d been there, which meant he had to leave the truck.”

“Or maybe he even followed them in his own vehicle but had no time to drag you all away,” Constantine noted.

“But Eduardo and Chris didn’t know about the real plan, right?” Bella chimed in. “They had no clue Lola was being rescued by our people, so they wouldn’t have had the foresight to tag the Porsche during the party.”

“But if they had someone on comms outside, who wasn’t on the guest list for us to vet, and they were transmitting?—”

“They’d overhear what happened in the library, and they’d have time to send someone to locate my Porsche and set the plan in motion,” I finished for Constantine. “So, how do we prove this? Because from where I’m sitting, it looks like the Feds want to accuse me of manslaughter. They’ll say I assumed they caused the accident on purpose, considered them threats, and shot them in cold blood.”No way I killed them, right?“Was my window even down? Broken? I mean . . . I could take those shots even upside down if I had to.”To protect Bella, no doubt in my mind. I was unconscious though. I mean, I was, right?

“They found one of those emergency tools on the ground. The kind you use to puncture glass and cut through a seat belt.Based on the evidence, the window was broken from that and not during the crash.”

At Constantine’s words, I closed my eyes. “The only way I did that is if they were an immediate threat to Bella. I wouldn’t have shot to kill unless I had to.” I let go of a deep breath and opened my eyes, remembering the lack of residue on my hand. Another saving grace. “No way I hid the gun and washed my hand free of the residue, then managed to get back into my seat upside down just in time to lose consciousness before the police arrived. It sounds ridiculous even saying it, let alone doing it.”

“We’ll figure this out.” Constantine folded his arms and gave me a firm nod, letting me know he believed I didn’t kill those men.

“All I know is that we can’t let the media get wind of this. It’ll cause too many headaches for all of us.” My father, always the politician.

“What does the ambassador think about all of this?” Bella, sliding in with the all-important question I’d been too focused elsewhere to ask myself.

My father faced her, undoing the top button of his shirt. There was something in his eyes, a look I’d seen from him a few times in the past. He’d honed his abilities to lie over the years to the point I could barely detect his bullshit anymore, but every so often, if his emotions got the best of him, the mask fell.

What is it you’re keeping from me?

Before I could press him, he answered Bella’s question. “Carla’s already back at the embassy in D.C. with Lola, and her main focus is on being with her daughter. She’s obviously relieved her kidnappers are now in FBI custody as well.”

“And Rafael?” Constantine asked with a quick follow-up. “Tell me he’s still around to answer questions.”

“He went back to D.C. with Carla, but he answered the Feds’ questions before he left. She didn’t want to travel withouthim, though. He’s the only one she trusts from her team right now.” When my father undid his second button, I couldn’t hold back any longer.

“What aren’t you telling us?”There’s something, I’m sure of it.

“Nothing. This just doesn’t look good for any of us.” He waved me away as if that quick dismissive gesture would shut me up.

I knew him well enough to know I’d have more luck prying a seal from a shark’s mouth than information from my father if he didn’t want to talk.

“Don’t forget, you came to us for help,” Constantine pointed out in case my old man chose to ignore the favor he’d called in to us.

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