Page 199 of Syndicate of Sin Bundle

I had made such a hasty decision, leaving out of nowhere. I should’ve explained myself.

Being separated from them had really made me realize how much I needed them in my life. I didn’t want to be without them, not even for a couple of days.

I’d completely packed up my belongings and left New York City.

Which I never should’ve done.

“Wanna head to dinner at six?” Poppy asked, stealing another peek at Riccardo.

“Yeah, sure,” I said with a smile. “You sure you two don’t wanna go yourselves?”

“No,” Poppy said quickly, looking back at me. “We’re here for you.”

I bit back a wider grin, and the elevator doors opened. We stepped out of the lift and headed to our hotel room. Riccardo had private quarters, but an attached room. I pushed open our door and walked in with Poppy.

“I’m gonna hop in the shower really quick, and then we can head off to dinner,” Poppy said.

She released my arm and headed to the bathroom. I arched a brow at her retreating figure and would bet that she needed to really take care of herself after spending all day at the pool with Riccardo.

I walked to my suitcase and opened my bag, looking for something to wear and deciding on a soft pink sundress that Constantino and Laila had bought for me what seemed like forever ago now. God, I missed them.

“Do you have any bright lipstick?” I asked, standing beside the bathroom door.

“I think it’s in my makeup bag!” Poppy called from the shower.

I hurried to her suitcase to find some hot red lipstick that I so desperately wanted to wear tonight. Usually, I wasn’t really one to show off or to stand out, but I wanted to feel sexy tonight.

All I needed was some time to myself with friends again.

Dropping to my knees, I unzipped her luggage and rummaged through it in an attempt to find her makeup bag. I swore she hadn’t brought it into the bathroom yet. We had gone makeup-free to the pool today.

After unzipping a compartment, I froze and stared at a gun buried in her suitcase. My throat dried as I pulled it out of the compartment and spotted a wallet with it. I took it out, too, and unbuckled it, my hands shaking.

A shiny gold FBI badge sat next to Poppy’s picture and the name Elia Johnson.

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sage

“My makeup bag is in here, Sage!” Poppy shouted from the shower.

I snapped my head to the bathroom door, which was ajar, and slowly stood to my feet. Poppy—Elia or whoever the hell she was—had … betrayed me. She was part of the FBI, only friends with me for information.

What if she had planned for me to be kidnapped? Maybe Laila too. What if she had paid those dirty men to waterboard me and Laila in front of each other so we would break? She had fucking lied to me, tried to get us to turn on each other, had attempted to break us apart.

And she had. She fucking had!

Once I took the gun from her suitcase, I grasped it in my hand, like Laila had when she murdered her best friend. She had done it for her family, for me, and I would do this for mine. I … I had to. I couldn’t give her any time to explain herself.

But my mind was buzzing, thoughts rushing too quickly through my head.

If she really was in the FBI, then I had to be quick. She would have training, be stronger and faster than I was. She could kill me and hide the body with the connections she had, but I had Riccardo in the next room. He would hide her body for me.

Constantino and Laila would too.

“I’ll be out in a second!” Poppy called. “And I’ll find it for you.”

Fuck, I didn’t have time to find Riccardo. If I left the room and she got out, she’d realize that I’d rummaged through her stuff. I would put Riccardo’s and my lives in danger. This had to be quick, but my hands were trembling around the gun.

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