Page 59 of Sin and Deception

He cocked his head to the side as if not understanding what I was talking about. “I’m not following?”

“Remember when I told you I studied flight patterns from my apartment?”

He nodded.

“I used flight manifests to help me track the directions of different flights. They are easy to look up. I never told you to file a false onefor our trip.”

“Shit,” Xander nodded. “What was the point of changing aircraft if we left a paper trail?”

Theo walked out of the bedroom in the back of the plane with a tight, drawn expression of worry.

Xander explained my theory, and he nodded in agreement.

“Right. Just one more thing to add to our list.” He paused, a crease forming between his brows. “Wait. That still doesn’t explain how Solon has information we don’t. It still doesn’t explain who alerted anyone to look for a second manifest out of LAX. We covered our tracks. I ensured that decoys resembling us left the hangar in a car and headed to a nearby hotel.”

“I know Devani wouldn’t betray me. She wouldn’t go as far as she has if she were just going to turn around and stab me in the back.” I had to defend her.

None of us would have survived the last two years if it wasn't for her.

“She’s trustworthy, but what about her team? Do you know who she has on you? From how it looks to me, they’ve done a piss poor job of protecting you.”

I’d never questioned any of it before, but now it made me feel like a fool.

“Someone who works for her organization isn’t loyal.” It hurt my heart to see this. “They are setting us up for something.”

I had to contact Devani, but how could I know if my phone was safe?

“I’m over Solon fucking with my life,” Theo stated, hisanger unmistakable. “Here are the facts: Solon contacted you, saying they are waiting for us to arrive. They refused to give you any details about what they want. At the same time, three enemies of the Angelos family have arrived in Vegas searching for you. Fiona’s book stirred up trouble, but some must have been in town long before the novel went viral.”

“I see that now,” I agreed. “Months ago, I kept feeling like people were watching me. At first, I thought it was just my paranoia, but it kept happening repeatedly. It wasn’t until I recognized some of Stratos’s men that I realized something was off.”

“And you didn’t think to protect yourself?” Xander asked with an edge of irritation.

"As I mentioned, I thought I was letting my imagination run wild. It’s not like I was going out to hang with my girls every night or anything. My routine consisted of waking up, going to work, coming home, making dinner, eating, and sleeping.”

“We don’t know what we will face when we land.” Xander gripped the back of his neck. “We need to prepare for anything.”

“If they meant to kill us, we’d never see them coming, let alone receive a call to expect them upon our arrival. The organization’s purpose is assassinations.”

“I’d rather prepare than find myself holding my dick.” Theo sprang into action, pulling a few duffel bags from the overhead bins and laying them on the floor.

When he unzipped the first one, dozens of firearms came intoview.

“Are we going to war?” I exclaimed as he started pulling them out and laying them on the floor.

“Yes,” was all Theo said as he tossed weapons to Xander, and both of them equipped themselves with as much gear as possible without looking overly bulky with firearms.

“Buckle your seatbelt, Angel. We’ll land in a few minutes.” Xander positioned himself across from me and tossed my way a pistol, two blades, and a thigh rig. “I believe these belong to you.”

I grasped the hilt of one of the daggers, unable to tear my gaze away from the decorative handle that made the stiletto-style knife seem deceptively delicate.

Memories from two years ago overwhelmed me. I found myself in the library of my family home, consumed by anger, vengeance, and a deep hatred for the man I married to save my mother and sisters.

There was pain, so much pain.

And the blood, hot and sticky. It covered my body. All of it belonged to the monster who’d tried to destroy me.

I touched the tip of the double-edged knife and smirked. Andraius learned his lesson when I sliced his belly from one side to the other.

---