Page 121 of Ruthless Oath

“I was with Lissia the night she met you,” the caller said.

“Where was that?” Milo asked.

“The auction at your dealership,Milo,” the man said. “Now, you’ll probably say that was in the papers because of the shooting, and you’re right, but I left before the shooting happened. Lissia insisted that I take her mother to meet her friends.”

“You’re her guard?” I asked. “Michael.”

“I also brought her back to the dealership the next day after she got her nails done and waited in a long line to bring you cookies. Does any of that ring a bell?”

“Where is she?” I asked. “Tell me where she is.”

“I’ll tell you, but I’m warning you, I’m only calling you out of desperation. Her mother begged me to get in touch with you, but I don’t think anyone can save her now.”

Twenty-Eight

Lissia

My eyes fluttered,but I didn’t want to open them. The pounding in my head rivaled the musty scent of the old couch I had slept on. I couldn’t tell which one made me more nauseous. I drifted in and out of sleep, disoriented and sore.

“Lissia,” Marchello whispered. “Wake up, princess.”

“Marchello.” I smiled, but I still couldn’t open my eyes. “You’re here.”

“Not exactly.”

“What?”

“You have to run so I can find you.”

“Run?” I pressed my hand to the back of my head, rubbing the throbbing knot beneath my hair. “Where do I run to?”

“Me.”

“How?”

“You have to figure out a way. I know you can do it.”

“I want to come back to you.” Anxiety coursed through my veins faster than my own blood could pump through them. “I didn’t mean to leave you. I didn’t want to, but I wanted to protect you. I thought I could help.”

The conversation shifted, and it was no longer Marchello’s voice that I heard.

“Yes, everything is under control. She’s sleeping.” A man laughed. “Of course she gave me trouble, but she’s fine.”

I forced my eyes open, staring at the brown spots on the ceiling.

The cabin. Danny!

I sat up and glanced around the frigid room. Marchello hadn’t come for me. How could he? Would he even look for me after I left him?

“Now that we have her back, we can move forward with the plan,” Danny said. He must’ve been on the phone because I couldn’t hear anyone else. “He won’t see us coming. This is too easy.”

Run. Marchello told me to run.

I swung my feet to the side of the sofa and stood, but my legs wobbled, sending my bottom back to the ratty sofa cushion. I tried to get my bearings, but the pain in my head was so prominent.

“I have to go,” Danny said to whoever he was talking to. “I’ll be in touch.”

I rested against the back of the couch, remembering how I got here. I definitely would have made a different choice if I had known this was going to be the outcome. Trusting my father was something I would never do again.

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