Page 158 of Inferno

“Funny how the heart knows. We all have one person in this lifetime. You know when you find them, and you feel the pain for eternity when you lose them.”

“Even if they betray you? If it wasn’t real?” I ask.

He places the bottle back in the cabinet.

“If it wasn’t real, it wouldn’t hurt, Declan. I think that answers that. As for the betrayal. Maybe we hear her out. Vlad is evil. She said something in there about survival, correct?” He straightens his navy suit as he heads to the door.

“She did.”

I think about the pain in her eyes.

The truth I hear in her words.

And shake my head, remembering that blade on the floor.

“She’s married.”

I rub that tattoo on my pec. I need the whiskey back.

“Like that matters. Plenty of ways to eliminate that problem, Declan,” he says as he swings open the door.

He points to my computer.

“Watch and listen carefully. We might get answers without all the sexual tension boiling between the two of you.”

Does it matter what she has to say? She can’t take back trying to frame me. She can’t give me those days back where I didn’t save my father.

I sigh, leaning back. Would it have made any difference if I did make it back in time? My father knew what he was doing, and he was never a man to be stopped.

As the door closes, I let out a breath and study the monitor. She’s managed to shuffle her chair. Now it’s on its side, and she’s on the floor.

What I don’t like is the familiar look in her eyes when Enzo waltzes through the door.

“Charlotte,” he greets her, heading to the chocolate fountain, leaving her on the floor.

He kicks the knife a few feet away from her and sits the chair back upright.

“Recognize me?” he asks, and she blinks at him.

“I don’t know you.”

He laughs and shakes his head.

“I am not the man to lie to.” His Italian accent deepens.

She shivers, and suddenly, I’m nervous. I’m not sure I want to hear what he will drag out of her.

Chewing on my lip, I watch with apprehension. She’s mine to interrogate.

To break.

Not his.

Cracking my knuckles, I lean in closer.

“We’ve never met,” she whispers.

He pulls out my chair and takes a seat in front of her, resting his hands on his thighs.

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