Page 82 of Throne of Secrets

She blinked and then frowned. “You already have a place picked out?”

“I do. But we can find something else if you don’t love it.” They would have an entire wing of that massive cavern. His father and he had designed it for him and his family to live in someday.

She licked her lips. “And this?” She nodded toward the books.

He glanced at the books. “We’ll have to report what you found, but believe me, you’ll have the best protection in the world when we come back to testify.” Ethan cupped her cheek and leaned in to kiss her. Her lips were warm when he made contact, and she wrapped her arms around him.

When they finally pulled apart, he pulled her onto his lap and reached for the envelope. “Shall we?”

She leaned against him and nodded her head. “Let’s see how deep the trenches are.”

That was exactly what it felt like. They were going back to war, weren’t they? Ethan opened the letter.

Star,

If you are reading this, fate has placed a heavy burden on your shoulders. I wish I could tell you I was a good man, that my hands were clean, but I have lived too many years, seen too much blood spilled, and counted too many dirty dollars to lie.

I kept these books because I knew, one day, the weight of my sins would crush me. I told myself it was just numbers, just money, just business. But I knew better. Every dollar amount in these ledgers represents more than transactions—they are lives ruined, debts paid for in blood, of men who walked away rich while others were buried in the ground.

I was no saint, but I was never a fool. These books are power. The kind men kill for. The kind that will have devils crawling out of their holes the moment they know they’re in your hands.

I’m not asking for your forgiveness—I do not deserve it. But I am asking you for something far greater. I want you to avenge my evils.

Take these books and put them in the hands of someone who will burn the men who profited from suffering. Use the letter you hold as proof that I, Nicolò Conti, kept these ledgers. My signature at the bottom of this page, my shaky old handwriting, can be analyzed and authenticated.

Some will stop at nothing to see it buried again. Be careful. They will come. They will threaten, bribe, and beg. And if that fails, they will kill.

But I know your heritage. Your parents were not ones to be bullied, nor ones to walk away from doing what is right. I hope you were raised in that fashion.

I have done nothing in my life worthy of pride. But if you carry this burden, if you see this through, I will die knowing that at least one good thing came from my miserable existence.

May God, if He still listens to an old sinner, watch over you.

With all my regret,

Nicolò Conti

“Wow,that puts everything into perspective, doesn’t it?” Star looked up at him.

“Yeah.” He had a lot of work to do and mountains to move before they released this information because what they had in front of them was too important to give to the local police. It was the kind of important that usually came with bullets.

“First things first. We put these books in my safe.” Ethan waved at the ledgers. “Then we get a marriage license and get married. If you want a big wedding, we can do that after this is cleared up.”

She shook her head. “No, I’m not that kind of girl. I don’t care about the dress and things. Well, that’s a lie, I love shoes, you know that. Anyway, I’d like a wedding band, though, and I’d like you to wear one, too. A big one. So women know you’re taken.”

Ethan smiled and leaned over to kiss her again. “They’d know. You’re the only woman I can see.”

She smiled at him and lifted an eyebrow. “Still …”

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, getting another kiss from his woman.

“What happens after that?”

“We go to Colorado. You stay with my mom while my dad and I move all my equipment. I have to have all of it, and I don’t trust a moving company not to mess it up.” And since it was the highest grade of technology available in the free world, it needed to be guarded during the move. He’d need to borrow a few assets that were without an assignment. A Shadow or two to make sure they weren’t followed, stopped, or impeded. He’d make it work and then fill in Archangel afterward. Max had already agreed in principle, so being close to his mentor wasn’t a necessity any longer.

“Do you think she’ll like me, I mean, in person?”

“Who?” Ethan snapped back to the conversation.

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