Page 85 of Hunt Me
“It can be, but losing someone you care about is worse. Betrayal I know how to handle. Loss? Well, let’s just say I’m not well equipped.” He leaned forward, shifting his drink from one hand to the other. The moment of pain had returned, the anguish in his eyes pulling at something deep inside of me.
His admittance played heavily on my emotions. I suddenly felt the need to help him. Maybe even to trust him. But everything I’d been taught pushed against the idea. We were two different people and at the end of the day, we were on opposite sides of the law. But were we really any different?
I’d also been taught there were two sides to every person and that the lines of good versus evil often clashed. And I knew not to judge someone by what others believed or insisted they knew. Yet I’d judged him based on what I’d seen in the news. Everything about him confused me.
“I’m so sorry about Sergio, Mikhail. I can only imagine how his murder has affected you, but love of family and friends, love of your soulmate is something special, a true gift. If we allow sorrow or fear of losing someone to take that away, then there’s very little to live for. I’ll keep believing love can conquer all, including evil. I’ll also keep believing there are heroes who will always fight for what’s good and just. You’re not a bad man, Mikhail. You’re simply a little broken inside. But we all are.”
“The sooner you learn there are no heroes, Bristol, the better off you’ll be in your career. Isn’t that something your father taught you?”
“My dad taught me the difference in right and wrong. He also was a proponent of the idea misbehavior required consequences.”
“Even if the information or evidence as you mentioned is fabricated?”
I wasn’t certain how to take what he was suggesting. “My father is a good man. From everything I’ve heard, he was a brilliant prosecutor and is an amazing mayor.” When he said nothing, I became more irritated. “How dare you act as if my father is a bad man.”
“I didn’t say your father was a bad man. From what I can tell, he did very well raising a beautiful and highly intelligent daughter with high moral standards. What you also need to learn is that there isn’t a single person who’s innately good or bad and that even the best men and women can be lured in another direction.”
“Just when I think that I understand you and feel some sense of admiration for your conviction, you act like you’re nothing but a common criminal. You lecture me on the upstanding attributes of my father, undermining what he’s done, even insinuating he’s a criminal less than an hour after you kidnapped me. For all I know, you plan on killing me after you get the answers you want to hear. Answer me this, who’s the real criminal?”
His eyes flashed and he took and held a deep breath for several seconds. “I’m not lecturing you on anything. You will believe what you need to believe until proven otherwise. I admire andrespect that. I assume you have intentions of accepting the job your father offered.” He lifted both eyebrows, waiting to see if he surprised me.
How he knew about the job offer was inconsequential at this point. “Not that it’s any of your business, but no, I do not. Not because my father’s cause isn’t a decent one, but because I prefer to make choices about my life myself. Certainly that’s something you can understand, or are you too jaded to appreciate decency and drive?”
“Drive I have plenty of. Decency is questionable.”
He allowed the words to sink in.
“I guess you’re right,” I whispered.
“As several factions within this town would tell you and perhaps you’ve already determined yourself, I’m not a good man. At least not by the standards obviously set by your father. Have I been involved in criminal activity in my lifetime? Absolutely, Bristol. Men have cowered in my presence. Traitors have been punished for betraying me. Thieves have been banished from my casinos. Murderers have faced my wrath. However, I can assure you that those who suffered were not innocent. What I have never done is to hurt a woman. That is not within my makeup nor is it something I will tolerate within my employ.”
His second conviction was heartfelt, yet there was no way I could trust him even as another wave of desire coursed through me. “What are you trying to say?”
“That if I wanted harm to come to you, that would have occurred without bothering to question what happened or your motives. Or I’d allow the name of the witness to leak so the people responsible for killing Sergio hunted you down.”
“You wouldn’t.” My eyes opened wide.
“As you continue to think I’m nothing but a common criminal, perhaps you can answer that. Now, I believe in your innocence and while you might not like what I have to say or what I require, that doesn’t change the fact Sergio was murdered and at minimum you witnessed the aftermath of the crime. You are part of this. You will tell me everything I need to know or your stay with me will be extremely unpleasant. The choice is up to you. Do you understand?”
“Yes. I do understand. Whatever we shared was nothing more than a pleasantry in a world of opulence.” There was no sense in denying he was right. I was embroiled in this mess.
“Opulence. I can understand why you see my life and my business in such broad terms. However, you’re going to need to place some trust in me.”
“Why?”
“Because I might be the only man who can keep you alive. But for that, you owe me.”
“I don’t owe you anything.”
“You should think differently, my perfect angel.” The way he was studying me was as if I was eagerly hiding an additional dark and ugly secret.
Another trickle of fear reminded me he was right. I could be in extreme danger, but what was more dangerous, the monsters who’d killed Sergio or the man intent on keeping me against my will? As twisted as the thought was, he was right. This wasn’t my world. This was his. “I understand, but trust is earned, not commanded.”
His intense stare was even more unnerving.
“And right now, I don’t have time to give you what you need. If my instincts are correct, Sergio’s murder won’t be the only one and I might be the only person in this city who can put an end to the violence. What did you see inside Sergio’s house?”
As with almost everything he said, his words weighed heavily on my mind.
