Page 100 of Tattered Obsession

I glance back at the guys, who have been watching the exchange with rapt anticipation. "I think we're in luck, then," I reply, nodding to them, "because I might have an idea.”

"I don't understand," Callie says, half an hour later, as we finish recounting the previous days' events. "I thought Lucas was the one behind all this. Why would it matter who was doing his dirty work?”

"Because whoever it was, they were on our side once," Liam replies. We've all dragged chairs up to Callie's bedside so we can discuss the situation away from prying ears, though it still pains me to see her lying there like that. "Someone has been feeding information on us to Lucas—information they wouldn't have access to without being in our inner circle.”

"Or at least connected to it," Tristan adds, glancing at me.

I nod. "If someone happened to find out that you and I were talking—say, because they were flying under the radar at the safe house—then it would have been easy to point Lucas to you as a way of getting to me." My throat thickens with fresh guilt, and I quickly look away. "To make a statement.”

"And that's why we need to know who it was that was with him when he attacked you," Tristan adds, glancing at Liam.

"Is there anything you can tell us about them?" I ask, putting my hand on Callie's. "Anything you remember?”

"I…" She swallows, her brow furrowing in concentration. "It's still a blur. The doctors said the concussion will take another week to heal, at least. I just wish I…" She trails off and frowns.

Heart sinking, I glance at Tristan and Liam, who slides a comforting arm around my waist. We knew it was a long shot, but—

"Wait a sec," Callie says suddenly, sitting bolt upright in bed.

"What is it?" I ask, sucking in a breath.

"There is one thing," she replies, her face lined with shock. "I think… I think it was a woman."

"A woman?" Liam leans forward. "Are you sure?”

Callie closes her eyes, as if by focusing hard enough, she can pull the memory from the darkness. "Yeah," she says after a moment, opening them and looking back at us. "Positive. I remember thinking there was something off about her, but I didn't know what. Until it was too late.”

"Is there anything else you can tell us?" I ask, searching her face. “Distinctive features? Tattoos? Hair color?”

"There is one other thing," Callie replies, turning to look at me, and the next words out of her mouth make my heart stop in my chest. "She had an accent. An Italian one.”

My blood freezes in my veins, and I don'tseeTristan tense as much as Ifeelhim tense, his mind following the clue to its obvious conclusion at the same time as mine. "Tristan…" I begin, but he doesn't let me finish. The next thing I know, he's getting silently up from his seat and stalking out of the room, leaving me, Liam, and Callie to stare after him.

We find him standing in the main hallway, his eyes fixed straight ahead and burning with an unreadable emotion. He doesn't say a word, and he doesn't have to; he's thinking the same thing we are.

"Sienna," I say. "It has to be.”

"Does it?" Liam asks, glancing at me as he places a protective hand on my lower back. "It could be someone else from the Italian families.”

But Tristan's already shaking his head. "She went radio silent after she showed up at the safe house," he says in a low voice, not looking at either of us. "I thought she'd finally gotten the message." He snorts and shakes his head. "Turns out she was just biding her time." With a growl of frustration, he slams his hand into the wall, making me jump.

"We don't know it was her," Liam insists.

"Who else would it be?" Tristan retorts, rounding on him. "She's had it out for Vivian since day one. I should've figured she'd be gunning for her since the minute she found out we were hiding her." He turns to me. "You said she showed up at Lucas's apartment, didn't you?”

"That doesn't necessarily make her the one from the gallery," Liam says, his tone carefully neutral. “Say whatever else you want about her; Sienna’s always been cagey about sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong. It's possible her old man is behind it, and she's acting as his proxy. With everyone starting to question Victor's leadership, it was only a matter of time before the rats started to jump ship.”

"No," I say, shaking my head. "That's not it." I swallow, glancing at each of them in turn, and it dawns on me that I've been leaving out a crucial piece of information this whole time. Chalk it up to shock, exhaustion, the need to protect the people I care about, or simple stupidity—I’m not sure, myself.

"Before the shootout at the apartment," I say, "Sienna and Lucas started arguing. She was going on about how he 'owed her' for something, and how she'd been the one to offer him her help—not the other way around. And..." I take a shaky breath. "She was doing it to get to you, Tristan.”

"Fuck."He runs a hand through his dark hair.

"You're saying you think Sienna cut some kind of deal with him?" Liam asks. "Like she offered to help him beat up Callie as... what, revenge against you, Vivi? For getting between her and Tristan?”

"She's too calculating for that," Tristans says, his words short and clipped. "She's more than just some spoiled rich girl, Liam. She's been playing the game since before she could walk. There has to be some angle. There always is, with her." The pain in his voice is undeniable, and it makes my heart wrench in my chest.

"There is," I say quietly, the pieces falling into place even as I speak. "It wasn't about hurting me; that was just a means to an end. It was about getting me back to Lucas. So I would be out of her way. So she could shoot her shot with you again, Tristan.”

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