Page 81 of Forgotten Vows

"Who else was involved?" I press the gun harder, and he whimpers. "Who helped you?"

"Carmen. One of the cleaning staff. She planted the phone in the kid's room. But I swear, that's all I know. Please, boss, please?—"

I pull the knife from my thigh holster in a swift motion and hold it up to the light. Jonathan's eyes go wide with terror, and I holster my gun in the same movement that I bring the wickedly sharp blade across his throat.

And then I lean back against my desk.

Everyone in the room watches the cut in his throat open up, leaking blood as he chokes and gasps, his hands going to his neck. He flops in the chair, falling to one side onto the floor, blood spreading everywhere as he writhes and tries to beg and plead for a life that's already gone.

The other guards don't move. They're all staring at the body, theirfaces pale, their hands gripping the arms of their chairs. "Anyone else want to confess?" I ask, my voice calm.

No one answers.

"Good." I holster my gun and look at Rian. "Get rid of the body. And find Carmen. I want her in this office in five minutes."

"On it." Rian signals for two of the guards to help him, and they drag Jonathan's body out of the office, leaving a smear of blood across the floor.

I turn to Jack. "What about the phone? The one Matteo had?"

"Bought with cash, no way to track it."

I sink into my desk chair and close my eyes. Adriana and Matteo are out there somewhere, with Gio. And I have no idea where they are, no idea if they're safe, no idea if I'll ever see them again. The thought makes me want to put my fist through another wall. Makes me want to burn the entire city down until I find them.

But I can't. I have to be smart about this. I have to think like Gio, anticipate his moves.

He wants me to come to him. Wants me alone and unarmed. Which means he's planning to kill me. And once I'm dead, he'll take Adriana back to New York, back to that house, back to the life she escaped from. He'll make Matteo into another one of his men, warp him until there's nothing left of the sweet boy who dreams of being an astronaut.

I can't let that happen.

The door opens, and Rian comes back in with Carmen. She's a small woman in her forties, her dark hair pulled back in a bun, her cleaning uniform wrinkled. She's trembling, her eyes wide with fear as she looks around my office, taking in the blood on the floor and the tension in the air.

"Sit," I say, gesturing to the chair in front of my desk.

She sits, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"Carmen." I lean forward, resting my elbows on my desk. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them honestly. Do you understand?"

She nods, not meeting my eyes.

"Did you plant a cell phone in my son's room?"

Her face goes white. "I—I didn't know?—"

"Answer the question."

"Yes." Her voice is barely a whisper. "But I didn't know what it was for, I swear. I thought?—"

"Who told you to do it?"

"Jonathan." She's crying now, tears streaming down her face. "He said you wanted to test your son, to see if he'd tell you about it. He said it was important, that you needed to know if the boy could be trusted. I didn't—I didn't know it was wrong. I thought I was helping."

I stare at her for a long moment, weighing her words. She's telling the truth; I can see it in her face. She was manipulated, just another pawn in Gio's game.

But she still helped.

"Get her out of here," I tell Rian. "Put her somewhere secure until this is over. If she tries to run or contact anyone, kill her."

Rian nods and escorts Carmen out of the office. She's sobbing, but I don't listen. I can't afford to care about her fear when Adriana and Matteo are out there with Gio. And as long as she's telling the truth and she doesn't try anything else, she'll be free when this is all over, and fine.