the desk blotter as I hear sounds below. The front door opens and closes, and then hushed voices carry up the stairs.
A female squeal bursts out, and I see Carly’s eyes shoot wide in fear before they settle as she registers that the sound was one of happiness, especially given the giggles that follow.
I hold up a finger, telling her to steady herself. Seconds later, the wait is over.
The office door opens, and I train my gun on the shadowy shape filling the door.
The light switches on, and I speak gruffly, “Stone.”
He drops his cargo, a blonde woman with blue eyes. Emma, judging by the pictures at her apartment.
She yelps in surprise and pain as she just barely catches herself from falling ass first to the carpeted floor, but my gaze stays locked on the man before me.
In front of me is the man who took my Anna, took my baby, took my life though I’m still illogically upright.
Nathan moves Emma behind him, but she peeks out, exclaiming, “Carly?”
The girls are both nearly gasping in fear, but Stone and I breathe evenly, our training evident as we take each other’s measure.
Our muscles are coiled tight, but we don’t move an inch, knowing that the slightest twitch can set off an attack.
Our jaws clench in fury, eyes hard as we stare each other down.
I hear Carly beside me, her voice trying to remain calm and failing utterly. “Emma, come here. You don’t know what he’s done. Nathan is a bad man, a dangerous man. I’m here to save you.”
She stands in the edge of my vision, reaching out for Emma, trying to encourage her away from Nathan’s side, but he has a tight grip on her wrist. But I see something else, something Carly can’t see yet. Emma’s moving closer to Stone.
Emma shakes her head, trying to hug her man. “What are you talking about? Nathan’s not a bad man. And who is this? What the hell are you doing?”
They’ve had their girl-talk moment and it went exactly as I’d expected, unfortunately. Nathan’s got Emma under his spell, likely using his good looks and money and sweet words.
She probably never had a chance against his charm.
I lift my pistol up. I don’t want to hit Emma, and that means I have to be very precise with any shot I take, and Nathan’s eyes narrow as he bargains.
“Whoever you are, I’ve done some shit in my life, some bad shit, but you can let Emma go. Whatever it is I’ve done that brought you to my doorstep, she had nothing to do with it, so let her go.”
His voice is steady, like he’s trying to calm a rabid dog, and that’s probably a pretty accurate description of me right now with the emotion and rage that are boiling inside me.
“Like you let her go?” I challenge. “You took my woman, my child, like they were just . . . trash to be tossed aside. Like they meant nothing! What if I did the same to you? Kill her first, let you live with that as your last thought, last image before I kill you too?”
Carly growls under her breath, and I know she’s mad because that is definitely not part of the plan. She’s here to save Emma, not let me use her against Nathan. In fact, I doubt she’d be happy if I were to kill Stone, even if I told her that’s what I wanted to do.
But the threat is too easy, and it’s sure to get a rise from him. I want him to lose control, to push her away so I have a clean shot, and hopefully even admit his deeds so I can finally get some sort of closure.
Instead, I see the confusion on his face, and it only makes me angrier, like he’s killed so many, he can’t even remember the ones who meant so much to me.
Like they were nothing.
“Anna Russo,” I growl, reminding him. “Say it. Say her name.”
But he doesn’t.
Instead, his eyebrows lift, and he licks his lips. “Dad’s historian? What about her?”
Dismissive prick.
I should just start shooting, stop his lies, stop this madness, but the pain in my core demands to be unleashed. I need fucking answers.
I come up and close the distance with Nathan before staring into his soulless, evil eyes. He doesn’t so much as stutter a breath as I press my Glock against his forehead, but his head does whip to the side as I reverse my pistol and