that takes me forever to get to. You know exactly how long I’ve been in town, so I have to do everything, including trying to learn what the hell I’m doing. Now, I’m rambling.” She rubbed her forehead as she started to pace. “By the way. That’s why I was near the restaurant. I made a deposit and was stupid enough to stop at the little market, figuring I could celebrate for selling an actual expensive painting. Stupid. Huh?”
I studied her as I’d done on so many occasions, the exasperation settling into her system based on exhaustion as well as continued fear. The story seemed more plausible every minute. “I will make certain your gallery is taken care of, Savannah. I might be a monster, but as I told you before, I believe in loyalty and it’s obvious that you have a significant amount for your aunt.”
She seemed taken aback, nodding only once before taking a sip of her drink. I hated the fact her hand was shaking.
“Savannah, look—” I took a deep breath hearing the ring of my phone. Seeing Dartanian’s number at least meant certain answers were forthcoming, allowing the plan to move forward. “Stay in this room, Savannah. I need to take this phone call. You know what will happen if you attempt to leave.”
“Why, yes. Sir.”
I took long strides into the hallway, answering on the fourth ring. “What did you find?”
“You need to get out of the house.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I moved just out of earshot, my hackles raised.
“From what I understand, the Civil Guard is on their way to your house.”
The Civil Guard? The gendarmerie were responsible for policing the countryside, often their tactics almost as brutal as some used by organized crime. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Not only did you not manage to take out any of Calleja’s men, but you also didn’t kill Alviro,” Dartanian stated in an exasperated voice.
“Then who the fuck did I kill?”
“The only son of one of the most prominent cabinet ministers and three of his friends. They had absolutely nothing to do with Calleja. There is a warrant for your arrest based on eyewitness accounts.”
The words sank in, the betrayal complete.
With my arrest, all credibility would be lost for our family and Alviro wouldn’t have to bother killing me. I’d receive my own death warrant within twenty-four hours after being placed behind bars, enemies of my family strong in numbers. However, the men who’d followed us were either an undercover group from the Civil Guard or Los Charlines making certain the event went down as they’d planned. Either way, I’d fallen into a trap of my own making. “I want the head of the asshole who informed us of the meeting brought to me on a silver platter. How long?”
“You have maybe thirty minutes. I have a full protection detail on Gilly and the family as well. So far, there doesn’t seem to be any breach in security.”
“It’s coming and I want to know the minute it occurs.” I made mental note if there was anything I needed as I stormed into the kitchen, quickly grabbing the keys to one of the vehicles in the garage.
“Will do.”
I moved quickly to the office to within several inches of her. “I’ll call you when I land.”
“Where are you going?”
“A safe house.” The key words were enough for my brother to know exactly what I meant, although I dared not risk which safe house I had in mind. While our phones were all secure, given what had happened in the last twenty-four hours, I refused to take any chances.
“Are you taking the woman with you?”
The question was one I’d expected, albeit not this soon. “That’s not for you to question.”
“You should know that word already on the street is that Alviro is well aware of what happened to Peron as well the Blade. Rumor has it that the very same woman you protected was at the recent restaurant scene. I would be mindful of the company you keep, brother. I assure you that she will be used against you if she isn’t actually one of them.”
“I’ll take that chance, Dartanian.” Who was he to chastise my behavior?
As I ended the call, I thought about what I’d said to Jorge earlier as well as my brother’s statement. Savannah had more than one target on her back, Alviro stopping at nothing to get to me. For good or bad, Savannah did mean something to me.
She meant the ability