AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Probably,” Aurelio answered.
“He’s going to try to set me up, isn’t he? He’s going to try to get me to say enough to admit that I killed Ashton on purpose.”
“I imagine so,” he agreed. “Still, he’s not going to get the chance.”
I turned to look over at Aurelio, and his dark eyes were already looking my way. “I’m not worried.”
His lips twitched. “I didn’t think that you were.”
“He could also be there to kill me,” I posed. “I mean, grief is unpredictable.”
“It is,” he replied carefully. “However, Congressman Oliver doesn’t strike me as that self-sacrificing.” Aurelio cocked his head. “Also, do you honestly believe that I’d be letting you meet him if I thought that any harm would come to you?”
“That’s not how I meant it,” I assured him.
His black eyes glittered with anger and regret as he said, “No one will ever hurt you again, Savina. I mean it.”
Before I could say anything to that, we were pulling into the park, and we didn’t stop until we were in the back of the foliage, a black sedan already waiting for us. I also knew that we weren’t alone. For all that Stewart had insisted on absolute privacy, the Sartoris weren’t as powerful as they were because they were stupid. I knew that Aurelio had one-if not two-crack shots hidden in the trees somewhere.
My heart started pounding in my chest as Aurelio got out to open the door for me. I wasn’t feeling nervous, so much as anticipation was the culprit. No matter the situation, I wasn’t so clueless that I couldn’t understand that Stewart had just lost his eldest son, even if his eldest son had been a piece of shit. Parents weren’t supposed to outlive their children, and despite how I felt about Ashton, Stewart’s grief was real, and I understood that, even if I didn’t want to sympathize with any of the Olivers.
I grabbed Aurelio’s hand as he escorted me out of the car, and he gave it a quick squeeze before placing his hand on the small of my back. As anti-women’s lib as it was, I couldn’t deny that I felt stronger with Aurelio standing at my back. There was just something profound about having someone waiting to catch you if you fell, even if you never did. Aurelio didn’t need me to fail in order to feel like a man, and I didn’t need to emasculate him in order to feel like a woman.
We just needed each other to simply be.
“Stewart,” I greeted as soon as I stopped in front of him.
Foregoing niceties, he said, “I want you to pay for what you did to my son. I’ll turn over the tape that I have on Jorge Bustamente in exchange for your confession.”
I almost laughed.
I couldn’t help it.
“That tape is fake and can be proven as a fake,” I told him.
“It doesn’t matter,” he replied coldly. “Once it gets out, the police will be on the Sartoris like a bad rash, and by the time that everyone finds out that it’s a doctored tape, the damage will already be done.”
I eyed him, concluding that grief must really be making him stupid. “You’d have to be insane to go after the Sartoris.”
He arched a brow. “You act like getting rid of the Sartoris wouldn’t benefit the O’Briens or the Kotovs.” That had my heart skipping a beat. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right? I’m sure that Declan and Avgust would both be able to see the upside to taking down the Sartoris.”
“And what makes you think that the police won’t pick apart that video and finally find the councilman’s murderer?” I asked.
Stewart gave me a cold smile. “Again, the police know which side they need to be on.”
That’s when I knew.
“You helped Ashton kill Jorge Bustamente, didn’t you?” I huffed, figuring it out a little too late. “You helped Ashton set me up for his sick proclivities.”
“He was my son,” he replied as his only excuse, which was a good one if you were a parent, I supposed.
I felt Aurelio’s hands on my shoulders, and I was surprised that he’d kept quiet for this long, considering how the tape was all about him. Still, I appreciated the confidence, and by allowing me to handle this, Aurelio was showing Stewart that I had my own power to wield in the face of a threat.
Done with Stewart’s bullshit, Aurelio said, “While you’re on the subject of videos, and while you like to remind Savina that you have the police on your side, she has all the people and videos that she’s ever going to need for your shit, Congressman.” I felt him squeeze my shoulders a bit. “Word of advice, dealing with people on the darker side of things, you might want to keep in mind that we have our own set of rules, which is what makes us what and who we are.”
“Meaning?”
“We have copies of all the surveillance that took place at the brownstone for the past two years, Stewart,” Aurelio said, making Stewart pale a bit. “We have copies of every single fucking time your piece of shit son put his hands on Savina, and we also have footage of Ashton’s visitors. So, I’d re-think your threat a bit if I were you. Unlike the video that you have in your arsenal, our videos are authentic.”
