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How did the McGuires peg her as a target?
Did me bringing Laine here last week do this? If this is on me, I’ll never forgive myself. Dammit. Why can’t we catch a break?
At least we’re going home, and I can spend a relaxing night with Laine, after all.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Laine
Irise from unconsciousness with my head pounding like it’s ready to split open, each throb a sharp jab of pain. My mind races, piecing together the flashes of what just happened—the sting of a blow to the back of my head, the chilling sight of Cora crumpled on the ground.
Panic surges through me, cold and gripping.
Where am I?
My gaze darts around, assessing my surroundings. I’m back in the stables…but why?
“Good, you’re finally awake.” The familiarity of the voice sends a fresh wave of dread through my confusion.
It can’t be.
Slowly, I focus on the figure sitting across the dimly lit room. Marco? He’s manspreading in a chair against the far wall, watching me intently.
“What are you doing here?” My voice comes out weak, and strained. “How did you find me? And why the hell would you attack me—and Cora?”
Thoughts of Cora have me searching the area again, but I don’t see her. Is she still out on the grass? Does she need medical care? And what about Connor?
Marco doesn’t answer. He sits there, looking nothing like the polished, controlled man I left behind in Chicago. His face is unshaven, his hair unkempt, his clothes disheveled.
This isn’t the Marco who thrives in courtrooms. This is a man unraveling at the seams.
“What’s wrong with you?” The question escapes my lips before I can think better of it, driven by a mix of concern and horror.
He leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “What’s wrong with me?” His voice is low and tinged with something dark I can’t quite place. “Well, since you asked, my father is dead, the Tessiano family has taken over our lives, and the only reason I’m still alive is because they consider you a loose end and told me to find you.”
“A loose end? I had nothing to do with what you and your father were up to.”
“Yeah, well, that doesn’t seem to matter to them. They said you lived in the house, so you had access to dad’s study.”
“So, what? You’re supposed to drag me back to Chicago?”
His gaze darkens, and a chill runs down my spine. “Not exactly, no.”
Shit. “So, you kill me, and then what? Do you honestly think they’ll let you live? You’re more of a loose end than I ever was.”
Marco looks away for a moment, his gaze lost somewhere in the dark corners of the stable. When he meets my eyes again, there’s a desperation in them I’ve never seen before.
“I don’t have a lot of options here, Maddie. You were gone, and I convinced them I could find you.” He scrubs his head with a rough hand. “I was bluffing. I had no clue where you’d go.”
“But you tracked me down through my mom’s family?”
He laughs. “Hardly. I couldn’t remember her maiden name and thought she was Scottish. No. I was royally fucked until some Irish chick called me and told me you were here. She even told me you’d be alone tonight, so I should make my move.”
My mind spins out on that. Someone is actively trying to torpedo me? I push that thought down for now and get back to the most important issue at hand. I’m trapped, not just by the walls of this stall in the stable, but by the situation itself.
“And what? You think that if you kill me they’re just going to let you go?”
“No, but I heard you have a stash of cash. You’re going to tell me where it is and then I’m going to use that to disappear like you intended to.”
