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Before I even finished reading it, the message made me so upset I ran to the bathroom and puked. What could he have on Lev? Was it enough that we could really bring him down without having to fake a set up? Or was it nothing? Why was I hoping it was nothing?
I messaged him back to say I was on my way and hurried out before meeting Katie and Nat for breakfast. All I had to do was get through this day, and by the end of it, I’d be back in the car with Lev on the way home.
Why was the thought of being with Lev so comforting? No matter where I tried to send my thoughts as I trotted toward the meeting spot, they always veered back to Lev. His commanding voice that was always so comforting and strong, and the way he looked at me with complete trust.
It had to be a sign. Unless Hardy had some real, solid evidence, I was going to tell him I was hanging back until we found some. I wasn’t going to commit fraud, even in the name of so-called justice. That wasn’t how I wanted to bring Lev down.
Hardy waited for me at the beginning of one of the more difficult trails that twisted up into a dense forest about a mile away.
“Let’s walk a bit,” he said. “So we’re not overheard.”
I traipsed beside him, trying to breathe in the pine scent mingling with the ocean breeze blowing in from the nearby coast. Pretty soon, we were surrounded by trees and ferns, and the quiet forest noises from birds and skittering animals had soothed my nerves to where I felt like I could firmly stand up to him.
“What new information did you get?” I asked when we’d been walking in silence for about fifteen minutes. I’d barely eaten yesterday and didn’t get a wink of sleep, so hiking much further meant I was going to have a bad time getting back.
He stopped, and I took advantage of the moment to rest, leaning against a tree. I straightened up when he turned to me with gleaming eyes.
“I knew you had influence over Lev,” he said, a smile on his face that I didn’t like at all. He suddenly wasn’t the easygoing older man with the big jovial grin. Now, he looked like a ruddy, balding, wolf. “But I never would have guessed how much until my informant told me it’s because you’re not just his secretary. You’re his wife.”
I shook my head, opening my mouth to happily lie for once. There was no way he should know that. Lev was adamant about keeping it a secret and had used his power to keep the records sealed. Someone had been snooping into our lives.
“No, don’t bother,” he said, holding up his hand to silence my repudiation of his facts. “I just wonder why you’ve been keeping it a secret? It should have been the society wedding ofthe year. You must not want it getting out. Or is he holding something over your head?”
“You’re mistaken,” I said, turning to walk back down the trail.
He jumped in front of me as effortlessly as a mountain goat. “I don’t think so. My source is reputable and has as big a stake in this as I do. Aswedo. What would happen if this info got leaked? It’s best if you help me out.”
“Are you threatening me?” I asked.
He shook his head, trying to smile benignly. But I’d seen through his mask and wasn’t buying it, and he could see I was no longer on his side. “You’re as dirty as Lev if you don’t agree to this plan. You’ll never make it into any public office, because he will be going down. That means you’ll be dragged down with him.”
“What does he have on you that’s making you so desperate to get him out of the picture?” I demanded, no longer believing he was as squeaky clean as his public image let on. All the sour faces Lev made whenever I praised all his outreach efforts came rushing back to me.
“You have a lot to learn. Don’t let this relationship with that criminal ruin your future,” he said, changing tack from threatening to cajoling. “I’ve aligned with a new organization, and there’s no longer room for Lev in San Francisco. If I don’t get rid of him, then I’m out, which means my bid for mayor, and eventually, governor, is out as well. I’m not letting that happen, and if you want to have a career in politics, you should pick the right side.”
He was much too close, his eyes too bright. I stumbled back a step. “Are you telling me you want to replace Lev withsome other criminal organization? It has nothing to do with him threatening you, or trying to clean up the city?”
The mask was so far gone I wondered how he’d ever managed to keep it in place for as long as he did. He’d tricked an entire city into thinking he was a kind, generous man who only wanted to help.
“Listen to me,” he said, grabbing my forearm just as I was about to make a break past him and race down the trail to the resort. “My motives never mattered. One way or another, you’re going to help me get your husband out of the picture.”
I jerked my arm, but his grip was as tight as a bird of prey’s talons, locked around my wrist. He lunged at me, shoving me off the trail and slamming me into a tree. I reached up with my free hand, mashing my palm into his face to try to get his thick, barrel body off me. He slammed me backward again, and my head knocked hard into the solid trunk, sending pine needles floating around us and a shooting pain down my spine.
I saw stars and fell to the side, trying once again to run. He jerked my arm almost out of the socket, then took my chin in his hand and smashed my head backwards once more. I heard the thudding sound as a lightning bolt seemed to flash through my skull. I cried out, hoping there might be other hikers nearby. Hardy loomed over me with hatred in his eyes, knocking me into the tree again. I felt my body going limp and there was nothing at all.
Chapter 33 - Lev
Somehow, the head of the Portland gang must have gotten wind that we were after him, or had exceptionally good luck, because the only people at his hideout when we arrived were a few lackeys. Their leader had gone into hiding, and no amount of persuasion could get them to talk, which meant they didn’t know anything.
Now the next day, I was still pissed off and slamming around the kitchen. Nothing was different from the day before and I had wanted this over before Jenna got home from her spa weekend. Max was out with some of the guys looking for our missing person, and Mila left right after she ate breakfast to do some shopping, fed up with my foul mood.
There was nothing left to do at the moment but wait until we had fresh intel, but I was impatient and disappointed that this was continuing when it should have been done. With nothing to keep me busy but slamming around the pots and pans, I considered picking Jenna up early. I needed to see her, make sure she was safe with my own eyes, and most of all, I longed to have her in my arms. Only one full day and night without her, but it felt much longer. Too long.
However, there was no real justification to end her fun early, and I still held out hope we could find the jackass who’d slipped through our fingers and end this. Then Jenna and I could start fresh, with no more secrecy and at least a few less worries. Until the next rival group decided to muscle its way in on my territory, but that was a bridge I didn’t need to cross right now.
Right now, all I could do was bide my time and wait for updates. I wished I hadn’t been so short with Mila that morning,practically shouting at her for being calm and rational instead of edgy and outraged that we hadn’t gotten our desired result. She had asked me to chill out, because the Portland leader couldn’t have gone too far, and we’d end up finding him even if he did. She had no sense of urgency, and wasn’t about to put up with my shit. I could have used her sympathetic ear, but I’d chased her off, and she hadn’t returned by lunchtime.
With no appetite, I still made myself eat, sitting on Jenna’s side of the kitchen table so I wouldn’t have to look at her empty spot and miss her more. It would have been comical how woebegone I was over her being out of my sight for two days, but I was too pissed off to laugh at anything, especially myself.
