“But you can track me?”
Julian nodded. “We have these new chips. Untraceable. Undetectable. Tiny enough, you can wear one in an earring. We’ll weave a few in your hair. We can put a fake mole on your arm and hide it under that. We will not lose you. You get to Zander and lead us to him. We’ll have an arsenal of firepower and men to get to you. We take him down and end this shit. You go home to Marcus and live your life.”
“You make it sound easy,” she murmured.
“It’s not. We have to plan. Strategize. We’ll be going in blind since we have no idea where you’ll be taken.”
“I think he’s outside Montreal. I saw some pictures and did searches on them. The bridge his sister jumped from is on the St. Lawrence.”
Julian smiled. “Good job. I did some checking while you were, ah, upstairs, talking, and I would agree. His parents held a fair amount of property he would have inherited. There is a lot of it—and some close to the water. When I checked the land titles, they are now held by a numbered company. All of them were sold just after they died. Most of their holdings were.”
“That’s when he went into hiding,” I noted.
“Yes. His parents’ deaths were ruled an accident, but I agree with Missy. I think he had a hand in it. His sister disappeared from the boarding school she was in, he disappeared from normal life—almost all traces of them were erased off social media.” He smiled coldly. “Unless, of course, you know how to dig.” He pushed some papers our way. “I found some other posts. Missy is right. He is beyond disturbed.”
“And after he showed up on the dark web?”
“He was there before, but his presence became more noticeable. He became known as Mr. X. His anger was out of control, and it’s only gotten worse.”
“His sister suffered because of it,” Missy said. “I think his mind fractured, and he became dangerous.”
Julian hummed in agreement. “I have our team digging. A lot of shit is buried that we need to uncover before we move forward. We need to have everything at our disposal—get to know this sick fuck as well as we can, then move.”
“And end him,” I said.
“Yes. Once and for all. Dismantle all his holdings and find as many victims as possible.”
“Agreed.”
I felt the shiver that went through Missy. Despite her insistence and bravado, I knew she was terrified. I squeezed her hand and shifted closer.
I needed to be strong for both of us.
I prayed I was strong enough.
Zing!
I tried to shut out the never-ending sound across the room, but it was impossible. I turned in my chair, watching as Missy pulled a knife from somewhere on her body and tossed it, hitting the target every time. I had to admit, she was impressive. But most of the time, it didn’t help ease my fears.
“Again,” Allen instructed. Julian had brought him in, knowing his weapons training would give her the best shot. “I want you moving this time. There’s a good chance you won’t have the luxury to be in one spot when you’re reaching for the blade. You need to grab it and throw in seconds. Split seconds.”
Missy nodded, reconcealing the knife Allen had specially made for her. She practiced every day. Sat beside me as we pored over reports and maps. Dug up more intel on Xavier Zander. The more we dug, the darker it got. Yet she never reacted or showed any fear—at least when we were with the team.
At night when we were alone, it was a different story. I saw the pull of anxiety in her eyes. Watched her lose weight as her appetite waned. Noticed the deepening shadows under her eyes. When Julian commented on it, she had waved him off.
“If I show up healthy and well, it will set off Zander’s suspicions. Supposedly I have been badly injured and have no memory. I need to look the part.”
I doubted he was any more fooled by her words than I was.
Last night, she had barely slept at all, and I knew it was beginning to overwhelm her. The urge to spirit her away, to simply disappear, grew within me every day. I had never pictured my time with the organization coming to an end only a handful of years after I took over from Matteo. But I knew if we survived this, I needed to put her first. That meant either sending her away and continuing with this half-life, or walking away and finding a different life with Missy. Since I couldn’t even imagine a future that no longer contained her, my choice was obvious. I was almost certain Julian already knew that. I was sure he wouldn’t be far behind me. He had been doing this longer than I had and had already lost so much personally.