“We’re not going on a stakeout,” I reminded her.
“I know.” She gave me a tiny smile and tugged on the strings of her black hoodie. “This is my favorite digging up a dead body sweater.”
I shook my head and started the engine. “I don’t have long,” I told her as I drove down the dark street. “You better be right about this key. I won’t be around much longer if we don’t find it.”
“If I had known it was so important, I would have told you about it.”
Rhiannon leaned over the center console, invading my personal space. “I thought the Knights were the bankers, not the other way around.”
“Sometimes, we hold money for our clients. Sometimes, we invest it. Other times, we give loans. It depends on the situation.”
“How much is this key worth to the Knights?”
“Seventy million dollars.”
Her eyes widened. “Wow. And the Knights let Cillian carry the key around his neck? Wouldn’t it have been safer at the bank?”
“We don’t keep illegal money at banks.”
She twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger, her eyes on me. “Where do you keep it?”
I ignored her question.
No one outside of our organization knew about The Devil’s Knights. She already knew too much because of Sonny and me. Even Alex, who would one day become our Queen, didn’t know specific details about our business.
We drove in silence through Beacon Bay, headed to the construction site. My family owned the land and had no intention to build on it soon.
When we reached the dark lot, I parked beneath a tree, leaving on the headlights. I grabbed two shovels from the trunk and passed one to Rhi. We dug for twenty minutes before her constant groaning pulled my attention from the task.
“Go sit in the car,” I ordered.
“No.” She wiped her sweaty forehead and sighed. “We wouldn’t be here right now if it wasn’t for me. I can do this, Marcello.”
“You did enough.” I pointed at the car. “Go. I’ll find the key.”
She gripped the wooden handle, using the shovel to help herself up from the ground. “Why do I feel like you’re punishing me?”
“I’m not,” I fired back, my attention on clearing the rest of the dirt. “Just do what I say.”
“I’m leaving town tonight,” she bit out. “You won’t see me again.”
I stopped digging and glanced up at her. “We both know that’s not true. You’ll come back.”
“What difference would it make?” Rhi pushed her hands onto her hips. “Not like we can even be together.”
“No, we can’t. So why do you keep bringing it up?”
“Because I want you. I want more. That’s why I’m leaving town for good. I have no reason to stay.”
I finished uncovering the last bit of dirt, exhausted and covered and sweat, and set the shovel on the ground. “Even if I wanted more, my dad would never allow us to be together. He’s already threatened your life.”
Her eyes widened, a shriek escaping her throat. “He wants to kill me?”
“Never underestimate the old man. He would do anything to protect his legacy. He sees you as a problem in his way. I never had a choice. But you do. So I think you should go. Leave this fucking place and never look back. Get as far away from this world as possible.”
“My mom used to say that sometimes you have to let something go to see if it will come back to you.”
“We’re not meant to be, Rhi. Just forget about me. Go live your life. You can be anything you want. Do anything you want.”
She wet her lips with her tongue. “I wish we could do those things together.”
I leaned over the body. The stench of rotting flesh invaded my nostrils, churning up the bile rising from my stomach. No matter how many times I’d done this, I never gotten used to that smell. It permeated every inch of the space.
“Oh, my God,” Rhi groaned, her hand flying to her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Go sit in the car. I will handle this.”
“I did this,” she whimpered. “I’m a terrible person. This is all my fault.”
“Go!” I shouted.
This time, she followed my order and raced toward the car. I waited until she shut the door before I searched for the key. Cillian was a good-looking man for his age, but now he looked like the damn Crypt Keeper.
Rhi didn’t need to see this shit. If she had, she could never unsee it. His face would invade her dreams and create new nightmares. I never slept much because of the things I’d done and seen in my short life.
I found the key to the vault in the inner pocket of Cillian’s suit. That crazy ass girl was a lot of things, but never a liar. And when she said I could trust her, I knew I could.