Page 55 of After 5
“Me?”
“If they found out he was working undercover, the Mafusos might harm someone he loves. You would be a target.” He finished his coffee while I digested the information. “The reason they’re forcing him to marry Mahlia is to prove his loyalty to the Mafusos.”
“I get that. If Caiyan was concerned about me, why did he hide the sword in my closet?”
“It’s possible, by committing to the wedding, he’s convinced them you’re the past.” Jake rubbed a day’s growth of beard bristle over his chin and jawline. “I wonder how Mahlia feels about all of this?”
“What do you mean?” I’d never given her a thought. She’d been spitting mad when I started dating Caiyan. Envious. Evil in fact. She had gone to great lengths to sabotage our relationship, and now she would wear his ring on her finger.
Another tear leaked out, and it made me fume. Why was I crying over him? Caiyan still had a choice. He didn’t have to marry her, no matter what it cost him.
“A few months back, my intelligence discovered information that she’s seeing someone else.”
“Who?”
“They can’t catch the guy. He meets her at McGregor’s apartment wearing different disguises. I didn’t say anything to you because, at first, they pegged him as McGregor—same body type, hair, dark sunglasses.
“Finally, one of my agents got close enough and realized the man was shorter than McGregor.” Jake shifted uncomfortably. “I was relieved because when he met Mahlia, they were…uhm…together.”
Curious as to how they discovered the man was meeting Mahlia, I opened my mouth to ask, then it clicked. “You bugged the apartment.”
Jake’s face flushed a light pink.
“How long has his apartment been bugged?” I cringed.
“Whoa,” Jake held his hands out in front of him. “Only since he left to join the Mafusos, and only the living area and study, but they don’t exactly spend most of their time in the bedroom.”
My insides tickled that Caiyan wasn’t sharing a bed with Satan’s bitch. “Any ideas on who it might be?”
Jake shook his head. “The last guy she dated for any length of time was Eli. We haven’t seen the guy in two weeks. I don’t know if he’s slipping past us or if they aren’t dating any longer.”
“Regardless, if she’s being coerced into the marriage, I deserve to know the answer. I need to speak to him.” I set my empty coffee cup on the table and caught a flash of white fluff in my backyard.
“Dammit!” I bolted from my chair, rushed past Jake and out the back door.
He was on his feet, gun drawn, pushing past me onto the patio. We both stared at the white Pygmy goat eating my blue moon rose bushes.
“Stop that!” I hollered at the beast.
Jake holstered his gun and grabbed the goat’s pink rhinestone collar. “She’s not going to stop by your charming words.”
Darryl stuck his head in through the opened back gate. “Hidee ho neighbor!” He moved into the yard and took the goat by the collar.
I introduced him to Jake.
“I see you met Lucy.” Darryl looked down at the goat who was chomping her way through a planter of periwinkles.
“Lucy?” I huffed, and Darryl moved her away from the flowers.
“Lucy keeps the coyotes away.”
“No coyotes in this neighborhood, Darryl.” Jake said to him.
“You packin’ a SIG 226?” Darryl’s eyes went wide at Jake’s gun.
“That’s right.”
“You a cop?” Darryl took a step back.
