“Sir, that footage is for resort use only; we aren’t allowed to show it to outsiders.”
“Look, man, I think my girl is in trouble, and that footage is the only way for me to confirm it. I think someone took her by force. By the time I get the cops here and they bring a warrant, it might be too late.”
He shakes his head. I narrow my eyes, pleading with him to understand.
The guard sighs loudly and turns his chair towards the screens.
“You can’t let anyone know I showed you this.”
“I won’t,” I mutter with relief.
We speed watch through the footage from around three in the morning, the time I fell asleep. On the screen, a dark SUV parks next to my car and Van climbs out of it. His bulky form is unmistakable even in the grainy night vision.
I tense, instantly realizing that she wastaken. The guard plays in double speed again until there is movement. I want to tear that asshole apart for laying his hands on her.
But in the next scene, she is calmly walking ahead of Van. She is acting of her own free will, and when she gets to the SUV, she pulls the door open and climbs into the back seat, looking comfortable and unbothered. She’s not fighting or arguing or even making the slightest attempt to escape him.
She went by choice.
“Is that your girl?” he asks, his eyes filled with pity for me.
“That’s her. Thanks for letting me see it.”
“Sorry, man, I’m sure that’s not what you wanted to see.”
I shrug. “It is what it is,” I say, leaving the office.
It is what it is.
And all along, she made me believe it was something else.
She is as good at manipulation as her brother is. It’s the Enzo blood. Tainted with cruelty and lies. That whole family is twisted. I can’t believe I trusted one of them. Why? Why would I do that to myself?
“Fuck,”I mutter under my breath, angry with myself for my own stupidity.
I head back to the villa with my heart sinking lower and lower. I may as well pack up and go home. There is no point in staying. I don’t know what my next move is regarding Boris, but I can decide on the flight.
Passing the Mustang in the parking lot, I sneer at it, remembering the excitement I felt during the street race, and the thrill of taking her in the front seat afterwards. It was wild, spontaneous and beautiful.
Every moment with her has been an adventure. She changed my life. I have been obsessed and smothered by guilt for over a year, and then she showed up and I forgot to hate myself.
I forgot to be lost in grief. It was no longer swallowing me up.
All of a sudden, I was enjoying my life. Enjoying the little things that I hadn’t noticed in so long. The sun, the ocean,her smile—
I tear my eyes off the car.
Suddenly, I hate Mustangs. I’ll never drive one again.
Rage shoots through me like a drug.
I don’t want anything to do withanythingthat reminds me of her.
Upstairs in the villa, I call my pilot and tell him to get the plane ready for a flight home.
Pulling the suitcase out of the bedroom closet, I set it on the bed and start tossing clothes into it, not bothering to fold them or pay attention to neatness. I just want to get out of here. The sight of Tia’s bag makes me angry.
She played me.
