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He’d been gone all day.
As I sat in the library overlooking the grounds, part of me was worried that he was off doing something that he would regret, but then again, he didn’t seem like the kind of person to have regrets.
The violence of last night had scared me. The cold look on Dario’s face and the way he calmly sat there while Hortensio bled from a stab wound he’d inflicted was something I couldn’t unsee.
He hadn’t cared about the man’s pain or his wife’s screams. He’d been indifferent, as if a man bleeding all over the floor was just your typical day. In his world, maybe it was.
I wondered yet again why he had let me witness that. I remembered how he had looked at me when I gasped in horror as he stabbed Hortensio.
I sort of felt like it had been a test. I still don’t know if I passed or failed.
A sane person would have probably called the police or run screaming from the restaurant.
Instead, once I calmed down, I realized that the incident was sickening, but I’d been an eyewitness to a crime he committed. He could blackmail me after what I saw him do.
If he threw me under the bus, I could drag him down with me, but for once, it finally felt like he didn’t have the upper hand.
When I found the files on his computer, I thought it would be easy to figure out what was inside them, but given that they were encrypted, all my efforts had proved useless.
I didn’t have an IT background. I didn’t know how to hack into anyone’s personal information.
In fact, I’d been on the verge of sending the files to Luis the other night as a plan B. Just as I was about to press send, I thought about what Dario had done to Hortensio. I thought about how easily and nonchalantly he used violence as a means to an end.
I didn’t want Luis exposed to that, so I deleted the email and went back to bed. Now, after witnessing what Dario was capable of, I knew I couldn’t risk getting Luis involved.
The violence from the other night proved to me that I had been right about Dario and his family. I didn’t want my child raised among killers.
I had to get out of there before I started to show, before he knew that I carried his child.
“Good afternoon, Mya.”
I jumped, startled. Where had he come from?
His eyes studied mine. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
“I didn’t know you were here. When did you get back?”
“A few minutes ago.” He sat across from me and reached for an apple, taking a bite but not taking his eyes off me. “I felt you get out of bed last night. Where’d you go?”
I swallowed hard. He knew I left the room last night. Did he know what I was up to?
“What do you mean?”
I figured playing dumb was the best defense. I didn’t have a good poker face, but I hoped, for my sake, I would learn to disguise my true emotions quickly.
“You got out of bed and were gone for a bit.”
I shrugged. “I can’t remember. I probably went to get a drink of water.”
He took another bite of his apple and stared at me. “Really? So that’s it?”
His eyes bore into mine as if daring me to lie. I had to resist the urge to break eye contact. I felt if I did, it would be an admission of guilt.
Hoping I looked innocent enough, I shrugged my shoulders in what I hoped was a carefree manner. “Am I not allowed to go to the kitchen after hours?”
His eyebrows shot up. “Allowed? You act as if this is a prison.”
“Isn’t it?”