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“Not if you still need a cane to walk.”

His expression changed, and he stared out at the ocean. “Does the cane embarrass you, Vanessa?” His tone turned icy.

“What?” I blinked. “No.”

“Are you sure my handicap doesn’t bother you?”

Confusion hit me for a moment, then revelation surfaced.Oh, my god.

“That’s not what I meant.” I placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. “I’m not embarrassed by anything, Attikus. I just don’t want you to depend on something if you don’t need to be. You should be strong and free.” I sighed. “I imagine the cane would remind you of a painful past. If I were you, I’d want to be free of that reminder. That’s all.”

“Sorry, I overreacted.” He scrubbed a hand over his face. “You want to accompany me to my physical therapy? It’s at Forrest’s Clinic. He has an amazing team.”

“If you’d like.”

His phone rang in his back pocket, but he let it go to voicemail. The silly man was glued to my pencil drawing of his foot.

But the phone rang again.

“I think you should take the call.”

He reached for his phone, looked at the screen, and answered. “Yeah?” He listened while keeping his eyes on me. “It’s okay. What’s up?” His expression darkened, and I paused my sketching. “Send what you have. I’ll look soon. Keep me posted. Thank you.”

“What’s wrong?” I asked once as he ended the call.

“Emmanuel is dead. He was in a car accident.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

ATTIKUS

When we arrived in Providence,Vanessa excused herself to unpack. I knew Emmanuel’s death had affected her. Though he’d been her ex, he was also a victim in this fiasco.

Forrest had sent me the toxicology report on Emmanuel’s bloodwork. He had high levels of toxins. He hadn’t seen that combination before, but he recognized some of the dangerous chemical agents that damaged brain cells.

“I’ll be in my office.” I kissed her forehead. “If you need me, just come in.”

“His sister will be devastated. Do you think she’s also in danger?”

“I’ll have someone watch over her.”

“You’d do that?”

I tipped her chin up. “I’d do anything to remove the despair on your face.”

“Thank you.” She embraced me. “Do you need me to help you unpack?”

“You’d do that?” I repeated her words and earned a smile.

Nodding, she pinched my cheek. “I’d do anything to remove the despair on your face.”

I watched her enter her bedroom, and my chest tightened a little more. I wanted her to move intomybedroom. But now wasn’t the moment to bring that topic up.

I walked into my office, shut the door, and moved to the bulletin board with pictures and notes of my family’s murderers. A second board had been created for Vanessa’s blackmailer. More individuals needed to be added after what she’d told me.

I wrote a note and slapped it on the board.

Emmanuel had given me a list of gyms affiliated with Ultra Health and Fitness, where Milton worked. My friends had uncovered that Milton Kalkounis—the man who hung out with the bullies—was part of The Trogyn. Vanessa’s father was too. When she’d told me his name, I sent it to Orion to search through the database. Charles Laurent had died a few years ago in an explosion in Mexico.