Page 92 of Nemesis

I had to return to the party before he noticed I was gone.

“Could you send someone to clean this mess up and stage it to look like a hit from the Moroccans? I have a party to return to.”

I heard her muttering to someone in the background before she let me know that someone would be on their way.

With those parting words, I strapped my smoking gun back in the holster attached to my thigh and we made our way out of the cargo container. Nothing prepared me for what I found waiting for me outside.

That’s when I came face-to-face with him.

CHAPTER35

THEO

My phone had buzzed with a new text.

I’d grabbed it from my pocket and my eyes had flicked down at the screen.

Victor Morales: Have the rest of the night off. My wife and I will be having a late night. Have Omar drive you back if need be and you can leave the keys for the other car with the valet.

A warning instinct had tugged at my senses.

Something is definitely off.

I’d only hesitated briefly before I left the balcony. Using the back exit to avoid any suspicions, I’d headed for the port to find her. To find out what she was up to. For a while, I’d walked across the lot, checking between container stacks for any signs.

It had been surprisingly quiet. Albeit it was a Sunday night, I’d expected a few workers to be here. But no one had been in sight.

I’d slowed down when I heard the sound of a gun cocking ripping through the air. I’d carefully followed the sound, keeping my footsteps silent against the gravel.

I’d scanned the premises until I noticed one of the cargo container’s doors had been slightly ajar. I’d approached it carefully, drawing my gun up.

I’d glanced through the opening, preparing to intervene once I’d seen Morales bound in the middle of the room, a small pool of blood staining the floor beneath him.

But a shadow moved and its voice ripped through the silence. I’d frowned, recognition tugging at the memories of how familiar the voice was. Eventually, it’d stepped out from the shadow, its profile coming into view.

Nothing could’ve ever prepared me for what I found.

What the fuck?

My vision had shifted, the reality in front of me becoming slightly blurry, disbelief coating my view.

I’d shaken my head, blinking rapidly, trying to dispel the image in front of me, thinking that my mind had been playing tricks on me. I’d waited for the sight in front of me to dissolve into something different, but it never shifted.

I’d stood still as my heart had dropped, sinking to the bottom of my chest. My gun had gone slack against my thigh as I wondered if I’d stepped into some alternate universe.

But I’d never woken up from whatever twisted dream I’d slumbered into.

“Sleep tight, Morales.”

Her voice had pierced the fog and unveiled the next scene as I’d watched her become someone completely different.

The weight of those three simple words finally sank in, assaulting my mind.

“You left,” I’d said.

“I had to.”

My pulse had pounded at the memory.