Page 83 of Vow of Vengeance

"I'm serious. She technically may have pulled the trigger, but if we get rid of her, we can make a clean break. If we keep her alive, we run the risk of her going to the police."

Heisserious.

"Fuck, Wes, no." I hiss. "She's my wife's best friend! I'm not fucking killing her."

"What's your alternative? Let her go until she realizes she's a killer and snaps? Some women don't do well with that shit."

"Nobodyshoulddo well with that shit." I argue. But, really, I don't give a fuck that Khan is dead, so maybe I'm being a hypocrite.

"I'm just saying, if she gets a sudden sense of self-righteousness and goes to the police, what's keeping you out of prison? She knows who you are. I could disappear today and have a new identity by tomorrow, but you..."

"She won't." I shake my head. "She shot him in self-defense."

"And we explain the tape on his face,how? Nothing about what we did screams self-defense because we were supposed to make him disappear. That won't work now."

I know, in some small part of me, that he's correct. All it would take to disprove self defense would be a single detective or medical examiner to actually do their job. It's a big ask, but also a big risk to assume that they won't.

I open my mouth, but I'm not sure how to answer that, because he's right. I make large donations to the police because I trust that the only corruption happening is that which I've sanctioned. But are my charitable contributions enough to make them all look the other way over amurder?

I don't need to answer that, though, because his phone rings, cutting through the tenuous silence. I narrow my eyes at him.

"I thought you left your phone in the planter." I accuse.

He nods, his brow creasing as he reaches for the device in his back pocket. "This is a burner. Violet wouldn't call unless she had a good reason."

From the corner of my eye, I see Marissa stand, coming to walk toward us. I manage a smile that I hope is reassuring, but it falters when Wes answers the phone and I hear the panicked rush of his wife speaking.

I can't make out any words, but it's clear something is wrong.

"Slow down," Wes says, his voice suddenly softer like it was for Marissa. "Tell me again, what happened?"

Marissa and I both watch Wes a moment as he listens to whatever his wife is saying and then he drags his free hand through his hair.

"Are you okay?"

Temporary relief flashes across his face before his eyes collide with mine, and then he presses a button on the phone. I think he hung up, until he instructs his wife to tell us again, because she's on speakerphone.

"I'm so sorry!" Violet bursts out. "I opened the door to pick up a package, and someone came out of nowhere. He rushed me and knocked me out so he could get to Soren. He took her!"

"What?"

My heart seizes, refusing to believe what I've just heard.

He took her.

Soren.

My wife.

Fuck no.

"Whotook her?"

I already know who it is. Tony must have been watching us, to know that I left Soren alone. Fuck. I left her alone, and now...

"I don't know. I didn't get a good look before he hit me. He was tall, thin..."

Tall and thin? Tony isn'tthin. He's far from it.