Page 45 of When Hearts Unravel (The Orchid #6)

“Jacques will meet Bree at the side entrance an hour into the gala tomorrow. We have her costume ready. It should be easy for her to blend in as waitstaff on site.” Elias’s gravelly voice, along with some background noises, comes through the line.

The man disappeared soon after we docked at Port Hercules in Monte Carlo, Monaco, this morning.

And now, with the sun sitting low on the horizon, washing the coastline in gold, I’m standing at the pier, leaning against my custom vintage motorbike, as I get my instructions for Bree’s extraction.

Dread and anticipation pulse inside me. The moment I’ve been waiting for.

Will I finally get the atonement I was seeking?

Will I finally be able to let the past go?

Elias murmurs, “Your job is to keep the crowd’s attention on you so Bree can get to the meetup point.”

To this day, the mobster still won’t tell me the extent of her involvement with The Association.

He adds, “I won’t be attending the gala—too many eyes on me—but I’ll be nearby. Does everything make sense?”

“Yes.” I wince as an ache throbs in my head. Damn headaches join the blackouts now. “Are you ever going to tell me what’s going on? I have so many damn questions.”

He chuckles. “I know you do, and I suppose I owe you answers.” A heavy exhale comes across the line. “Bree has something I need to get to a ledger.”

“A ledger even the Elias Kent is interested in? I thought you held the biggest black book out there.”

“This one has The Association contacts in it. I want it.”

“That’s it? You want a ledger, and that’s why we’re all risking our lives right now?”

A few beats of silence.

He murmurs, “It’s personal, and if everything works out, it’ll save many people and take down The Association. That’s what we want, right? No more rapes or assaults. No more trafficking. No more innocent sixteen-year-olds being traumatized for life.”

My blood freezes, and I grip the throttle. I think about Taylor, about what The Association did to her when she was sixteen, her future bright in front of her.

How we almost lost her, and then later, Ethan and Alexis, who almost drowned in the Hudson because of them.

So yes, whatever Elias’s personal reasons are withstanding, I want that—revenge, take out some bad people causing harm to innocents.

My life and health are shit. And with the way things are spiraling and I still have no answers, no relief, who knows how much time I have left on this earth before I end up mad or dead?

Perhaps this is a way I can contribute to society.

By taking out the trash.

“And Bree will help you do all of this.”

“Yes. It has to be her. No one else can do what she does. If she gets hurt or killed, we’re back at square one. That’s all I’m going to tell you. Do you understand what needs to happen tomorrow?”

I grind my teeth, knowing this is the most I’m going to get out of him. Images of Mom and Raya’s bodies appear behind my eyelids and I shove them away.

“Yes. I understand.”

I’m saving Bree. This is my way of atonement. The Association, an organization I hate with my guts, might go down because of this.

I don’t have all the answers, but I have enough. And when the dust settles…maybe I’ll be able to sleep. Or a miracle will occur and I’ll be at peace and the strange symptoms I’m experiencing will…disappear.

And I can be with her. Olivia.

“Good. Will be in touch.”

He hangs up as a fresh wave of dizziness hits me, followed by the same nagging headache. It’s my body reminding me of my fucked-up symptoms—how someone as screwed up as me can never be with someone as perfect as her.

I pop a few Velowakes into my mouth. My sleep has dwindled to two hours a night now, and I know why.

My trip is ending.

A seagull cries in the distance before taking flight, soaring over the yachts and sailboats docked nearby. A few tourists amble along the coast, taking photos, laughing and chatting.

This is the last stop on the cruise, and in three days, we’ll be chauffeured to our jets to resume normal life in the real world.

Three more days until my temporary forever with Olivia ends.

It’s a strange phrase, but it’s true. While I have the curse or, in this case, the blessing of remembering every moment with her, for Olivia, these memories are temporary.

One day, her memories of me will fade like they do for most folks.

Maybe she’ll be on her honeymoon in Greece, holding the hand of a respectable man—a surgeon or a lawyer—and she’d think about the wild month she had a long time ago with a playboy who knew how to fuck but couldn’t give her anything more than that.

Maybe she’d remember how she dove off a cliff for him and she’d smile because it wasn’t something she was keen to do, but at least she did it once.

Maybe she might think of me or search my name online to see what I was up to.

If I were still around then.

It’s debatable, given that my blackouts are happening more often now. This morning, I woke up in the main auditorium when a staff member shook me.

I’m going crazy. After all, that’s the only explanation, right? I’ve seen so many doctors—everything coming back normal.

While I have another appointment with the neurologist next week, I’m not hopeful.

Perhaps one day, I’ll be so out of my mind, I won’t remember her.

Huffing a soft laugh under my breath, I shake my head.

That’ll never happen. I think if I were to forget everything else, I’d still remember her.

The closest to forever. My forever.

“Good luck tomorrow,” a voice murmurs behind me.

I turn around, finding Casey standing a foot away, his hand resting on top of his suitcase.

“You’re leaving.” My chest tightens, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.

“Yes.”

“Why? You never leave early.” Don’t leave me. I can’t be with Olivia. I can’t lose you too.

His lips hitch up on one side and he shrugs. The wind ruffles his dark hair. “I don’t know if I can stay any longer. I don’t want to be here for the next part.”

“So, you’re just going to chicken out when things get dangerous? Aren’t you the one who called me a coward?”

He shakes his head, clearly not falling for my bait to rile him up. “I trust you’ll make the right decisions this time. You don’t need me here anymore. It’s not like I made a difference in your choices before.”

I think back to the times he’s saved me—the nagging, the laughs, the arguments—he has made a difference.

“And,” he slides on his aviators, “you have someone better now. Someone who really understands you, someone who can anchor you. You’ve changed on this trip—in ways I never thought possible. I know I had nothing to do with it.”

“I can never be with her. You know my issues.”

“I know what you think are your issues. If there’s anything I say that I want you to carry with you always…things aren’t as bad as they seem. Or as hopeless.” Casey turns away and takes a few steps toward the street.

He looks back and says, “You don’t need me anymore, Rex. You can make the right choices. Starting with that bottle in your hand.” He motions to my Velowake. “Let her in. Let her give you peace.”

Lifting his hand in a wave, he strolls away, leaving me behind, conflicting thoughts rioting inside me.

My chest is heavy. I can’t breathe.

But then, I feel everything.

A phantom ache like I’d lost a limb. A heaviness in my chest at his parting words—the faith laced in them even after all the years I’ve disappointed him.

My old friend—fear—trying to say hello, whispering in my ear that I’ll always be a disappointment.

That Casey and Olivia’s faith in me isn’t misplaced.

And maybe, just maybe, a twinge of pride. He thinks I’m ready. He thinks I don’t need him to babysit me anymore.

“Why do you look so sad?”

The sweet scent of cotton and honey wafts to my nose.

I smile. My sweet, darling Olivia. The woman I’ve spent most of my waking hours with since we decided to pursue our temporary forever.

She taps my shoulder, her eyes brimming with concern.

I look at where Casey was, finding him long gone, then turn toward my bewitching vixen.

“Nothing. You ready for a day you’ll never forget?”