Chapter 197: Here Comes The Devil ARES A Few Days Ago Me: It’s getting late. Nico is waiting by the car. Babydoll: He can leave. I’m staying. I eyed the screen, hardly before looking over to the apartment, where a window still had a light on. There’s something wrong. It had been ever since I found her sneaking around in my office. I don’t know what exactly she was doing, but when I checked the cameras, I saw her swiping a flash drive from my laptop when we kissed. The riddles she used, about mafia movies, kidnapping, and blackmailing, boosted my suspicion. She was giving me a message, and I listened. I stayed out of sight in the mall to perhaps find out what was going on, but it turned into a dead end. I couldn’t figure out who might be blackmailing her. I have her phone monitored already, but I can’t find out who she was texting and calling, as if there was some interference. "Nico..." I said, not taking my eyes off the window where I could see the light. "The men who watched Ms. Dalton before I left Midnight. Have you heard from them?" When I got silence in return, I looked to the rearview mirror and saw his eyes widen. "T-They were supposed to check in last week, through Reed. But he hasn’t been around lately." I see. That explained it. Catherine clearly doesn’t wanna see or speak with me. I could easily have her right where I wanted, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be the best option right now. I dialed a number on my phone, and she picked up on the first dial. "I need you to do something for me." "And I miss you too, buffoon!" "Athena..." "Are you back? Oh my God, you are. You didn’t say anything! I keep trying Cat’s line, but it seems like she blocked me. I know I’m nosey sometimes, but I can’t help it and—" "I need you to take the quickest flight back to Midnight." "What, why?" "It’s important, and it’s about Catherine." ~☆~ "If you keep calling me, I swear to God I’m gonna kick you in the balls." Athena said the instant she picked. I have been calling her nonstop ever since she met with Catherine. "Talk to me..." I said, already getting prickly. "You’re an asshole, you know that? Sure, the plan was to act like you left the city, but telling Cat over a text? I think you broke her heart. She’s a wreck. Good thing we drowned ourselves in wine. I really enjoyed our girls’ weekend, even though it’s just the first day and a cover-up." "What did you find?" "She’s contacting someone. The reason you couldn’t see on your end is because there’s interference. I can’t get a name. Wanna guess...?" I exhaled sharply, taking a drag from my cigarette. "Agatha." Athena snorted. "You know that witch is currently out of the city, right?" "That doesn’t mean she can’t pull strings." "How about this... I’ll try to talk to a Cat in some way, hopefully I can get why she’s trying so hard to hide this even from you." ~☆~ "Your wife doesn’t know Morse code. Dammit! But I do know someone’s monitoring her every move, and they are inside this building. We’ve got to stay alert, especially tonight. I don’t think this is Agatha. This is someone else." I heard a sharp sound from the line, followed by another noise I couldn’t make out. "Athena?" "Good riddance! A fire. Don’t worry I’ll get out. You have to move now! Catherine isn’t in her room." I wore my helmet and eyed the small, dark screen built into the handlebars. I saw the red dot, which was the tracker on Catherine’s phone. Powering up my bike, I drove out at speed, zooming past the busy road as the horn blazed. I checked the dot to make sure I was still on route before picking up speed again until I’m blurring through the street. "Ares!" Athena’s voice came through the earpiece. "I’m onto her." "You need backup. I’ll alert Nico." "I’ll handle it alone, we can’t afford any—" The dot took a different route. Fuck! I stopped the bike, gunned the engine, and took another trail that led me farther out. "Is something wrong?" I ended the call, focusing on the red dot, hoping I got there in time. When I got to the destination, I unmounted my bike and grabbed my gun. This building looked like a club, but there didn’t seem to be a crowd or anyone streaming in. The men at the entrance saw me coming. Before they could act, I fired three shots, and they dropped dead. The club is empty. I checked the dot again, but a sound caught my attention, and I pointed my gun. "Please don’t shoot me!" A middle-aged woman yelled, raising her hands. "Where is she?" I didn’t realize I was growling until I felt my chest vibrate. "W-Who?" I shot her ear, and she screamed, falling to her knees. "I-I-I-I was only asked to dress her up, that’s all!" "By who?" She hesitated, and when she saw I was about to take another shot, she screamed. "NOAH VOSS!" Noah. Was that bastard behind this? "Where did they go...?" "H-He said something about a casino, but I don’t know where." I inhaled and walked to the door. "Athena!" "How dare you hang up on me?" "She’s not here." "Calm down!" I’m not calm, and my pulse raced so hard I could hear it thud in my eardrums. When I caught the woman crawling to get away, I shot her leg, and she shrieked, clenching the spot as blood oozed. "It seems like they took apart her phone, dammit!" I clenched my teeth and walked back to the woman, crouched to her, and spoke in a venomous tone. "Something tells me you know more." She whimpered when I pressed the muzzle of my gun beneath her jaw, my finger pressing against the trigger.