A sniper.
I looked at Zade, and judging by his unfazed expression, I could tell he already knew this.
"Possibly our killer. Now that we know Ana isn’t safe, I would like to suggest protection—"
"We’re done here, detective."
"What?" he blinked.
"I’ll handle it from here."
"Mr. Salvero, I’m not sure you understand the gravity of the situation. Ana’s a target—"
"I’m aware of the situation," Zade cut him off, his annoyance showing. "I have my own security detail. I don’t need the force. You’re welcome to argue with me on that, but I’m not sure your superiors are gonna like that."
Rick clenched his teeth. "You’re keeping me from doing my job, Mr. Salvero."
"I don’t think my wife’s safety is your job."
"Gentlemen, please..." Julius interrupted before I had the chance to do it. "I’m sure we’re all still shaken and on edge after this incident, so may I suggest we focus on what’s more important?"
"Nothing’s more important than Ana’s safety, which I intend to see through to the end," Rick said fearlessly.
Zade chuckled, catching us all off guard. It may have been the same for everyone else, but it sent a shiver down my spine because I knew Zade wasn’t exactly in a good mood right now.
"You really take your job seriously, don’t you?"
"As a matter or fact... I do."
I need to do something.
"Rick..." I forced myself to speak. "You were gonna say something about the autopsy, right?"
Hopefully a change of topic was what was needed, because I had no fucking intention of standing here and letting this get out of hand.
"Yes," Rick replied. "I’m not sure if—"
"Tell me, I want to know."
He exhaled. "The autopsy showed that your father died slowly. We’re dealing with a professional here. But I do have one question. Is there anyone who might want to hurt you or cause you harm in any way?"
"N-Not that I can think of."
He nodded. "Because I think your father’s death was just an up front to get to you. The name on the wall, Stasia, it’s your name, isn’t it? Ana—stasia..."
I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came.
"You told me you didn’t know what that name means."
"That’s enough," Zade cut in. "Perhaps you should focus more on finding the killer than constantly trying to question my wife."
"That is exactly what I’m doing, Mr. Salvero. I just hope we’re both on the same team here."
"Are you insinuating I do not want to find the killer?" Zade asked, amused, eyes daring him.
"No, I wouldn’t dream of having such thoughts."
God, that was a fucking lie, and I wasn’t sure Rick was trying to hide the fact that it was.
Rick rested his hands on his waist. "If you’d excuse me, I have work to do."
He left.
Julius kept his eyes on him before shifting them back to us. "You have a spirited detective there. Surely you don’t intend for him to find the killer first. He’s one step ahead of you, Mr. Salvero. What do you plan to do about that?"
"Nothing that concerns you."
Dante and Jade came in view, and I released a breath as I peeled myself off Zade and rushed to embrace her.
"You’re okay." I held her tightly before breaking the hug to see her.
"Yeah, you too," she said in relief.
I nodded before I spoke softly. "I’m sorry you had to go through that."
"It’s not your fault, Ana. I mean it’s not like you knew bullets were gonna fly, right?"
I forced a smile only as guilt ate through me. I anticipated danger but not to this degree. I never should have let Jade be here.
"Caleb and Luca?" I asked Dante.
"They’ll live, already on their way back to the manor."
I nodded. "Please make sure Jade gets home safely."
"You don’t need to tell me that."
"What? I’m not leaving you alone. Forget about me, you almost died. Look, I don’t know what’s going on but there’s obviously some shit happening right now."
"I’m fine, Jade, really. I just need to make sure you get home safe. Okay?"
"Ana..."
"Please, Jade." I held her hands tightly. "I’ll be more relieved if you’re at home and not here. I mean it."
There was a wary look in her eyes, but she replied anyway.
"Okay."
We hugged one more time before I watched her leave with Dante. With a shuddering breath, I looked over to Zade putting on his dress shirt stained with blood, a difficult task, but Elliot helped him.
"In case you need me." I eyed the card that Julius handed to me.
"What makes you think I’m gonna call you?"
"I don’t expect you to. However, I do hope you will."
"You know something about this, don’t you?"
"Let’s say I have a hunch where this sniper originated from. There’s only one possible place. The undercity."
The undercity?
I opened my mouth to say something, but he was already leaving before I had the chance to speak.
It took a moment before I walked back to Zade and Elliot in the middle of what seemed like a discreet discussion.
"Is there something I should know?"
My question caught their attention.
"Go on, tell her." Zade urged.
"I don’t think we should get Ana more involved in this. We can handle this more quickly and quietly—"
"Whatever it is, I wanna know," I cut him off. "This concerns my life, doesn’t it? And the killer."
"You heard her, Elliot," Zade said, amused.
"Yes," Elliot replied with a slight frown.
"Perhaps we should do this outside. Too many eyes." Zade placed his hand at the small of my back as he guided me out of the gallery.
We got out of the building and neared the SUV, parked and waiting.
Zade opened the door for me, and I got in first. It had two plush seats facing each other, separated by a narrow console.
Elliot got in last and sat opposite us.
"I found this beyond the manor grounds before the cops got there. That was where the sniper took the shot." He dipped his hand in his suit pocket and pulled out something.
"What’s that?"
It was Zade who replied. "A spent cartridge casing... left by the sniper."
"What does that mean?" I asked.
"It means we have something to work with. The casing can help identify the weapon. And if the killer was hired, that could eventually lead us to them."
"H-Hired? Like, from the undercity?" I asked, recalling Julius’ words.
"That’s where most assassins come from, so yes."