: Chapter 12

Age 32.

Address––

Social security number––

Tax return––

More screens pop open on my monitors and the sheer quantity of information makes me glad I’m doing this in my office and not on my laptop. Sometimes I forget how much you can find on people who have no need to hide everything about themselves.

And not just Savannah. Her parents, cousins, past co-workers… Her family isn’t big, but there’s enough of them.

It’s almost too easy to collect images off their social media accounts and drop them into a tablet.

A small, mostly dead part, inside of my chest twists as I compile more and more photos. Her cousin singing in a church choir. Her cousin’s daughters playing on their school’s playground. Savannah’s dad on a golf course, with the name of their retirement community printed on the side of his golf cart. Her friend Mandi, the one who’s house we met at, smiling with her arm around the shoulders of a beaming Savannah in front of the galleries that Mandi owns.

And more. So much more.

With what I’ve been able to find, my plan is to go with the scorched earth approach.

Personally, it’s my favorite tactic and I imagine it’ll work well in this situation.

I hadn’t been sure which angle to take on convincing her to marry me. Honestly, I hadn’t really thought it through at all. But somewhere between capturing her in my arms, and walking through my front door, I decided it was the only option.

And I’m surprisingly settled on the idea.

From the first moment I saw her, I was attracted to her. I hated that she was with that fucker Leland. I hate that she fell into his web, the same way Aspen did. And part of me is a little disgusted knowing that she’s been with him. But she’s mine now. And I’ll remove every memory she’s ever had of that dumb bastard, one touch at a time.

And, as my wife, no one can ever force her to testify against me in the disappearance of Leland Reed. And no one can ever come after her for being a witness, because no one touches what belongs to me. No one would fucking dare.

Outing myself as one of the heads of The Alliance made my life a little more complicated, made it a little more unsafe. But it did something else too, it let people know just how dangerous I truly am.

Switching my focus away from her family and acquaintances, I dig deeper into Savannah Jane Oates.

I have enough here to compel her to marry me, letting her think I’ll start disappearing people from her life until she does what I want. But I want to know more about her.

I need to know more about my future wife.