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Allegra: I’ll be home in an hour. I just can’t sit around and do nothing. You know me. I’m heading out to knock down a wall, but I’ll be safe. I promise!
I toss the phone on the passenger seat and ignore when it buzzes about fifty times in a row.
This is probably a bad idea.I mean, there’s a whole ton of ways this little meeting can go wrong. But as I lurk on the sidewalk outside of a high-end gym, I can’t help but feel like there’s no other path for me but this one. I wish I didn’t look like a lunatic waiting to pickpocket the rich ladies as they get out of Zumba class, even that’s all part of the plan.
I get lucky. I don’t have to wait long. As angry as I am at her, I’m grateful that Sophia’s obsessed with her schedule. My cousin bustles out of the gym wearing yoga pants and a coat, big headphones on, staring down at her phone as she walks fast toward the parking lot.
I call her name, but she doesn’t hear. I hurry, catch up, and grab her shoulder from behind.
She shrieks, drops her phone, and spins around. “Throat punch!” she screams and her hand lashes out at my face.
“Sophia!” I shove her back before her manicured nails can take a layer of skin off my face.
She’s pale and breathing hard, her hand clutched to her chest as she yanks the headphones off her ears. “Allegra? What the hell are you doing? You scared the crap out of me.”
“I’m sorry. I called your name but you didn’t hear me. Jesus Christ, were you trying to kill me?”
She groans and leans up against a street sign. “I thought you were one of the Irish. Oh my god. I had to beg Dad to let me come to the gym today. Everyone is on edge. You can’t just sneak up on me right now.”
“I’m sorry,” I say again as adrenaline pumps into my veins. “I just wanted to talk.”
“You were waiting on the sidewalk for me like a creep? You have my number.”
“You made it clear you didn’t want to speak the last time I saw you. I thought you might not answer.”
Shame settles into her expression. She looks down, cheeks turning red. “Yeah, about that.”
“I’m not here to get into it, okay? I just want to know what’s going on with the family. That’s all.”
Her laugh sounds exasperated. “Really? After everything, you still want to know what’s going on back home?”
“Yeah, Soph. I really do. Is everyone okay?”
She studies me for a second, then shakes her head. “Couple guys got killed. You didn’t know them, but it has everyone arguing. Your dad’s freaked out and really pissed. He’s got everyone looking for the two Irishmen who did it. We know their names and stuff, but allegedly they’re lying low. Your dad says he wants to take them out quietly so it doesn’t pull us deeper into the conflict, but I don’t know how he’s going to manage that. My dad’s already upgrading security, which is why I had to beg him to let me come here today. Everyone’s preparing to either fight or settle in for a while, and nobody knows what your dad’s going to choose. All I know is, they’re tearing the city up quietly as they can.”
That’s a good sign. If Dad hasn’t made his decision official to the Famiglia, that means there’s a chance he could change his mind. “How’s he seem? Do you know?”
“He’s been sequestered since it happened. The men are in their war room.” She rolls her eyes. “You know how they get.”
“They really do love to play war.”
“Yeah, except now it’s not a game.” Sophia pushes off the street sign and fixes the headphones around her neck. “I’m happy to see you.”
“Really? Last time you made it pretty clear that you didn’t want to see me ever again.”
“I was dumb, okay?” She bites her lip and looks down at the ground. “That was stupid. I really, really miss you.”
I should feel something. Excitement, joy, anything instead of this hollow ache in my chest. I want Sophia back in my life—I miss having a best friend so much it’s like a missing limb. Except I can’t just ignore the things she said. When our lives got hard, she turned her back on me, and maybe she regrets it now and misses me, but that doesn’t change anything. She still did it.
And a big part of me is still pissed.
I start walking toward her car. She falls into step and glances at me with this hopeful expression, and it makes me kind of hate her. It’s an irrational reaction, but what right does she have to expect anything from me? When I needed her to step up and be my friend, she walked away.
“I miss you too,” I say, but keep my tone as neutral as I can. “But I’m really only here to check in on everyone.”
“Do you think we can start talking again? I mean, I was afraid to call and text?—”
“I don’t know,” I say before she can finish.
