His lips mouth words but I can’t hear them. His eyes are half-closed now.
I lean closer.
“The king should have never been checked…the bishop watches from within…to kill the wings…”
“What are you talking about Bruno? Bruno?”
His eyes close and sleep takes over. I call his name again, but the medications have a hold on him.
I kiss his cheek. “Rest, Bruno. Don’t worry. I’ll figure it out.” A shiver courses through me at the thought of his words.
What is he talking about? Maybe I shouldn’t take what he’s saying to heart. After all, he did just get shot in the head and had surgery. The anesthesia combined with the pain medication can make someone say the craziest stuff.
I absentmindedly turn the rook over in my hands and I freeze as I notice something on the bottom.
Written in black Sharpie are the words: The bishop watches from within.
Chapter nine
“The bishop watches from within? That sounds like something straight out of a horror movie,” Dominic snorts.
I don’t reply. I’m too busy watching the fabric of his shirt tighten against his back muscles as he moves down the stairs into my basement. The definition is unreal. I hate myself for looking. I hate even more how the memories of the good times we shared are slowly flooding my thoughts.
Fuck.
This is a business arrangement, Cipi. Get it together.
“Bruno was probably loopy from the painkillers and didn’t know what he was saying,” Dominic continues. “But I’m glad he’s okay.”
“It’s too coincidental.” I reach the bottom of the stairs and flick on the light switch. The naked bulbs buzz to life, casting shadows on the boxes and forgotten clutter. “He repeated the exact same phrase that was written on the bottom of the rook.”
“Because he probably saw it before someone shot him.” Dominic walks into the center of the basement and folds hisarms. “Salvatore said Bruno had the rook in his hand when he found him. Now are you sure the chess set is down here?”
My footsteps echo across the concrete as I stand next to him. “I don’t know. It might be.”
“You should have just called your mother and asked her where the chess set is.”
“I can’t do that.” I place my hands on my hips and scan the area. “If I randomly bring up a chess set that I haven’t talked about in years, it’s going to look suspicious. Then she will start asking questions, and I don’t want her to get involved. I can’t risk anyone else getting hurt.” I turn to Dominic. “And Bruno isn’t out of the woods yet. We have no idea what the aftereffects will be from getting shot.”
“The doctor told you he was drugged up. When the medications wear off, he won’t even remember what he said.” Dominic brushes some dust off a nearby box.
“Everything he slurred at the hospital was chess-related. The king wasn’t supposed to fall. The board wasn’t ready…”
“Bruno has always been a big chess fan. He was very good at it too, from what I remember,” Dominic muses. “Now where would this chess set be?”
“It’s probably in the box.” I run my hand through my hair as I look around at the cluttered basement.
“A box?”
“Yes… the box. Mama brought it over after Dad died. She said it contained stuff he wanted me to have. I never opened it. It was too painful. I was going through a lot and had to run an empire with no one by my side. I’m wondering now if the chess board was in there because we used to play together.” I walk over to the stack of boxes and begin moving them. “Check the ones on the shelves over there.”
Dominic strolls over to the left side of the basement and begins removing the clutter.
“Bruno also mentioned dead butterfly wings,” I mutter, lifting the cover of a random box only to find junk.
“Maybe he saw a dead butterfly on the ground after he got shot in the head,” Dominic offers.
“No, there are no flowers around the warehouse.”
