“What shall I do with her things?”
Rocco nods toward Teo. “Someone will swing by to pick them up.”
Claudio nods back as he just stands there awkwardly. “So that’s it?”
“That’s it.”
The asshole has the nerve to look relieved.
“So I’ll see you in a few months, Cas?”
I gape up at him. The reality of what he’s just done is setting in hard and fast. “That’s it? That’s all you have to say to me?”
“Cas…”
“You just sold me to the fucking mafia, you dick!”
“You wanted this.”
“I wanted YOU,” I scream. “I wanted YOU to fight for me. To even just pretend that you loved me as much as you claimed to.”
I launch myself over the desk at him, only for Rocco to catch me by the waist. “I think that’s your cue to leave, Lazzaro.”
“I’M NOT FINISHED!”
But Claudio turns his back on me anyway, stepping out the door without even a glance over his shoulder.
“GET BACK HERE YOU COWARD!”
“Cas. It’s okay, it’s over.” Rocco’s voice is so gentle that he barely sounds like the same person he was a moment ago.
“He…he just left me.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
Heavy tears fall freely down my face as the exhaustion sets in.
“What would happen, do you think? If you broke up with him?”
I didn’t think it would feel like this. Like someone had been excavating a hole in my chest, only to remove the debris in one brutal blow. I feel lighter, but I also feel like I’ve lost something vitally important.
“I have some things to attend to.” Rocco falls into the chair in front of me, looking about as tired as I feel. “Teo will take you to the safe house. I trust him like a brother. No harm will come to you.”
“Fine.” I stare down at my lap, and something pale catches my eye.
“I also feel like I should apologize in advance for this.”
“For what?”
The last thing I see before the blindfold covers my eyes, is the two halves of a snapped, opal fountain pen lying at the bottom of the trash can.
I wake up somewhere entirely unfamiliar.
Vaguely, I remember how I got here. I remember how Teo had to all but carry me down to the back exit of theCandelabra,how I sat silently blindfolded in the back of a car before promptly falling asleep.
Someone must have roused me when we arrived, but they didn’t remove the blindfold until I entered this room. The last thing I remember was the welcome sight of a mattress with an actual bed frame before I collapsed.
Slowly, I rouse myself and wince at the headache that’s beginning to form behind my eyes. I almost cry at the sight of a glass of water on the bedside table.
