Page 17 of My Sunfall

Hours later, I finally forced myself to leave. Outside, I saw her driver polishing the family town car with a cloth. He straightened when he saw me and he murmured a subdued “Afternoon, Mr. Romano.”

I stopped dead. Did he just avert his eyes?

I stepped in front of him, studying his face. “You’re Chiara’s driver.”

He looked up and his spine straightened even more. “Yes, sir. I’m Tomaso.”

“You’ve taken her places lately?”

He hesitated, and the frightened look on his face made my blood boil.

Now, he’s tied to a chair across from me in a dim, airless room in the infamous second sub-level of The Bastion. The floor that doesn’t officially exist.

“Where did she go?” I ask again, leaning forward, my voice low and rough.

I haven’t shaved in days, my shirt is rumpled and my eyes burn from too much whiskey and too little sleep. I probably look half-feral, and right now, I don’t fucking care.

“You’ve been driving her around. Where. Is. She?” I say, shoving him back so hard the chair screeches across the floor. “Either you talk, or I make you wish you had.”

“I-I swear, I don’t know, sir, she never told me where she was going, I never saw her leave. Please, you must believe me. I have a family,” he whimpers, shaking his head.

Cold fury floods my veins and I’m about to step up the game when the door swings open with a loud bang. I look over my shoulder and see D walking in.

Just perfect, Teo must’ve snitched on me. I’m gonna kill that motherfucker the second I’m done with this one.

D glances at the scene and he narrows his eyes. “Enough.” His deep voice brooks no argument.

I return my attention to the man, hands bracing on the armrests and gaze back to pinning Tomaso’s. My breathing is ragged, my pulse a dull drumbeat in my ears. “He knows something,” I grit out.

“He doesn’t,” D snaps. “And you’re not thinking straight.”

I laugh, but it sounds unhinged. “You think I give a damn? She’s gone.” My voice cracks on the last word, and I hate myself for it.

He crosses the room, grabs my shoulder and yanks me away from the man. “Let him go, Luc. He knows nothing. You’re going to tear this city apart if you keep going like this.”

I wrench away, pacing toward the wall because if I look at him, I’ll lose what little control I have left. “Good,” I mutter. “Maybe then she won’t be able to hide in the ruins.”

* * * *

Hours later, D and Teo are dragging me away from Teo’s club, Second Circle, where I have been slowly drinking myself into a stupor.

“Leave me be, fuckers,” I hear myself bellow through the red haze.

“That’s enough,” Teo growls as he drapes one of my arms over his shoulder while D does the same with the other. “Jesus, you reek like an illegal distillery. How much have you been drinking?”

“Not enough, since I can still hear your goddamn voice,” I seethe, thrashing against their hold. “Let go, I’m not done here.”

“Yeah, you’re done.” D’s growl booms from my other side. “Don’t make us punch some fucking sense into you.”

They drag me away, and even though I put up as much fight as I can, I’m no match for the two fuckers. I’m not small, but right now they hoist me into the elevator and all but carry me into the suite I have here for occasional stays when our business meetings end in the dead of night. Minutes later, I am lying shirtless on the bed, looking with fascination at the spinning ceiling.

“There’s a bottle of water on the nightstand, along with your phone. I’ll leave the bedside lamp on. If you need anything, you know the front desk’s number.” Teo’s quiet voice is laced with concern, and shame begins to choke me up. I wait until they are gone, then drape my arm over my eyes, wondering how the fuck my life has gone so deep down the gutter that my two childhood friends had to drag me away from myself.

What a pathetic fool.

Chapter Ten

Chiara