Page 50 of Loyalty

“Yes, I absolutely do,” John interjected, stopping his father from saying anything more. “Lucia trusts me more than anybody, and I know Renzo, his streets, and his people. I will find them. I will call you when I do.”

John hung up the phone without another word. He quickly set the glass he used in the sink, and wiped down the counter.

Just like that, his mind had shifted.

He had a new task.

Things he had to do or wanted to do were shoved out to let the most important problem at the moment take over. That was just how his brain worked.

He shrugged on his jacket over his still-unbuttoned dress shirt as he stepped in the doorway of Siena’s bedroom. She was still sleeping, and quite soundly.

He should have woke her up.

He should have said goodbye.

He didn’t leave his phone number because he figured he would be back that night, or shit, at the most, a couple of days. An explanation later, and everything would be fine. Siena would understand what had happened.

After the night they had, surely she would know he hadn’t just left her high and dry.

He should have left a note.

He should have … done a lot of things differently.

Problem was, his mind simply didn’t work that way. It jumped from thing to thing—this to that—and he either got back to it, or he didn’t. Siena was the same; she couldn’t be any different.

John didn’t realize, or even consider, that the next almost three weeks of his life would be spent chasing after his runaway sister, and her delinquent boyfriend.

A couple of days, he could have explained.

Three weeks?

John knew better.

He fucked that up.

He should have said goodbye.

Hindsight was always twenty-twenty.

CHAPTER SIX

SIENA KNEW SHE was alone before she even opened her eyes. Maybe because each time she had woken up the night before, Johnathan had been holding her. Or even, pulling her closer, and into him.

Now, nothing held her.

And she was cold because of it.

She was so accustomed to waking up in an empty bed that the feeling should have been comforting. She didn’t mind being alone, usually. It was mostly okay.

On this morning … it wasn’t.

Not at all.

Sure enough, when she opened her eyes and glanced over, she found the space Johnathan had occupied was now nothing but mussed sheets and a forgotten pillow. A pillow with an indent where his head had rested while he slept. For a long while, she just stared at the space, and did nothing. She didn’t know what to do.

She wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, sure, but a small piece of her knew better despite the hope in her heart.

Maybe he hadn’t run off again.