Page 272 of Cara & Gian: The Guzzi Duet

Couldn’t …

Gian only came out of his stupor when he heard a faint buzzing coming from somewhere beneath the blanket covering Elena’s body. He found her phone tucked into her side, and was surprised to find the device unlocked. A quick check confirmed his worst fucking fears.

A constant stream of incoming messages—each getting progressively more panicked and desperate than the last—from Domenic, which had started just an hour before. Several calls, one that was picked up, and the rest had not been. Gian scrolled up through the new messages to find what Elena had started messaging to Dom just an hour before.

He’s never going to let me go.

He’s got her, anyway.

I’m done.

This is it, Dom.

I love you.

Don’t blame yourself.

It was him.

He did this to us.

And to top it off, she had even texted a picture of the empty pill bottles. Her intent had been clear, and even right up until the bitter end, she couldn’t help herself.

Elena had to manipulate.

She had to hurt someone.

Elena’s final words to Gian made a hell of a lot more sense when Domenic’s final text came in. He’ll never be happy, either, not after today.

Even in her death, Elena was selfish to those who had either cared, loved, or protected her in some way. Gian wasn’t surprised at all.

This also wasn’t the time for him to wonder about it. Something in his brother’s last message told him that he had far more pressing matters to deal with. Unfortunately, it looked like Dom might have a few minutes ahead of him.

It’d been a while since Gian prayed.

It still felt like breathing.