Page 249 of John + Siena: The Complete Duet

Andino nodded. “Yeah, go.”

Siena barely blinked, and two weeks passed her by just like that. As though she hadn’t even been a part of it at all. It was strange how when something was weighing on a person’s mind, everything else in their life became inconsequential. Nothing else mattered but that one thing they couldn’t seem to shake.

Not long ago, she had been wishing for time to speed up, and make life a little more bearable. Oh, sure, she could absolutely see the irony in it. Now, here she was wondering where in the hell those two weeks had gone, and how she managed to spend them entirely lost to her own mind.

She felt like she was in a bubble, of sorts. All the time, and never ending. Floating high above everyone else, and looking down on them while they continued living their lives. The world kept moving, but she was frozen—suspended.

She could hear their conversations, and see their expressions and gestures. Yet, everything still felt a little cloudy and muffled to her. She was sure this was what people called an out-of-body experience.

Was it supposed to last this long?

Was it supposed to be this confusing?

Siena didn’t know.

If anyone noticed her disengaged attitude, or distracted behaviors, no one mentioned anything to her about it. Not even John when he caught her zoning out during their early morning phone calls.

For that, she felt most guilty. She couldn’t explain to him, though.

Andino was clear.

Siena just needed to get this done.

And by this, she meant killing her own brother.

Strolling through her mother’s brownstone, Siena saw far more faces than she cared to count. Many, she recognized, but there were a few whom she couldn’t place. Her brothers’ men, their families, and friends.

All the people who should gather for a party when there was something worthy to celebrate. Today, they were celebrating Kev’s birthday. Apparently, a new boss should always have his momentous events celebrated by his men.

Siena didn’t know if that was actually true or not, and she really didn’t care at the moment. Kev was simply celebrating something only to never see it through. He wouldn’t see the end of his birthday—he wouldn’t wake up the morning after being a day older than he was right now.

She had to make sure of it.

She was going to make sure of it.

The filled-to-the brim brownstone was exactly the kind of circumstance Siena needed to get this done. Andino’s warning about making sure many people were around when she did the deed had not been simple. She always figured out ways in her mind about how the murder would be linked back to her.

Not tonight, though.

Balloons, streamers, and banners hung from the ceilings, and decorated the stairwell. A bit juvenile for a grown man, really, but their mother didn’t know how to tone it down when it came to her sons.

A gold and black theme, it seemed. Even the cake had black frosting piped with gold trim. God knew Siena didn’t want any of that overly sweet shit—she would probably throw it back up.

She already felt like puking. Her nerves worked overtime. She wasn’t sure if it was because her anxiety was acting up, or due to the action she was about to take against her family.

Once again, betraying them. Once again, proving she was exactly what they all said.

The shame.

The disgraced one.

It was just too damn bad that none of those thoughts really stopped Siena’s resolve to get this whole thing done and over with.

“Siena!”

Coraline’s sharp bark made Siena hesitate as she tried to pass by a group of gathered men. Turning, she faced her scowling mother standing in the entryway between the hallway, and the living room.

“Yeah?”