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What is it that she’s holding on to?
Before I can ask, she throws her head back and stares at the ceiling, blinking rapidly. “Your m-mom…”
Ahh.
She exhales slowly and pinches her nose. “Your mom would hate to see this place such a mess.”
With a sigh, I return my gaze back to the outside. She’s right, again. “Mom wasn’t—isn’t— the most organized person. But this room was her baby.”
Snow gets on her feet with the same two books from earlier, then slides her favorite back onto the bookshelf, aligning the spine.
“This room always felt a little tidier than all the others. Even before I got my strength back, she’d run the oil over the wood at least once a week. After I got better, I took over.” She slides a finger down the edge of the wood. “Twice a week I hydrate the wood. The ones next to the windows—I do everyday…”
Although she speaks, I hardly hear the rest. My gaze is glued to her—every angle, curve, arch, slant… Asking her for clarification would slow us down, but the urge. No. The necessity to know burns through my veins like acid. “Were you sick?”
Neve blinks rapidly, as if I had intruded into her mind space, or maybe she was surprised she revealed something so personal. With a smile, she shakes her head, hugging Mom’s book into her chest like a pillow. “I don’t want to leave her behind… You shouldn’t abandon her again.”
My heart snatches my breath and traps it in my chest.Clever girl.Fucking brilliant, to hit me where it hurts. I don’t want to talk about my Mom, or the fact that I have to leave her again. She doesn’t want to talk about her secret.
Fine, but I have my ways of figuring things out—whether she wants me to or not.
“Maybe we can ship these books over?” She pushes. “And the stuff upstairs.”
“Yeah,” I lie to end this conversation. “Good idea.” I check the phone for the time. “We really need to get moving.” I clap my hands together, twice.
“Right.” She smiles meekly before heading toward the hallway. Halfway, she turns around. “I forgot the—”
“Leave those.” I bow my head toward the shoes. Officer Beyer will no doubt come looking for us, and maybe she’ll think the mob took you. Another Lost Petal.”
She stills and glances behind her and out toward the window.
I don’t like how centered she is with the frame, so I glance outside again. More people loiter the street. Almost doubled.
A faded yellow T-shirt snags my attention. I had seen that old shirt before, just a few minutes ago. But the guy has his hand wrapped around a woman’s waist, a beer in his other hand, and he isn’t even looking this way. He’s more worried about not toppling over and making a fool of himself then staking out a sex shop.
“People are going to die, Styx. Just let me call—I won’t give my name.”
Until the man disappears from sight, I keep my eyes on the back of his head. “Nothing remains anonymous around here. You already know that.”
They wouldn’t wear something so bright,I reaffirm.
“Go change. Wear something comfortable. Heels aren’t meant for running.”
She doesn’t budge. In the candlelight, she looks so innocent, so pure. It’s hard to believe she even stole from me, much less killed a Mafioso.
“Snow, look.” I saunter over to her and gently place myself between her and the trajectory from the window. “We can call from the plane, okay? Does that make you feel better?”
“Really?”
No. I’ll say whatever I need to get her to play along.“Yes.”
“Wait, what plane?”
“The one I’m hoping we don’t miss…It’s going to be okay, Neve.”
“Mass murder is not okay.”
“Look outside.” I slide my upper body so she can see the people walking back and forth. “Tons of people. Odds are, the people who bought the drugs know it’s a bad batch. They’ll probably cut it, or try to find a way to still use it.” This part is not entirely true. “A mass murder is bad for business.”
