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LILY
He’s alive.
Thank God.
I catch my breath, unsteady. Relief crashes over me… only to be followed by confusion – and fury. Nero is alive. The doctor just lied to me.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, still shaken to my core. Chase comes storming into the den behind me, cursing under his breath.
“I tried to stop her.”
“Close the door, Chase,” Nero says, then he shifts into a seated position, elevated by some pillows. “And for God’s sake, keep your voice down,” he tells me.
As if it’s my fault.
“Are you kidding me?” I fight not to scream the roof down. I’m still trembling, trying not to cry. “I thought you were dead!”
“Yeah, it’s an unfortunate necessity that people believe that for a while.”
“People?” I spit. “I’m your wife.”
“Are you, now?” Nero’s eyes meet mine coolly. Then he shrugs, like my terror is no big deal. “Vance will go to ground now; he won’t risk retribution. But we don’t know who else is involved in this. It could be anyone. Anyone I trust, even. But if people think I’m dead, it will give me a chance to draw them out.” He looks past me to Chase.
“You get the surveillance footage from the docks yet?”
“Working on it.”
Nero nods, looking grim. “I doubt there’s anything on there. I didn’t see anyone aside from Vance. But… Fuck, if Kyle hadn’t followed me there, who knows what might have happened?”
His gaze slides past me, and I realize… He doesn’t remember that I was there.
I consider telling him, but I decide to keep my mouth shut. I don’t want him to know just how much I cared, or how scared I was when I thought he was dead.
“Lily, you understand what’s at stake here?” he demands. “Not a fucking word.”
“Fine,” I mutter. “I won’t tell anyone you’re alive. Just let me out of here.”
Nero’s eyes shift to Chase, and he gives him a small nod. Obedient as always, Chase steps aside. I glare as I pass him, not even bothering to look back at Nero. I just need to get away from him, from everyone. The past few hours of chaos and panic are catching up with me, and all I want is to be alone.
Luckily, everyone’s cleared out, and the house is empty. I head upstairs, my feet weighing heavier with every step. I make it as far as my art studio and take a seat in the chair by the window. I give in to tears, and weep, my shoulders shaking with the release.
It’s been a hell of night.
In fact, the last twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind of emotion.
Finally, the tears ebb, and I begin to feel human again. I swallow hard, looking around at the half-packed case by the door, and all my supplies shoved into boxes. Now that I know Nero is going to be okay, I remember why I was ready to leave him just a few short hours ago. This bullshit about faking his death is just another example of his betrayal and dishonesty.
I can’t trust him.
I shiver, sitting there alone in the dark. As much as my heart aches for him, as much as I felt it breaking when I thought he was dead, it doesn’t change what I’ve learned.
The Barrettis killed my mother.
Nero’s father may have issued the order, but Nero was right there by his side. It may not have been his finger on the trigger, but her blood is on his hands, all the same.
He’s a killer. A criminal.
My husband.
