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“How am I meant to do that? I just need to know. I just need a sign.”
“This is your sign. He’s reading your messages. Come on, you look exhausted. Let me set you up in T’s old room.”
“I-I haven’t been able to sleep.”
“Me either. Thank you for coming here. I needed this.” Gloria tugs me into a hug and leads me upstairs. I walk in and instantly smell T. It’s like he’s been here recently, but I know that’s impossible. “Rest, and we’ll talk over breakfast. We still have to go ahead with the service. Father Thomas will be here for lunch tomorrow.”
“You’re planning a service for T?” I choke out.
“We have to. It’s what we’d do normally… if he were really gone.”
“Do you believe he’s still alive? Am I crazy?” I ask.
“I believe there’s a chance he is. And I’ll cling to that chance just as much as you are.”
“Thank you.”
Gloria nods her head and shuts the door. I walk around the room before I decide to lie down on his bed. I wonder how long it’s been since T has slept in it? The room looks untouched. His mother obviously hasn’t altered a thing since he moved out.
* * *
I wake with a start. A hand covers my face. I immediately throw my elbow back behind me, and whoever has a grip on my mouth lets go with an Italian expletive. It only takes a second before my brain registers the voice. I jump out of bed and pounce on my would-be attacker.
“T?” I ask. “What the bloody hell?” I punch him in the shoulder.
“Ow, fuck, dolcezza. Shhh. I need you to be quiet,” he says.
Be quiet?Is he bloody serious? I’m going to strangle him. I laugh—it’s a maniacal laugh. “You have to be kidding me. Where the hell have you been?” I ask with venom in my voice. I’m angry, I’m relieved, and I’m terrified of his answer.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, dolcezza. But I can’t stay long. I just... I couldn’t keep away...”
“What do you mean youcan’t stay? What’s going on, T? Where have you been?”
ChapterFour
Three days earlier
“You know this is a fucked-up plan. It’s probably not gonna work,” Neo says.
“I know, but what choice do we have? Just do your part. And make sure she’s okay.” I send up a silent prayer, hoping that Holly will forgive me for what I’m about to put her through. I can’t see any other way around this fucking problem though.
“Fine. But when she kicks your ass to the curb, don’t tell me I didn’t warn you.”
I watch as Neo drives off. He’s heading to the school to pick up Holly. I need her to see it with her own eyes… to believe that I’m really gone. So she doesn’t do anything rash and put herself in danger.
I’ve found a spot in the bushes with a clear sightline of the building, when the idea of how to kill two birds with one stone crosses my mind. Probably not my smartest move, but I’m “dying” anyway. What have I got to lose?
I send a message, askinghimto meet me at this address. Ten minutes later, I watch as he pulls up with four of his men. They enter the building while scanning their surroundings.Yeah, you should be on edge, motherfucker.You fucking touched what’s mine. It’s time you paid the price.
Neo and I rigged the building to blow—there’re explosives in every room. All set to go off with the flick of a button. A button I control.
I place a call to my second, telling him I need that package I left in his car. He hates this plan. I don’t fucking like it either. But it’s not until I see him pull up, with Holly in the passenger seat, that the doubt really takes hold. My heart stops when she gets out of the car. I can’t let her near that building. Without thinking, I press the button and watch Neo tackle her to the ground. But it’s what I see next—Holly’s reaction—that truly fucking breaks me. I’ve never regretted anything before. But this? Puttingthison her… I fucking hate myself.
I wait until Neo has her back in his car and is driving away before I move. Within the hour, everyone in New York will hear of my demise. And I’ll become the ghost I need to be to get this shit done.
At least one obstacle (that fucking bastard—John Junior) is removed from the picture now. There’s no way he or his men made it out of that building. They’ll be searching for identifiable body parts for months after this, and they still won’t be able to piece the man back together. He never should have threatened Holly. Because when he did, he fucking sealed his fate, along with those of the men he brought with him.
I slink along the back alleyway and jump into the car I parked here earlier. It’s a piece of shit, and nothing like the luxury vehicles I’m used to driving. I shed my tailor-made suit and put on the jeans and plain black tee Neo picked up for me. It’s time to reinvent myself. To become the low-level thug no one would suspect.
