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If Alize is hurt—or worse, if she’sdeadthen…
I can’t even finish the thought, because I’m not sure what I would do. There would be nothing to do. I wouldn’t be myself. I could hunt down whoever hurt her and bring them to the gates of hell myself, but it wouldn’t bring her back.
I can’t lose her.
Not when I haven’t even been able to make amends with her for what happened on the trip. For not being honest with her about how I actually feel. Everything that I thought I was protecting myself from by not defining our relationship—the pain of losing someone else I care about, for one—pales in comparison to what I feel now.
No, this can’t be the end of it.
I call Ezra twice more while Eufrasio chauffeurs me to the waiting Gulfstream. It goes straight to voicemail again. With shaky fingers, I dial Vance’s number. He doesn’t pick up either.
I even dial Alize’s cell.
She doesn’t answer either.
What are the odds that all three of them aren’t answering their phones after a barrage of early morning texts from Ezra? Nothing good ever happens at three in the morning. The early mornings belong to killers, to people like me. Those of us who live in the shadows.
What the hell could have happened?
My mind spins tale after tale, each of them worse than the one before. It could have been anyone or anything—disgruntled students, Cassidy and her venomous hatred, even Keller and his fucked up coalition. How did I not realize how dangerous it still was for Alize?
I should have made better preparations for her safety.
Holding my head in my hands, the heavy truth settles on my shoulders. All of sudden, I’m not twenty-two anymore—I’m twelve, walking into the greenhouse to see the pavers painted with my mum’s blood. I’m crouching behind the trees as her killer walks away.
I’m a fucking coward.
My eyes burn and a tear threatens to fall. That’s the sensation that pulls me back to reality, enough to tether me to the present. I look up to see Eufrasio looking at me through the rear view mirror. There’s a look of concern on his face.
“Everything okay, sir?”
I bop my head quickly, swallowing the torrent of emotions. I can’t experience them here, out in public, so I do what I do best. I bottle them up. “Of course.”
He’s satisfied enough to turn his attention back to the road.
The streets of Sorrento look different this early in the morning. Very few tourists are out and about and most of the shops aren’t even open yet. It’s almost eerie. We drive the rest of the way in heavy silence.
By the time the jet has taken off, I’ve come to terms with most of what I’m feeling. Enough to put a name on it and figure out what I’m going to do. If anything has happened to Alize, I’m going to kill everyone responsible. It’ll be a slow, agonizing death for them.
Then I’ll join her, because a life without her isn’t worth living.
* * *
I slamthe door to my room open, my heartbeat thick in my ears.
Fuck making peace with all the possibilities. I ran all the way here from the parking lot, and every inch of my body is so taut with tension I can’t even speak.
The scene in front of me pushes me over the edge.
My dining room has been rearranged—the chairs and dining table have been pushed against the wall. There’s a single chair away from all the others, and there’s blood.
So much blood.
It looks like a murder scene.
That’s where I find Ezra, crouched and peeling back the layers of plastic that are on the floor. My head starts spinning at the sight. Even though I tried to prepare myself for any eventuality, seeing it in front of me like this adds a different dimension to the storm swirling within me.
If she lost this much blood, there’s a chance she could still be alive—but it’s so slim. They would have had to admit her immediately. Why is Ezra even here, cleaning up? Did Vance take her instead? I start cycling through the nearest hospitals in my mind. There’s no way in hell the campus clinic can handle this much blood loss.
