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My head throbs, and I feel like I didn’t get a wink of sleep as I roll over in bed to find Benny beside me. He’s still in his clothes from last night. His messy black hair and tired eyes confirm he got less sleep than I did.
He drops his phone in his lap. “You’re awake.”
My throat is dry. “I’m awake.”
There’s no doubt this is different for us.
Slightly awkward.
I shut my eyes, and flashbacks of how he comforted me last night sweep through me. My crying didn’t last long after he tucked me into bed. As silence circled us, Benny stayed with me, not leaving my side. I cursed my brother with sadness and anger, and Benny comforted me.
“How are you feeling?” he asks.
I rise and sit next to him. “Like my entire world is falling apart.” I run my fingers along the blanket, ripping at a snagged thread. “Will you promise me something?”
“What did I tell you about my promises?”
I slowly drag my gaze to his and meet his eyes. His are soft and curious to my dull ones.
“You don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whisper.
He slowly nods.
I clear my throat to make it as clear and alert as possible. “I want you to kill the man who murdered my brother.”
Benny frowns and scrubs a hand over his tired face.
“It was the loan shark, right?”
His brow furrows, a slight wrinkle forming on his forehead. “At first, it’s what I thought. But shit isn’t adding up.”
“What isn’t adding up?”
He blinks, as if his mind has been attempting to solve this question all night. “I told Tommaso I’d pay a portion of his debt to get Sammie off his back, and according to Tommaso’s texts, Sammie agreed. He planned to pick up the money after I dropped it off.”
I scoot in closer to him and rest my head along his shoulder. “Is that where you went last night?”
“Yes, but it makes no sense for Sammie to kill him when he knew a half-million dollars was coming.”
“A half-million dollars?” I shriek, jerking away to gape at him. “Are you nuts?”
Benny shakes his head, a slight smirk on his lips at my reaction. “Not nuts, baby. Just a man protecting his wife.” He drags me back to him, lifts his arm, and tucks me into him.
“Whoever it is, I want them dead.” I hate how much anger is in my voice, but I can’t help it.
“Then, I will kill them for you.”
* * *
You knowwhat’s more heartbreaking than losing someone you love?
Watching someone you love absolutely break from that loss.
My family will never recover from this.
My parents lost their only son. Their first child.
My mother refuses to leave her bedroom.
