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“I am not responsible for the trouble you’re in, Noelle. I didn’t make you commit fraud at work. I didn’t force you to ask Wayne to help you cover it up. If you go to prison, it will be because you put yourself there,” I tell her. “But I don’t deserve to die to keep you out of a jail cell. My life is worth more than your freedom.”
Noelle gasps. “That’s rich coming from the don’s girlfriend. Or did his dick give you amnesia? Timofey has committed plenty of crimes, and I don’t see you trying to send him to prison.”
“That’s different because—”
Because Timofey would do anything for me.
Because he never would have betrayed me to protect himself.
I walked away from Timofey because he paid my dad off to stay out of my life, but in a lot of ways, he was just doing for me what I’ve always done for other people: he was taking care of me, even though I didn’t ask. He was sacrificing for my benefit, expecting nothing in return.
I take a deep breath. “No one in my life has ever treated me the way I deserve to be treated. I’m always the doormat, the open wallet. But there is only one person who has offered me anything resembling a safe place to land… and I walked away from him.”
“Don’t tell me you’re talking about Timofey,” Noelle says in disbelief. “He is way worse than I am!”
I shake my head. “No. No, he isn’t. The world isn’t black and white, Noelle. There is a lot of gray. Sometimes, good people do terrible things for a very good reason. But you don’t have any excuse. You did it because you’re selfish.”
Noelle snorts. “You are so fucking brainwashed. You are—”
“Done here.” I wave. “I’m done with this and with you. Goodbye.”
I turn away before Noelle can try to reel me back in. When I glance back, I realize there was no reason to worry. She didn’t even try.
She’s gone.
Before I get on my motorcycle, I call Timofey. He needs to know what the Albanians are up to. He needs to know that he can’t trust anyone in my life, especially Noelle.
The phone rings and rings and rings.
He never answers.
98
TIMOFEY
My phone buzzes in my pocket, but I ignore it. My hands are a little full at the moment.
I don’t want to say Benjamin can sense Piper is gone and is now protesting, but there’s nothing else that can explain the last six hours.
Nonstop screaming and crying. Refusing naps. Hurling food the second he gets his hands on it.
I have never touched so many bodily fluids in such a short amount of time in my life. And that’s coming from a man who has scooped up human brains with my own bare hands.
“The food doesn’t do any good if you don’t keep it inside,” I grit out, tossing another ruined onesie over my shoulder in the general direction of the hamper. It’s buried under a mountain of shit-stained sheets and clothes.
The maids worked hard to make the house as clean as new before we moved back in, but Benjamin has seen to it that his room is a disaster.
Akim offered to watch him for the afternoon. I refused solely because I knew why he offered.
“I’ll take Benjamin,” he said. “You know, if you need… some time.”
“I don’t need anything.”
He nodded. “Right. Obviously. But if you want to, I dunno, get shit-faced or something…”
“I don’t need to eat a pint of ice cream and cry over a romantic movie. My nanny quit. That’s all.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m just saying that I’m happy to take care of him.”
