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“That double homicide that was in this alley,” I tell him.
He glances behind his shoulder and back at me, his brows pinched together. “Yeah?”
“It was Savini.”
Confusion still wrecks his face. “Okay…”
“One of the college kids he killed.” I chew on the inside of my lip, afraid of losing him forever. I’ve broken so many of my own rules. “Was my brother.”
His expression turns from pinched brows to wide-eyed. “Banks, oh my god. Come here.” Axel drags me to him. “I’m so sorry.”
I push him away. “That’s not the worst of it.”
He unwillingly allows the distance.
“I…I inserted myself into your life to get closer to him. I wanted revenge, I wanted to kill him for what he did. I wassomad.” I choke back the sob that threatens to take hold. “I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
Axel stands there, his body not moving but his gaze flitting to each of my eyes. "This wasn't…this wasn't real?" He looks down and then at me again. "Any of it? This was all a lie?"
I wipe my nose. "In the beginning, but…"
He cuts me off. “Christ, Banks.” Axel clutches his chest. “I…I loved you.”
The past tense version of that word rips my heart into pieces. I’ve heard it before from other men but I neverwantedto hear it until now. “Axel, I…”
He stops me again, holding his finger out to silence me, his beautiful eyes glistening. “I wasn’t joking when I said he’d kill you, and I think you’re well aware of what he’s capable of.” Axel rubs his lips together and checks his watch. “He’s over on Marston’s for probably another hour or two. You should use that time to get somewhere safe, somewhere he won’t be able to find you.” He skims the outline of one of the cuts on my neck. “Next time this will be much worse.”
He leaves me in the alley, alone and struggling to figure out if the pain in my soul is from his absence or being this near where my brother died.
Either way, I can’t stay here. Not in this dirty backstreet where I’m haunted by my past and present.
I knew I would lose him, but I never imagined the severity of what that would feel like. I went into this with rules, the same guidelines I've been living by for all of my adult life. I wasn't supposed to catch feelings. Not for him, not for Savini. They were pawns in this grand game of chess, and with them off the board, I'm left vulnerable and at risk of checkmate.
If I stand to salvage any of this, there’s only one move left to make.
CHAPTEREIGHT
Iwouldn’t say Lorenzo Savini is predictable, but he is a creature of habit.
On a sheet of paper tucked lazily in a stack in my living room is a list of places he frequents. A hole-in-the-wall diner over on Marston's is one of them.
He’s never consistently visited the place, making it difficult to narrow down when would be the most opportune time to confront him, but with Axel’s warning, he gave me the information I needed.
I reposition my shirt and stroll through the front door, ignoring the pounding in my chest and wild stares that my arrival commands.
Men of all varieties look my way, which isn’t ideal considering what I came here to do.
But if I’ve learned anything, people get away with murder all the time.
A tall, lanky twenty-something-year-old guy stands in front of me. "Can I help you with something?"
I shift my focus around the room. “Savini, where is he?”
“Not here.” The guy broadens his shoulders to appear wider and inches closer. He’s sorely mistaken if he thinks that will intimidate me.
Mild chatter sounds from behind a door and I nod to it. “He’s in there, isn’t he?”
The man steps forward, his frame bumping into mine.
