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“Anni, you’re freaking me out. What the hell is going on?!” she snaps, crossing her arms and tightening them around herself.
“I’m not ready to be done.”
I let that sink in. I could have sworn I saw a glimmer of understanding in her eyes.
“I’m not talking about the business. I’m done with the deals, forging, etc. That chapter is very much closed. But… it’s the thrill I’m not done with. I guess… shit, I don’t know. I don’t know why, I can’t explain it. I’m fooling myself by justifying it with the fact that I was cooped up in the studio for a lot of this time and I somehow didn’t get my fill. But I’m only using that excuse because I can’t explain it otherwise.”
She narrows her eyes, clearly trying hard to be patient with me.
“I made a mistake, Hanna. An intentional one. The painting we sold to R… The Lady in White—I gave her my eyes.”
“You did what?!” she shouts, hands going to her hips as her mouth falls open.
“Slightly. It’s not obvious. It’s not at all common knowledge what color her eyes were, and due to the size of the painting and the size of her head, it’s not easy to tell, unless the person who looks at it knows…”
“The color of yours. Oh my God! You did it for…”
“Myself, Hanna!” I interrupt, my tone growing higher. “I did it for myself. I’m ready to give them the money back. I put it aside specifically for this, but I need… fuck! It’s hard to explain, okay? I can’t even fully explain it to myself.”
“Don’t lie to me. This is about Ronan.”
“The craving was there before he showed up in the picture. But I don’t think I would have acted on it and set the plan in motion if it wasn’t for Ronan,” I admit.
“Annika, what the fuck!? They’re gonna fucking kill you! What were you thinking?! You want the thrill of the chase?! Where? To your death?! Because this is where it’s headed! Jesus Christ, they’re a goddamn crime syndicate, for God’s sakes! What are you gonna do when he finds out?! Seriously, what are you going to do? Run, let him chase you for bit, let him catch you? Then tell him it’s okay, you’ll give them the money back, and expect him to be like…yeah, sure Annika, you fucked us over, but now all is well, and we’ll fuck and live happily ever after.Goddamn it!” She whips around, stomping away toward the corner of the house.
I get up to go after her, but she spins around, pointing at me.
“No! You better not follow me.”
Shit.
I stop, frozen in place like a puppy who just got scolded, because I know this mood, that look from her eyes—I need to let her go process.
* * *
Forty-something minutes have passed and I’m navigating nervously through my phone, scrolling aimlessly from clip to clip on the addictive app I’d discovered a few months ago. Numerous funny dog videos later, and people lip-syncing, and I can’t take it anymore. The tension is too much. Even the cool AC of the car is not doing anything to soothe me.
When I look around, I finally see Hanna coming from the house, somehow more relaxed. I climb out of the SUV and walk over to meet her.
“I want in.”
I stop dead in my tracks, taken aback by the confidence of the words she just spoke before she even reached me.
“No. This has nothing to do with you, and I don’t need you to babysit me. You’re not responsible for me.” I’m quite aggravated by this sudden change.
“I’m not gonna lie and tell you that there isn’t a part of me that wants in because I’m scared something will happen to you. You’re my best friend; I will not say you’re like my sister, because if I ever had one, I probably would have hated her, but you’re my family, and I cannot fuck off to my dream island home and sit there, worrying about you. But… I get it, Anni. One last adventure, and what better people to choose to chase you, than the Hennessey’s.”
I can’t process her words. I refuse to. I shake my head until she stops talking, because this is not how this is supposed to go.
“This is my plan, my idea, my infatuation, the riskIam taking. I cannot drag you into this. God forbid anything happens, it will be on me, my fault. I can’t let you join me.”
“It may have been your idea, but you’re not forcing me to join.”
“But if it wasn’t for me, this insane scenario wouldn’t have even existed. You wouldn’t have had any danger to put yourself in. Shit… I should have just told you I’m going on holiday alone,” I grumble, running my hands through my hair as I begin pacing around the brick driveway.
“Oh yeah, because lying to me is a much better idea. I get it, Anni, I do, but I’m a consensual adult. I can choose for myself if I wish to put myself in danger or not, and if I didn’t want to do this. If I thought it was truly a horrid idea, then not only would I not choose to join you, but I would convince you not to do it either.”
Taking a breath, I pause and weigh her words. She cocks her head, crossing her arms, knowing full well I’m just about to come to the same conclusion as her; if she wanted to convince me not to go through with this plan, I would be in the car on our way to Falk Isle right now. She could sell ice to an Eskimo, as cliche as it sounds. She’s the best salesperson I know, and convincing me to drop this plan would be child’s play.
