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He snorts. “I’m sure you do.”
I glance at Ace, who seems genuinely curious about me. I’m sure he expected Nico to kill me as much as I did. At any rate, he doesn’t look as immovable as “Kid.”
“My family is in danger,” I try, letting my real concern bleed through. I squeeze my fists, trying not to think about what could happen to them. “The Gattos have already taken so much from us. I just—I have to know if they’re okay. Please?”
I didn’t mean for my voice to break there at the end, but whatever.
Ace scratches his neck. “What if we just let her call them, Percy?”
Percy—Kid—whatever his name is shakes his head. “Bad idea.”
Calling is better than nothing. I can only imagine how terrified my mother must be right now. I know she’s pacing the kitchen in tears while my siblings try to console her. God, I hope she hasn’t called the police about this—but she doesn’t have the best track record for daughters involved in mafia things, so I can’t be mad at her if she does. It will just make things ten times worse.
“Please,” I turn back to Percy, willing my emotions not to boil over. “Two minutes. I won’t say where I am, I swear. You can be right beside me and take the phone if you’re suspicious. And as soon as I’m done, I’ll sit in the room and behave, if you want. I just…” I stop, controlling the wobble in my voice. “Please.”
For a long moment, he looks uncomfortable. “Fuck,” he grumbles, finally fishing out a cell phone. “Ace, go outside and mind your damn business. Here, short stuff. You have one minute. If I suspect anything….” His face turns dark. “Don’t make me regret this. Unlike Nico, I don’t enjoy hurting people.”
I take the phone gratefully, dialing with shaking hands. I don’t bother pacing away for privacy. Percy the Kid folds his arms and scowls at me the entire time I wait for my mom to pick up the phone.
“Hello?”
Her voice is so timid and shaky. God, it’s not fair that she’s always so scared. At least she’s okay still. The Gattos haven’t come for her.
“Mom, it’s Sybil.”
“Oh, thank God. Sybil, I thought—I was worried—"
She starts crying immediately, which doesn’t help the waterworks on my end. I wipe the moisture away quickly.
“Hey. It’s okay. Shh, Mom, everything is okay. There was just a…thing.” I scour my brain for the safest lie, one that will give her peace of mind until I can get home. I don’t want her worrying too much. “You know my friend, Amber, at the office? The one getting married in a couple of months. She invited me to her bachelorette party this weekend. It was super last minute, but I just…I needed a break, so I agreed. I didn’t realize I had left my phone in my car until now. Sorry.”
She’s quiet on the other end. I know my mom better than anyone in the world, and I realize that right now, Tina Rivera is barely restraining herself from asking me where I really am. She knows that’s a dangerous question, just like she knows I’m not at a bachelorette party.
“You’re okay?” she finally whispers. “Should I…should I go get your car?”
“I’ll get it later,” I promise. My way of saying I think I can still make it back. “Or maybe Krista or Mark could. Are they there with you?”
“Yes.”
Relief fills me. They’re all at home, and they’re all okay for now. They know I’m alive, so I just need to make sure they don’t do anything that might piss off the Gattos. Like calling the police. We don’t exactly have a great track record there.
“Anyway, this is a stranger’s phone, sodon’t callagain,” I add meaningfully. “I’ll let you know when I get back. I promise. Just sit tight and…let Krista know I won’t make it to hang out with her this weekend. But I’m fine. Okay?”
She’s really struggling not to ask. “Sybil...sweetheart, can I—“
I glance quickly at Percy and cut her off. “Mom, I really should go. I’ll see you after the bachelorette thing,” I add brightly. “I love you.”
Before I can hear her say it back, Percy plucks the phone from me and tucks it away. He looks gruff and irritated, but it seems like he’s trying a smidge too hard.
“There. Deal’s a deal. Room, now.”
I hesitate, not wanting to bring up his name. “Will Nico be back soon?”
He laughs at some inside joke I’m not a part of. “Probably sooner than he should be.”
Great. I have that to look forward to, I think bitterly, dragging my feet to miserably sit on the bed in the guest room. Percy shuts me inside and leaves the apartment again, probably to go chat more with Ace. I look around, exhausted and drained.
But I don’t want to sleep. I can’t sleep now that I’ve seen him again. Knowing he’ll return dials my nerves up to ten, and before I can stop myself, I’m pacing again.
