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“What’s the word?” I ask, too impatient to wait another second.
He closes the door and shakes his head. “You’re not going to like it.”
I stiffen. If he tells me no one knows where she is… or worse, that he found her body on the floor of her place. I will burn the fucking world down to make them pay.
My muscles clench like I’ve been punched in the kidney.No.If she were dead, his face would have a different expression. By now, he understands my obsession with this girl. If she’d died, he’d be looking at me with pity in his eyes.
“Don’t fucking drag it out. Where is she?” I bark.
Aiden exhales a low sound of aggravation. “I can tell you she’s all right,” he says. “But not much more.”
“For fuck’s sake. Do I have to do this myself?”
“Hey,” Aiden says, his expression darkening. “I paid off her neighbor from across the hall. I’ve been in the building, and I have information.”
“Get on with it.” As I stalk to the front room, I wave for him to come with me.
“She’s gone. Of her own free will. She withdrew from classes and didn’t renew her lease which is up in two months. Instead, she packed up her personal belongings, loaded them in her car and left.”
While he’s talking, I pour myself a drink. The clear skies beyond the wall of windows make the bay look like a fucking postcard. I want to launch the heavy bottle right through one, leaving the glass as cracked and jagged as I feel.
I turn and stare at him, the tumbler cold and hard in my hand. “Are you kidding me? Without a word?”
“Not without a word. I talked to the landlord. He’s got permission to sell the furniture. Apparently, a lot of it was second-hand. She had a few valuables, an antique lamp and some Lanley porcelain statues. Those she took of course. Other than that, almost nothing. She even left old clothes for donation. Seems like she’s traveling light.”
I suck down the entire glass of Scotch and pour another. “She did it this way so she could leave immediately. And maybe so she couldn’t be tracked. For all we know, she could’ve dropped her boxes off in storage and booked a flight to backpack across Europe. She told me she wanted to do that after graduation.” Blowing out a breath, I shake my head.
“Want me to hire a private detective to hunt her down?”
“No,” I say sharply. “I don’t want anyone to hear I’m looking for her. I need some time to get on the other side of this police investigation and to see how the Di Luccios are going to react to Francesca’s death. Frankie brought the gun, and she fired first. The lawyer’s confident the prosecutor will drop the charges against me as soon as forensic evidence confirms my story. The Di Luccios, of course, will not give a shit that she tried to kill me first.” I drop onto the couch facing the windows.
Aiden sits, too, on the other end. “That head shot was dead perfect. Not the kind of shot one gets off during a struggle.” There’s a question in his voice.
“Lucky shot,” I murmur. I’m never going to admit I already had control of the situation when I made the decision to kill Frankie. And no one is ever going to hear why, either.
“C Crue asked if we need anything,” Aiden says. “I told them no, at least not yet.”
“Good. Better to keep them out of it. The Palermos and Leones hate those guys. I don’t want other New York families throwing in with the Di Luccios and starting a full-on war with us over this.”
“Joe suggested you come by. Gonna do that soon?”
“Yeah.”
There’s no reason not to now. I’d been waiting to see whether I’d get a chance to speak to Olivia, at least by phone. Now that she’s run away, I’ll turn my attention to the pressing and dangerous things I’m facing.
I tell myself that her being far away is the best thing that could’ve happened. All eyes will now be on me and only me.
As long as I leave her alone, she’ll be safe.
CHAPTER11
18 months later
OLIVIA
The normally seven-minute walk home from the White Stone Inn only takes me four. I’m tired from work, but the thought of seeing my little boy energizes me.
I climb the stairs of the blue-and-gray Victorian where I'm renting a room. My wonderful landlady, a former nurse, is a great babysitter. I still can't believe how lucky I've been ever since I relocated to this quaint seaside village in Maine. It’s been a tough time financially, but otherwise things are going well.
