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Ken nodded and set off with a determined limp down the other hall, only looking back once. We waved and then began to hustle the other way. I had my phone out, wearing the garb of a guard and we ducked into another room, where Sal quickly changed into officer gear that I’d stashed there earlier today. My heart pounded as Sal donned the policeman’s cap and grinned at me.
“It honestly looks good on you,” I said. “It fits.”
“Power,” he said. “Let’s go, kid.”
We headed out, hands on our hips, walking purposefully, and made it to a back exit.Alarmedwas stamped across it in big red letters and my breath sucked in as Sal shouldered it, pressing it open.
No alarm.
We hustled toward the tree line, keeping low, when alarms blared at another door and an orange figure in an orange beanie streaked across the grass.
“Faster,” Sal hissed and ran full out toward the trees.
Michaelson’s getting away,came a distant shout and gunshots rang out.
Unable to help myself, I looked back in time to see the figure go down, and officers swarmed him. At the same moment, a spotlight began to move toward me, too fast, and then an arm yanked me into the trees. It passed over us and we both let out huge breaths of relief.
“Ken’s—”
“Collateral,” Sal grunted. “He was worthless anyway, no idea why Danny bothered to take the time to stomp his brains in.” He snorted. “Come on. Let’s get your girl.”
I nodded and we began walking.
When we got to the car, Sal sucked in a deep breath and grinned at me. “Good work, Zak. All went according to plan. And you found the closest whorehouse?”
I grinned at him. “Of course.”
“Good man,” he said. “Let’s go.” He glanced toward the sky, where dawn was starting to appear in a bloody rush of color. “I hope Danny enjoys his last little vacation back in the old country, because in a week, he’ll be worm food and I’ll be head of the family.” He let out a cold laugh. “Poor bastard, he’ll probably thank me. Kid was never worth shit.”
“And I’ll be with Sara,” I said to myself. “Finally.”
“Yeah, kid,” Sal said and the red of the sky seemed to linger in his eyes. He smiled and a cold shiver went down my spine. “Happily ever after and all that shit.”
Sara
“And may you live so many happily ever afters,” gushed one of Lia’s other bridesmaids, flushed pink with vodka sunrises, causing the microphone to squeak even as the swarthy, handsome DJ tried to gently take it away. “Congrats again on getting married,” she shrieked, and the other bridesmaids shrieked in glee, making my entire skull ache.
“Christ, that was painful,” muttered a voice next to me at the bar. “How many more of these do we have to get through?”
“That was the last of them,” I said, and Pasquale jumped. “Hi, Pasq, nice to see you. You clean up nice.”
“Hey, Sara,” Pasquale said, flushing red and giving me a guilty look. “I liked your speech—you were a hard act to follow.”
“It’s fine, wedding speeches are supposed to be insipid and tedious,” I said. “That’s why there’s booze.” I wiggled my whiskey at him. “I also didn’t realize there would be acts following mine.”
“No kidding,” Pasquale said.
“You were more than enough,” added Artie, appearing out of nowhere, and rapping the bar, ordering an Aperol spritz in rapid Italian. “And Daniel, phew. That kid ripped my heart out.”
I bit my teeth into my glass and swallowed the scream rising in my throat. I’d had to deal with Daniel far too much over the past six months while planning Lia’s dream wedding in Italy. But all of that had been fine, I could deal with the coordination, the plans, the posing for pictures together, and even Daniel cleaning up so well in a suit that I wanted to throw myself into the ocean.
What I could not handle was thatspeech.That beautiful, heart-rending, wonderful speech that had left the room spellbound and moved. He’d spoken so warmly and generously of Lia, of Ty, and even of me. The bastard had the fucking gall to eventoastme.
I cannot kill Ty’s cousin and best man and Lia’s now cousin-in-law at their wedding.I knew I was tipsy when my follow-up thought sounded like a plan.That’s more a first anniversary thing. I’ll kill him then.
He’d done it to spite me, to show me up, because I’d offhandedly mentioned that he shouldn’t be worried about the maid of honor having the most moving speech. I didn’t even know why I’d said any of that—I knew better. I knew with Daniel, after two and a half years of agony, to keep my head down, to smile, to nod, and then go home and not be able to sleep for two nights as memory and hatred andwant—still after all this time—kept me awake.
“He was being an asshole,” said another voice. Heavy. He gave me a commiserating look. At least one of the benefits of being in Lia and Ty’s life meant that I now had these three, who felt like a combination of friend-brother-and-cousin. “I don’t know why, but he was.”
