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I stumbled back, my spin crashing into the bar as Heavy’s eyes went wide and he gazed at me, shaking his head. An eternity seemed to pass between us, and I knew that I wasn’t supposed to ever know that, that Heavy had fucked up beyond belief—butonly because he was deeply, deeply unsettled, and worried for Danny.
And for you.
Heavy, Artie, and Pasquale all made sympathetic sounds, reaching for me, and asking, “Oh, shit that looked like it hurt, are you alright?”
I nodded, laughed, and waved them off. My eyes went to Daniel, across the room, sipping on a drink and listening to Ty tell an exuberant story to a small knot of people.
And again, those words echoed through me, leaving a devastation of knowledge that I could never unknow, along with a bitter, enraging agony.
We saw Danny after Sal tried to kill him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Sara
I’d suspected Daniel’s trauma went deep but that was so far beyond—I thought I was going to be sick. The sounds of the room suddenly seemed muted, and I almost felt like I was floating above it. If the Reaper had done that to his own son, what had he done to his enemies? What would he do if he got out and found his son had a weakness, had someone he cared about? My eyes went to Ty and Lia, stepping out onto the dance floor and laughing. I thought of Mario, their little son, sweet, snoozing, and blissful back in the room, with the nanny.
I had never felt a singular terror like this, as though some demon had already burst into the room and ruined this night, had stolen them away.
No wonder he pushed you away,said a too-gentle voice.You would have as well, to get rid of this feeling. He was terrified.
“Sara, are you okay?” Pasquale was asking. “Do we need to get you ice? A doctor?”
“Oh, God, ohDio,Sara, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean—it came out, but—”
“Umberto, stop,” Artie hissed. “Are you tapped?”
“I’m sorry, Sara,” Heavy said. “You shouldn’t—but if Sal’s out and he knew, even if it was in the past, we gotta…”
“I know,” I said and forced myself to smile. “I know. But we’re overseas. We’re safe if it’s true. Tonight, we don’t worry about it. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
Artie frowned. “Look kid—I know you’re tough as a diamond, but that was some heavy shit and—”
“Tomorrow.”
Artie heaved a sigh and glanced around, shaking his head. Then he jolted and loudly said, “She’s right.” We all stared at him. “All good over here.” I frowned at him as he grabbed Heavy around the shoulders. “Let’s get him sobered up with some good food, ‘ey? C’mon Pasq.”
“We shouldn’t leave Sara alone—” Pasquale said and then jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder. “Oh Madonna—oh, h—hey, Daniel.”
“What is going on?” Daniel asked in a low voice. “You all lookpazziover here. Are you high?”
“Heavy got drunk and was saying some wild shit, man,” Pasquale said nervously. “You should’ve heard him.”
“Mi dispiace,”Heavy said on cue, apologizing in Italian.
“Damn, Heavy—but what about, hey, Sara.”
I flinched as I felt Daniel’s eyes on the back of my head and gave a wave. “I need some fresh air.”
“Why.” Daniel’s gaze bored into mine. For a split-second, he reminded me of the man I’d known, but then that was gone, and a suave, powerful mob boss stood in his place. The same bastard who’d put me in my place on a cold sidewalk at the crack of dawn and laughed in my face about taking compromising photos of me.
Not that I believed he would do that,I thought, some stubborn part of me holding out to this day.But everything else? Sure.
“Leave her alone, kid,” Artie growled, and I tried not to groan as Daniel lifted an eyebrow. “She’s been busting her ass for months.”
“I am aware,” Daniel said in that smooth voice that I hated. I turned, heading for the patio, not giving a shit anymore what he or anyone else thought. “Go and take care of Heavy—”
That was the last thing I heard before I made it outside and gulped down the salty air, getting to the railing and squeezing it.
