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“Then you need to get out more.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help it. My entire world had flipped upside down from the moment Dante had spilled my drink in the club, and her solution was to party some more. “I don’t even think I have the energy for that.”
Gemma’s gaze turned serious. “I know.” She hesitated. “I’m worried about you.”
Taking her hand, I give it a little squeeze. “Don’t be. We’ve gotten through shit before. We can do it again.”
“What are you going to do?” Gemma asked quietly.
I blew out a sharp breath. “I have no idea. Right now, I’m just trying to get through one thing at a time.”
“And him?”
I looked away. “I don’t know about that, either. I just haven’t been feeling very well to deal with that yet.”
“Yeah, I get it.” She nodded as if she really did understand, though I knew she couldn’t possibly. Still, it was nice to find some semblance of sympathy. “Father has been acting weird too lately. Probably because of everything that’s been going on.”
I glanced at her sharply. “Mateo’s been acting weird?” He hasn’t been acting any different around me. Maybe more tense than usual, but that wasn’t unsurprising given the circumstances.
“I guess he’s just always busy now. I hardly ever see him,” Gemma said quickly. “But that shouldn’t worry you. He still has your back.”
“I know.” I gave her a small smile. “He’s probably one of the few people I can count on these days.”
“You can count on me.”
We fell silent for a few moments, both of us thinking. “Gem, can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“Do you think…do you think I’m even capable of doing this?” I asked.
“Do you think you’re capable?” Her head tilted slightly.
I fell silent in surprise. I had expected her to try and convince me that I was or say something encouraging. “I’m not sure.”
“Look, Sienna,” she sighed, “here’s a little insight; most of us have no fucking idea what we’re doing. Not even my father knows sometimes. None of us have the answers, and none of us can tell the future. But, what we can do is deal with the present. Who you are now, that’s what matters most. And, right now, I do think you’re capable. After everything you’ve gone through…you’re not the same Sienna I grew up with—but that’s okay. It just means you’ve grown. And you’ve grown into a strong, powerful woman who takes shit from no one. Not even some faceless creep.”
My shoulders relaxed a bit. “Thanks. I guess I needed to hear something like that right now.”
“He’ll come back, Sienna.” Gemma’s hand rested on my shoulder. “I know he will.”
I smiled at her, though her words pained me. It wasn’t a question of him coming back or not. I just wondered who he’d be the next time I saw him. Taking down Marco, killing those men after his mother was killed—that’s the Dante I knew was out there right now. Not mine. But the monster.
“I need to head out, but I can come back and chill with you later?” She hopped off the chair.
“Yeah. That would be nice.”
“Great. Because I miss our girl’s night.” Gemma pulled me into a tight hug, nearly tipping me off the chair. “Love you!”
I watched her strut out the door, staying rooted to the spot. She was right in a way. I couldn’t control the future. I could only control the now. And, right now, I had the opportunity to not only prove my worthiness of my father’s title, but to also save my family. And Dante’s. While he was off dealing with this in his own way, I needed to deal with it in mine, and that didn’t include running off following dead-ends in the streets.
Eyeing my phone, it took me a few minutes to pick it up. If my phone was compromised, it’s not like I could call this David Atwell up and be like, “Oh, hey, let’s go track down a psycho murderer no one can identify.” And I wasn’t entirely sure I could trust David, anyway. He claimed to be a suit, but it could all very well just be a lie. Just another mystery I needed to unfold.
If David was telling the truth, and that he did actually work for the feds and needed my help, then it could bring me that much closer to finding the Snake. The feds had resources even we didn’t have. But if he was lying…maybe he could still lead me to my father’s killer one way or another. It was a risky gamble, but it was one I was definitely willing to take.
Dante might have picked up some clues out on the streets, but even then, it might still not be enough. He’s trying the same tactics we’ve been doing, and neither of us have seen results. It was finally time to try something new—even if that something could potentially get me killed. I just knew that there had to be another way. There had to be an answer to all of this.
Picking up the phone, I hit the recent calls button, choosing the first one on the list. He answered after the first ring, sounding unsurprised but wary.
