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Whenever I do visit, Haven is always there, quietly standing by as her twin’s steadfast guardian and protector. Tess says she’s not sure if Haven ever goes home or gets any sleep. She always looks exhausted and she rarely speaks. Getting her alone for a private conversation has been impossible. She doesn’t take my calls. She hardly looks me in the eye.
Now I’m told that Lita has made enough progress to be released. She can start the long chore of rebuilding her life, trying to figure out her place in the world. She’s going to move in with her sister. That’s what today’s little informal gathering is about. Dani’s idea, to help welcome Lita back into the friend circle.
Naturally, Haven will be here.
And I’m sure she’s expecting that I won’t be.
Dani drifts to the backyard to see what kind of trouble Charlotte and Total have found.
The second she leaves us on our own, my cousin jerks his chin to indicate I ought to follow him to his office. There are some topics that need to be closely guarded and the Marchenko crime family is one of them.
Once we’re closed away in the dark wood paneled den that always reminds me of a bear cave, Gage perches on the edge of his desk and wastes no time getting to the point.
“What do you know about Estes Marchenko?”
The leather sofa creaks under my weight. “Never met the guy. He’s been overseas for a while. Why?”
“Because it seems like he’s dead.”
“Seriously?”
A stiff nod. “There’s been no announcement or obituary but the rumor is he’s taking a permanent nap on the floor of the Mediterranean Sea.”
“Shit.” From what little Haven shared about her uncle, he was a pretty terrifying character but she counted him as an ally.
Gage sees my alarm and peaks an eyebrow. “Doubt it had anything to do with family quarrels. He pissed off a mafia don and disappeared nearly two months ago.”
“Does Haven know?”
He shrugs. “Tough to say what Haven knows. She stays low to the ground and the people she surrounds herself with are tight-lipped, ferociously loyal. Plus she’s been distracted, off the scene for the most part since Lita woke up. But you know the woman with the Irish accent who runs the club when Haven isn’t around?”
“Fiona. Yeah, Haven trusts her.”
“Seems like it. But I’ve got a couple of boys tasked with keeping an eye on the club. There was an argument that spilled outside, between her and the wife of Jared Marchenko.”
“Sophie? She’s harmless.”
“Maybe, but she was having quite the tantrum. So drunk she couldn’t walk straight, waving around a broken bottle and screeching that she’s in charge. When Fiona tried to defuse the situation she got sliced in the arm for her trouble. Then Haven shows up in the middle of that drama, grabs the bottle away and shoves Sophie toward one of her security guys with orders to bring the girl home. Haven was pretty pissed. Told Sophie not to come back for awhile.”
“Why is that a big deal?”
His fingers tap his thigh in patterns of five. Just one of his OCD habits. I’ve become so used to the sight I hardly notice it. “Might not be. But Sophie is the daughter of Rocco Castigliore. Big Vegas mafia boss. Then there’s also the fact that her husband and Haven aren’t on cozy terms.”
“Speaking of those clowns, what are Jared and Talon up to lately?”
“Nothing good but they haven’t been hassling Haven either. They’ve had their hands full trying to gobble up territory belonging to their uncles. With Estes dead and Aric stuck behind bars for another couple of months they’re pushing their luck to take advantage. Haven is small potatoes to them so as long as she stays out of their way it seems like they’re returning the favor.”
None of this really answers my question about what scared Haven enough to turn her back on me. I’ve run through that last conversation endlessly. I swore to her we’d get through this. I begged her not to shut me out.
And she said…
“I have to.”
She was miserable. I could see it. Hear it. Feel it in those last seconds when I held her.
Gage can read the struggle on my face. “Wish I had more insight,” he says.
“It’s not like I’m giving up,” I tell him.
