“Anything an asshole prosecutor could turn into a problem?”
“Two different anti-anxiety meds, lithium, risperidone, Zoloft, lorazepam?—”
“Fuck,” Taylor mutters, wincing. “Okay, not great, but I can work with that.”
My brow furrows. “Is she going to be charged with something?”
Taylor purses her lips. “Let’s hope not. But even if she is, it’s just the next step, not an automatic L.” She smiles quietly. “Look, Bane, my professional guess here is that this is just the Cielo family looking for some attention. Even if thereissomething this PI of theirs found…” She frowns. “Evidence collected by PIs isnotoriouslyunusable in court due to lack of chain of custody. I doubt there’s anything anyway, though.”
I wrap things up with Taylor and she leaves. Dad comes over to tell me it’s going to be okay, and then he and Sergey take off, too.
“Bane?”
I turn to see Chiara standing in front of me, her brow furrowed and her bottom lip caught between her teeth as she looks up at me.
“Can you do me a favor?”
I nod. “Of course.”
She exhales. “Look, I know she’s got her issues and is a complete psycho sometimes. But…” She smiles wryly. “She’s still my sister. Take care of her?”
“Always,” I growl quietly.
Chiara leaves, and then it’s just the two of us.
“I have to ask you something.”
There’s a fractured note in her voice as she looks up at me.
“And before you say ‘anything, Dove,’ just…” She winces. “Just let me say it first.” She looks away, out the window. “I realize asking you this when it’s just the two of us is ridiculous. But I’m asking because I hope I already know the answer. If I’m wrong, well…” She smiles wryly as she turns back to me. “Guess I’m fucked.”
My brow knits. “What’s going on, little bird.”
She takes a shaky breath and looks right up at me.
“Did you ever plan to hurt or kill Lark?”
The whole room goes quiet as the sharpness of her question sinks into my chest. Part of me almost wants to laugh, like this is a joke I’m not quite getting. But then I see the haunted look in her eyes and the tremble in her jaw, and something in me breaks.
I take a step closer. My heart twists when she flinches.
I drop to my knees in front of her. I don’t touch her, but I’m close enough that I could.
“No,” I growl quietly, shaking my head. “No.”
I don’t add “Of course not” or “Are you crazy”. I can tell from the broken look in her eye and the fragile note in her voice that she already thinks that ofherself.
So, I just tell her the truth.
“No,” I murmur, gently placing my hands on her knees. “Not once. Never.”
She exhales a shaking, shuddering breath, her shoulders caving. She nods quietly, staring at my hands.
“Can I ask you another question?”
“You can ask me a million of them, little bird.”
Her lips twist as she glances away. “Do you…” Her brows furrow before her dark eyes slip to mine. “Do you think I’m crazy?”
