After I’d finished setting up the security on the west side of my property, I saw Gianina coming toward me.
My brows furrowed in confusion.What was she doing out here?
“Everything okay?” I called out as I climbed down from the tree I’d been putting a camera in.
“What are you doing up there, Tarzan?”
I chuckled. “Setting up a camera. How about you?”
She held up a sandwich bag. “I felt bad about how I acted earlier. I brought a peace offering.”
A smile curved my lips as I took the sandwich from her. “Thanks. I was getting hungry.”
Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Gianina shifted nervously. “Well, I better get back to my book.”
I nodded as I took a bite of the sandwich. “Have fun.”
After finishing security on all four sides of the property, I went to chop wood. As I carried the first bundle of what I’d chopped to the house, I assessed the outside to decide what security I needed to add. I had a camera on each end of the porch, which was covered but open, no railing. I took the wood inside to the fireplace, then came back out. I decided to string a trip line between the two main support beams—ankle height, invisible in the dark. If someone came at night, they’d hit it hard and it would slow them down and make plenty of noise.
After bringing in the rest of the firewood, I went around the house setting up the same security measures I’d done in Gianina’s room: window alarms, door sensors, cameras; the whole nine yards. I probably set up at least twenty cameras inside and outside.
Normally, I would link all the surveillance to my phone, but the burner Domenic had given me was just a simple flip phone. Luckily, my dad had left his tablet over the summer, so I synced everything to that. I planned to keep it with me at all times; no one would get in or out without me knowing about it.
After securing the house, the last step was hiding weapons around so that I could easily access them from various vantage points.
I used velcro to secure a holster with a glock inside on the underside of the coffee table, along with an extra magazine. Then, I placed a shotgun under the couch, and a pistol in a drawer in the kitchen.
“Isn’t that a little excessive?” Gianina asked as I hid another under some towels in the linen closet.
I scoffed. “Nothing is excessive when you’re involved with the mob.”
She chuckled from her spot on the couch. “I guess you’re right.”
“Have you used a gun before?” I asked.
She stilled, her eyes going wide for a split second before her throat bobbed. “No.”
“Hopefully you won’t have to.”
Gianina didn’t respond for a few seconds. “Have you ever killed someone?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
A lump formed in my throat, and I nodded. “Yes.”
A tear trickled down her cheek as our eyes met. “How do you live with it?”
My chest tightened. Sitting next to her on the couch, I rubbed the back of my neck. “One day at a time.”
She swiped the tears from her face, sniffling. “Every time I close my eyes, I relive it all over again.”
I realized she didn’t really have a chance to process what had happened. Her father basically had me clean up her mess then whisk her away. “Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes that helps.”
Her body tensed again as she brought her gaze to mine. The sight of her tears made my stomach twist, and I wasn’t sure why.“Not really, but I need to. I briefly talked to my dad, but not in detail. Maybe getting it out will make me feel better.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes it does. I’m not great at talking but I’m a good listener.”
Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and nodded. “I don’t even know where to start.”
Our eyes met. Having the time to really look at them, I noticed there were so many different colors; amber, brown, and green. They were mesmerizing. “Start with when things went wrong.”
