The waiting cab gave a short honk—almost impatient. We walked down the steps at the building’s entrance, then headed toward the parked car. The driver popped the trunk open, and I helped load her suitcase inside.
“So, this is goodbye, huh?” I asked, eyes boring into hers.
“For now.” Her lips curled into a faint grin. “I’m sure you’ll be fine without me. It’s just four weeks anyway.”
“A lot can happen in four weeks—I could burn the whole place down trying to make a meal.”
She laughed. “Somehow, I don’t doubt that.”
A soft chuckle escaped my lips. “Text me when you land. Or don’t. I’ll just assume you joined a cult and start auditioning new roommates.”
“I’ll miss you too, Blair Blake.” She embraced me for a moment before letting go. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” She tapped my face, beamed at me, and then walked toward the car’s backseat door.
“No promises, Lettie,” I answered.
She yanked the door open, stepped inside, and closed it behind her. Scarlett turned her head, looked at me through the rear windshield, and gave a slight wave with her hand.
I responded with the same gesture as I watched the car drive away into the night. I stood there on the sidewalk, eyes fixed on the vehicle until it disappeared out of sight.
My hands flew into my soft brown curls, securing them into a messy bun while heading back into the house. I scanned the surroundings for a moment; aside from the incessant barks of Mr. Fisher’s dog, the neighborhood was awfully quiet tonight.
Once inside, I closed the door behind me, drew in a deep breath, and rubbed my eyes. It was quieter inside. Lonely. Scarlett wasn’t the talkative type—not at all. The girl could be in a house full of people and still be invisible; she wouldn’t speak until spoken to.
However, I’d gotten used to having her around, and now that she’d gone on a vacation, her absence lingered in the space like a ghost I couldn’t shake off. I glanced at the portrait of her hanging on the wall next to mine, and a smile lit up my face.
“I miss you already, Lettie.”
Just then, my phone chimed softly in my pocket, and when I withdrew it, I realized it was a text from her.
“I meant what I said, Blair. Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”
It was safe to say that she knew me better than anyone else. And if I were being honest, she played a major role in keeping my reckless curiosity in check. I was a freelance investigative journalist with a knack for getting into trouble. She, on the other hand, was an art history student with a knack for showing up just in time to save me from trouble.
I chuckled under my breath, fingers rattling across my phone’s lit screen as I typed in my reply.“I meant what I said, too, Lettie. No promises.”I added a devil’s face emoji and hit the send button.
The three tiny dots on my screen bobbled, indicating that she was typing on the other end. A sticker of a bunny flicking meoff appeared on my screen, drawing a low throaty laugh from my mouth.
I hit the power button and slipped the phone back into the pocket of my faded jeans. The smile on my face gradually vanished, replaced by an expression as dark as the night. This was my chance to finish my mission without Scarlett’s emotions and fears getting in the way.
By now, I was already sick and tired of all the atrocities happening in the city. Every day, people went missing—girls and children alike. I knew these disappearances were tied to the criminal underworld—the Mafia gangs that ran the city. I just needed proof, concrete evidence—enough to have the Feds looking into their businesses.
Chicago was home to three Mafia organizations—the Irish syndicate, the Italian mob, and the worst of them all, the Russian Bratva. These powerful families had slowly taken over the city and were cohorts with some of the city’s most revered businessmen and women.
It was clear that those in power, those who swore to protect the citizens of the city, didn’t give a flying fuck about us. All those bastards only cared about keeping their bellies full and their bank accounts fat enough to support future generations.
They were the definition of greed and selfishness. Those dogs had mastered the art of manipulation and control. They would start a fire, let it spread across the city, and consume as many things as it could. And then, when all hope was lost, they’d step in and save the day, taking the credit for quenching the fire that they started.
Yet to the general public, they were our saviors—our heroes in tailored suits. If only the masses knew half the things I knew about these monsters, they’d hate them as much as I did.
However, those manipulative pieces of shit weren’t my problem at the moment. It was the Mafia I was after.
Crazy. I know.
Those assholes were involved in a lot of shady businesses—human trafficking, drug dealing, extortion, money laundering, prostitution, and a strategic network of bribery and corruption to keep them afloat. They were untouchable because they owned half the cops and were in bed with our political leaders.
Someone had to do something about their crimes, and for some time now, I’d taken it upon myself to track down their operations. I’d been gathering intel on their hidden warehouses and systematically dismantling their infrastructure, burning each one to the ground.
My activity hadn’t made the news yet, and within the criminal underworld, every organization was a suspect. Those devils in suits didn’t trust one another anyway. They all hated themselves and wouldn’t hesitate to burn their enemies’ empire to the ground.
