“Sure,” she replied. “First.” She placed a hand on my cheek. “I love you too.”
My stomach twisted into a knot. I wasn’t expecting that. “Denise, you don’t have to just because—”
“I’m not,” she said. “At first, I wanted to say it back and thought that’s why, so I didn’t, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that…I do. I always thought that love was supposed to be specific, like that head over heels, blatantly obvious feeling, but it’s different with you. It’s the comfort I have with you and the way you make me smile and how often I think about you. It terrifies me. honestly. I kept trying to convince myself that you were just like everyone else and that you’d eventually toss me to the side, too, but even if you do that one day, I can’t bring myself to deny how I feel anymore.”
I sat up, placed my hands on either side of Denise’s neck, and pulled her in to kiss me. “I will never toss you to the side. I promise.” She smiled, and I could tell that she didn’t entirely believe me. “Hey,” I said, a little more forcefully. “Look at me.” Her eyes came up to meet mine. “I love you. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, and as much as I love my family, they want to hurt you, and I won’t stand for it. Even if it means leaving them, I’ll do it for you. Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay.” She leaned in for another kiss, which I happily gave. “I do love you, Ashton.”
It felt even better to hear it the second time. “That makes me happy.”
She smiled. “Good.”
“Okay.” I leaned back again, lying on the pillow because I was exhausted. “What’s next on the list?”
She took a deep breath, her expression going from warm to terrified in a heartbeat. “Please, don’t panic.”
“Okay?” I said, already kind of panicking.
“I’m nearly positive that Callista is working with the police.”
“Wh—she… Wait. What?” I sat straight up. “What do you mean, you think she’s working with the police? Why do you think that? What does that mean?”
“Even though you accusedmeof working with the police—”
“I’m so, so sorry. I love you.”
“It was a little odd to me that they just turned up out of nowhere, conveniently when we started using the safe house. It was a little too coincidentally timed to when we started going there, so I automatically assumed that maybe someone I was around was bugged, but I haven’t told anyone at the Costa household where I’ve been going. Then today, something must have happened so that she knew that it was going to be Arturo waiting for me at the safe house and not you?”
“I suppose? She was sitting there throughout the entire conversation. I was on my way out to come and warn you when Arturo turned up. He figured out that I was going to try and come to meet you, and he popped one of my tires and made a run for it. I never saw Callista after I left the living room where everything went down.” That was what made the most sense. “She showed up, pretty conveniently, at the right time.”
Denise nodded. “We shared this look when you guys were questioning how she got there perfectly timed, and she shook her head, kind of begging me not to say anything. I realized that she must have tipped off Detective Alcina, telling him we’d be there, hoping that he’d raid us before Arturo got a chance to kill me.” She smiled. “I guess shedoescare.”
“If she’s working with the police, that would explain why she’s been so relentless lately. She’s overcompensating.” There was no way that I could tell my dad or Arturo the truth. They’d kill her in a heartbeat. “Why is she working with them?”
“I don’t know, but Illiana mentioned to me that a new detective has taken on the organized crime cases in Chicago and that they may be closing in on you. It seemed odd to me that they would just be closing in and not be, you know, closed in? Maybe she’s exchanging information for your family’s safety.”
“To try to take down the Costas,” I said. “My dad won’t let her out of his sight until Illiana’s in the ground. Maybe she’s trying to fast track it. Once she heard that you were going back to the Costas, she had them sit on the safe house with the hope that you’d lead them to her.”
“I conned my way into Detective Alcina’s house a few days ago.”
“Youwhat!” I barked. “When were you gonna tell me that?”
“At the safe house, but thensomeonewalked in and pulled a gun on me.”
“I’m so, so sorry.”
She laughed. “It’s fine. I learned about the new task force and met his partner, but then he randomly—or so we’re led to believe—decided to fact check my story, and he figured out that I wasn’t who I said I was. I’m wondering if Callista warned him to keep a special eye out for cons, not realizing that it would make him suspicious of me as well as Illiana.”
I rubbed my temple. I didn’t think things could get any more complicated than they already were, but I dared to ask, “Is that it?”
She scoffed. “No.”
I blew out a puff of air. “Okay, what’s next?”
“Well.” She climbed out of bed and walked over to grab her purse. She came back and pulled a ziplock bag out of it. “Can you get this tested?”
She handed it to me, and I noticed that it had a couple of short hairs in it. “Are they yours?” I asked.
