She shook her head. “No. Carmine’s.”
“Why do you want to test Carmine?” I asked.
“Because I think he may not actually be Illiana’s kid.”
“What?” I started to laugh. “Good god, woman. You’ve only been there a little over a week.”
“He was eating a bowl of fruit, and it had kiwi in it.”
“And kiwi is a sure sign of deceit?” I asked.
“No, weirdo,” she replied. “Every single one of us is hugely allergic, remember?”
I tilted my head. “Shit! That’s right! How did you manage to pick up on something so subtle?”
“When you spend your whole life avoiding something, and then it’s suddenly there, it’s pretty easy to notice. It was a dead giveaway for Carmine. I realized it the second I saw him eat it. I’ve confirmed in some way or another that every single one of my siblings and Illiana are allergic to kiwi except for Carmine. It struck me as odd that he was eating it, and I started to wonder, what if he’s not actually a Costa?”
“How would that work, though? He came out of her.”
“After giving birth, Illiana gave all of her kids back to their original families. What if the Skully’s anticipated that she was up to something and…got rid of that baby?”
The thought that someone could have killed an innocent baby terrified me, but horrific things happened in our world. “Shit.”
She plucked a piece of her own hair and slid it into a separate bag. “I know I’m a Costa. One of the first things I demanded Illiana do after she came to find me was allow me to run a blood test to prove it, and she did. If our samples don’t match, he isn’t hers.”
I took the bags. “I have a guy. I can have the results by tonight.” I took a deep breath. “Please tell me that’s the last thing.”
She smiled. “Everything else will seem tame compared to what’s next.”
My jaw dropped. “What else could there be?”
She smirked. “Illiana knows everything,” Denise said with a stone serious expression. “My cover’s been blown.”
Chapter Fifteen:Denise
Ashton and I spent an extended time camped out a block away from where I’d parked Cherri’s car, waiting to see if any of the crime squad detectives were around. They were probably smart enough to suspect that we wouldn’t go back to the safe house after being made yesterday, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t have someone sitting on it, just in case. I’d already received several text messages from Carmine to get back home because Illiana was asking questions, although that didn’t matter to me a whole lot. I had a contingency plan, and even though I hadn’t shared it with Ashton, I was hoping it would at least savehislife.
When we were finally both confident enough that I could get to Cherri’s car and get away from the safe house without attracting too much attention, Ashton turned and put his hand on my face. “Okay. So you’re going to head home, check in with Carmine, and then leave for California?”
“Yep,” I lied. “I have all of my unused identities back at the estate, so I need to grab one, probably get some hair dye and new contacts, and then once I get to San Diego, I’ll contact my mom.”
He leaned in and kissed me. “I’ll probably have to lay low for a while before I can escape. I’m gonna tell my dad that I killed you and then sort of start to lose my mind about it. When I suddenly come up missing, it won’t be all that much of a shock. Just keep yourself safe until I get there, okay?”
My throat tightened, and my nose burned. “Yeah, okay.”
I would never see Ashton again.
After explaining what had happened with Illiana and the fact that she wanted to dig up Gabriel and drag him and his brothers back into our crazy world, go after Callista, all of it, Ashton came up with a new plan that I wasn’t okay with—running. I’d go first. I’d head to California under a new persona, and then after a few months, when he could give his dad the slip, he’d run too.
I didn’t want to run anymore.
It felt like all I’d been doing was running. I spent my entire life chasing after the wisps of a life that was never truly mine. Call it cursed from birth or just bad luck, but I was never someone who was meant to have any true semblance of happiness. Last night, however, being with Ashton, telling someone that I loved them, and having them say it to me and truly mean it, it was as close as I was ever going to get. I was happy taking that and dying with those last few memories in my mind.
It was time to end a war.
Ashton leaned in. “I love you so much. I’ll come as soon as I can, I promise.”
I nodded. “I love you too.”
