“It was Maverick,” I say, and all of them look at me.
“Maverick is dead,” Gianni states.
“No. He’s not. I don’t know how, but he’s not.”
“But why would Maverick be following you?” Eliza asks.
“Because… I may or may not have… logged into my work account.”
Eliza’s mouth pops open. Gianni pushes back from the chair he just sat down on, knocking it over in the motion before raking his hands through hair.
“Jesus fucking Christ, Amara. Why would you do that? It’s so stupid!”
“I know!” I run my hand over Bella’s head, who is crying again.
“He can see when you do that, you know,” he goes on.
“I know.”
“And with the tech they have, he probably knows where you logged in from.”
“I know.”
Eliza looks back and forth between us. “Does that mean he knows where we are?”
I nod.
“Fuck,” Gianni lets out. “Why? Why would you do that?”
“Okay, wait,” Eliza says in an attempt to backtrack.
I know her. She’s looking for the sunshine in the situation. The silver lining.
Unfortunately, there isn’t one. Not anymore.
“Maybe he doesn’t know,” Eliza continues. “Maybe he sent Maverick as a precaution but didn’t actually confirm it. Maybe?—”
Just then, the door opens, which pretty much confirms everything.
Ransome doesn’t even say a word. He just stands there, arms crossed, making himself known. It’s so… Ransome of him.
“You,” Gianni snarls.
Oh God, here we go.
Ransome fixes his icy gaze on him. “Don’t start, kid.”
“Don’t start?” Gianni goes on. “Don’t fucking start?!”
“G, stop.” I force myself to straighten up. I feel like a sitting duck right now. I can’t get up; I can’t move around. I’m helpless.
“Gianni,” Eliza warns as well, but our brother is a loose cannon at this point.
“I’m not starting anything,” Gianni says, standing toe to toe with Ransome. “He’s the one who started it. The job, the hope, the lies, the bad company. Yeah, that’s right, I said it. I wouldn’t have even met the Chadovichs if it weren’t for you. I’d still have my car, I’d still be taking care of my family, living in my home. I know it wasn’t much, but it was ours.”
His fists are trembling at his sides, the hint of a crack in his voice as he spits out months’ worth of resentment at Ransome’s feet.
“And you took it all away.” He takes a shaky exhale. “Sent us off with nowhere to go, no apology. Just a good riddance foryourmess.”
