But as I pull it closed behind me, my eyes drift toward the point along our fence where I stood across from Gio just the other day.
And I can’t help wondering when our paths might cross again.
8
GIO
I promised myself I wouldn’t go back.
That I would leave Stephanie—Jane—and her little boy to their perfect, happy life.
That conviction lasted all of twenty-four hours.
I just can’t let sleeping dogs lie.
I don’t know how to walk away from her. I thought I could, but the black abyss threatening to consume my soul grows with each passing hour.
She’s all I can think about, and I have this constant, nagging compulsion to see with my own eyes that she’s still there. That she’s alive. Safe.
Of course, I know in my mind that she must be.
She has a husband, a family.
They live in a sweet little house on a quiet little street—just like the life she always pictured.
It was the thing we argued about most when we were together.
I wanted to stay in Chicago, to serve as my older brother’s right-hand man and bring honor to our family name.
Stephanie wanted us to have a quiet life somewhere far from the city.
And while she didn’t make it very far, she’s at least accomplished the kind of life she was looking for.
A life without me.
Rubbing at the ache I can’t reach beneath my ribcage, I stare blankly at my computer screen, unable to process the numbers before me.
For the last five hours, I’ve been occupying the conference room table in Miko’s Bratva compound—our headquarters until the twins and I have the strength to take back the ruins of our once-indestructible home.
I don’t think I’ve accomplished a single thing since I sat down.
Heaving a sigh, I glance involuntarily at the clock in the top corner of my computer screen.
It’s nearly seven.
I’ve missed my window to watch her walk home again—or more like resisted it through sheer, agonizing willpower.
But if I left now, I might catch a glimpse of them sitting down to dinner.
Preferably before her husband arrives.
Just like that, the tenuous string holding my determination together snaps.
I can’t do this.
I can’t stay away.
Not even if she wants me to.
