Tears pricked my eyes at the thought of him as a sharp pain stabbed at my heart. God, what he must think of me after I betrayed him? Of course, I knew he was going out of his mind right now trying to hunt me down, but…when I was home safe, I knew that would be the end of us.
I betrayed him. He trusted me with that file, and I had so carelessly left it out—and it fell into the wrong hands.
“Haley.”
Kay’s voice drew me away from thoughts of my lover, and I looked up at her from the chair I was curled up in. I had beenhere most of the morning, staring out the window onto the water, nursing a cup of lukewarm tea.
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, I just…I'm having a hard time comprehending this,” I admitted.
A feeling of gratefulness settled around mem much like the night Collin saved my life. He could have killed me or worse…sold me. He could have waved me off without so much as a second glance, but he didn’t. Hesavedme.
Kay broke down his wall—one of many—last night. She came to me in tears, covered in flour, with a plate of cookies. The questions I had weren’t asked until this morning, when she woke up. No, instead, I just opened my arms to her, and she cried for three hours.
I couldn’t help but smirk when I met her eyes as she looked at me from the side. When she told me she was going to confront him this morning, I feared for her. It was part of the reason that I wanted to get out of bed—just in case this went the other way.
My best friend was looking out the window, watching the man in the speedboat.
“How was it?” I asked, curious. She couldn’t blame me. Out of our little college group, Collin was the most attractive. Girls were drawn to him like a moth to a flame, and I knew it irritated the shit out of my best friend.
Kay whirled, facing me full on, those baby blues wide with shock. “Haley!”
I held my hands up. “Don’t blame me, blame the drugs!”
That was a pathetic excuse. I stopped using the pain meds two days ago. My body was healing, and it was time for action. The news of Romano being here yesterday had me on edge. My eyes never left that door as I clutched a butterknife in my hand underneath the blanket…just in case that old, evil man decided to barge in. I knew a butterknife wouldn’t kill him, but Iwas notgoing down without a fucking fight.
She rolled her eyes and began to nibble on her thumb nail. “Am I crazy?”
“Considering that you're in love with a serial killer…yeah, probably,” I deadpanned, leaning over to set the teacup on the window ledge. The pain was there but bearable.
“He wants me to come to Boston with him. Apparently, the mayor invited him to some dinner event.”
I raised a surprised brow. That was some fucking wall she broke down this morning. “Did he tell you this?”
“Yes, but I have a feeling he isn’t telling me everything. Haley, something is happening between him and Romano. There is a wedge,” she said, looking down at her feet with a furrowed brow.
“What do you mean?” The information had me sitting up a little straighter than before.
She dropped down onto her haunches in front of me, looking back at the door before turning back at me. “He answered Romano’s call.”
“Well, yeah—”
“In front ofme,” she cut me off. It was time for my jaw to hang open again. She proceeded to tell me about his body language, how he chucked the phone across the room after that.
“Holy shit,” I breathed.
“He wants me with him, Haley. I think—I think I'm finally getting through to him,” she said softly. My heart jumped. She was finally getting her Col back. My heart jumped again, this time at the thought of going home and this shitstorm finally coming to an end.
“Do you trust him?” I asked.
She was silent for a long time. “I don’t know. I trust him with me and with you, but I don’t know about anyone else…especially—”
“Gwen,” we both said at the same time.
“This is so fucking complicated,” I grumbled, covering my face with my hands, falling back into the fluffy chair. I had to hand it to the mafia hitman: he picked out great furniture.
“Haley.”
Something in her voice made me look at her again. Her heart-shaped face was masked with concern, her eyes filled with regret.
