“Aren’t you thoughtful.” His amusement carries across the phone line.
“I’ll have someone bring it by tonight.”
“Next time, you should come with me.”
My smile flattens. “You know I’m not a fan of boats.”
“Eh, one day. I’ll keep trying.”
“You do that.” I hang up. We don’t do goodbyes. It’s an unusual relationship between us, but it works.
Next, I call my guys.
“I’m going to need you to bring me a suitcase—bigger than a carry-on, but it doesn’t have to be huge.” I give them the address and instructions to come through the back. They can get cunty Kristi over to Grisha for me so that I can get back to Terina. She’s still in danger from Pasha, but at least the Kirklands are out of her life forever.
Hopefully, tomorrow’s meeting with the Genoveses will get us that much closer to putting Pasha’s head on a spike. He’sdrawn this out so damn long, there’s no way he’s getting off easy. I won’t allow it. If Renzo disagrees, we’re going to have a real problem.
CHAPTER 56
TERINA
Present
“I needto tell you something before you go pack,” D says once we’re home from Renzo’s. It’s just a quick stop-in to get a bag together before staying at Isa’s dad’s place for the night. It sort of reminds me of packing a bag after the snake incident, except this time, everything’s different.
Instead of feeling scared and alone, I have DiAngelo. Not just as my bodyguard, but as my partner. I’m still worried for him. I don’t think that will ever change. But I’m not battling a constant sense of doom.
“What’s that?” I respond warmly.
“While I was out today, I made a couple of unplanned stops. One of them was to see Kristi.”
“Oh.” That was unexpected. “What for?”
“You already know she was lying to you, but it turns out, she was the one who introduced Craig to her dealer slash bookie. Her shifting any blame to you was pure spite. You know she had a life insurance policy on him?” The disgust drips from his words when he talks about Kristi. I don’t blame him.
“No, I … I had no idea.”
“That woman was pure evil. I don’t know how you put up with her as long as you did.”
His words play in slow-motion through my mind.
“Was? Shewaspure evil?”
D approaches, cupping my face with his hands, his eyes razor sharp. “Evil will not touch you so long as I have breath in my body. That sort of evil had no place in this world.”
My chest hollows out on a long exhale as though I’ve had the breath knocked out of me.
DiAngelo killed Kristi.
He killed her … for me, and he’s telling me because he doesn’t want secrets between us. Is it wrong that my first reaction is hope? Hope for us and hope that he doesn’t get caught.
“Okay,” I say softly, then wrap my arms around his middle and hold him close. His coiled muscles relax beneath my touch. He was worried about my reaction but told me anyway, and that means the world to me. That means he trusts me.
I pull back and raise my lips for a kiss. He doesn’t keep me waiting.
An hour later, we’re settling into Cosimo’s house with Bonny. Renzo and Shae arrive shortly after us with little Liora and all her gear. Isa’s staying the night, as well. The chaos is fun in a way, but it amps up my anxiety. I have no control over this situation, and when uncertainty like this hits in the evening, it makes everything worse.
“You’re awfully quiet,” DiAngelo whispers so the others don’t overhear.
