* * *
The sandwich shop is crowded with the mid-day rush. Lindsay's already at our usual corner table, nursing her favoritegreen tea. She stands when she sees me, pulling me into a fierce hug.
"God, I've missed you," she says.
"I've missed you, Lin."
She pulls back, studying my face with those sharp prosecutor's eyes.
I slide into the seat across from her while Nico takes position by the bar. Lindsay's gaze flicks to him, then back to me.
"You look… different."
"Different how?"
"Well, for starters… I've never known you to wear much lipstick, especially bright red lipstick in the middle of the day."
"Oh, yeah, I mean, there's nothing wrong with looking decent, right?"
"Right." The silence that follows is telling.
She gestures towards Nico. "I see you have a permanent bodyguard now?"
"Salvatore's protective."
"Salvatore's controlling, Val." She leans forward, her voice dropping. "And that's what I need to talk to you about. I've been working on a case. A big one. RICO charges against the Vitale organization." She watches my face carefully. "And I think you need to know what you're getting into."
"Lindsay…"
"Just listen. Please." Her hands wrap around her cup. "The Vitales are not good people. They're criminals. Dangerous criminals who hurt people. I have evidence linking them to at least thirteen murders in the past two years alone. Thirteen, Val."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Because you're my best friend. Because I love you. Because I don't want to see you become collateral damage when this whole thing comes crashing down." She reaches across the table, grabs my hand. "You can still walk away. The wedding hasn't happened yet. You can leave, and I'll help you. I'll make sure you're protected, that your family is safe. But you have to choose now, Val. Before it's too late."
I stare at our joined hands, at the friendship that's been my anchor for years. Lindsay has always been there for me. Always had my back.
But she doesn't understand. She doesn't know about the contract. About my mother's history. About the debt that brought me here.
She doesn't know that I'm not a victim anymore. I'm choosing this. I enjoy this crazy, unplanned life. And most importantly, I love Salvatore.
I love the way he looks at me, the way he protects me, the way he makes love to me. I love that my touch makes his leg stop shaking, and that despite everything, he let me decide when we could make love. I love his dark aura, the fact that he's so tall that he towers over me. There's so much to love I don't even know where to start and where to end.
But how do I tell her that? She thinks I'm in trouble and that I'm afraid. I'm not, but she's not going to buy that.
"I appreciate what you're trying to do," I say carefully. "But I'm not in danger. Salvatore loves me."
"Love?" Lindsay's laugh is bitter. "Val, men like him don't love. They possess. They control. They destroy. You had a life before you met this guy, Val. You read to kids in the library,you were writing a book, now what—you just… walk around the Vitale crime estate all day?"
"No, I still write, Lin. And I read. I plan to return to reading to the kiddos when I can, but right now is just not a good time. I promise life will be normal again, or at least somewhat normal. But right now, I have to get through this wedding, okay?"
"Get through this wedding? Valentina, a wedding isn't something you get through—it's the beginning of something you are entering. Oh my God, where is my best friend who graduated with high honors, who helped me get through law school while she was working on her master's in literary studies? Because this woman sitting in front of me, telling me this crazy-ass shit, isn't her."
"Lindsay, I'm still me, okay? But I ended up in this crazy-ass situation, and… I don't hate my new life, okay? I know it's crazy and abnormal. Like… who wakes up to something like this? But… life has been an adventure, you know? And Salvatore's presence is a lot, but he's amazing with me."
"He's a monster, Valentina."
"Well, maybe I’m into monsters. Lindsay, you don't know him."
