I hate Leon.
I hate Stefano.
I hate myself most of all for the part of me that keeps replaying the last seconds before he left.
His mouth against my knuckles. His forehead touching mine.
Go with Raven.
Not goodbye. Not I’m sorry. Not I love you, even though I know now that he does.
He left me in the rain because he believed that was kinder than asking me to live with what he had done, and that knowledge makes me hate him more. The bastard.
The bastard.
I put my hand against my mouth, but the sound still gets out. I don’t know how long I stay there.
Eventually, the hotel light shifts from night to morning. The rain slows. Cars begin moving below the window. Somewhere in the building, someone laughs in the hallway.
I force myself up.
I wash my face again. I change out of the clothes I wore to the club. I pack without thinking. Every motion is automatic. Fold. Zip. Lift. Breathe.
By noon, Raven has arranged my flight back to Chicago.
I sit next to the window as the plane rises over Boston, my head against the glass. Below me, the city grows smaller. Leon is dead. The twins are safe. The case is not over. And Stefano Savarese is gone.
The thought should be a relief. Instead, it feels like the one thing I cannot accept.
Alex is waiting outside security when I land. Erin sees me before anyone else.
“Aunt Maya!”
She runs before he can catch her hand, crashing into me hard enough that my bag slips from my shoulder. I catch her anyway. Her arms lock around my waist, and I hold her so tightly she makes a small sound of protest before pressing her face into my coat.
“I’m here,” I whisper.
“You were gone all night.”
“I know.”
“Alex said you were coming back.”
“I did.”
Behind her, Heath stands near Alex with both hands hooked through his backpack straps. He does not come closer until I hold out my hand.
Then he does.
Not fast. Not like Erin. He stops beside me, his shoulder touching mine while he stares at the floor.
“I told you I’d come back,” I say.
“You said that before.”
The words hurt because he is right.
“I did.” I crouch in front of him. “Sometimes I will have to leave. But you will always know where I am, and you will always be able to call me. If you call me, I'll come back.”
