“Fuck.” I turn, putting the safety back on my gun and rushing for my suitcase. I pull out a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt and get dressed quickly, all while Clark stands on the terrace with his back to me, sparking a cigarette and waiting.
I brush my hair and then go for the leather jacket hanging on the single recliner in the corner. Dropping the gun into a backpack, along with several wads of the money, I slug it over my shoulder, walking to the doors and stepping up beside him.
“Let’s go,” I breathe.
He looks down at me, eyes hard, face serious. “You’re sure about this? Because if we go, there’s no turning back. You won’t be able to come back here if things don’t go as you plan.”
“Then I guess I’ll be on my own.” I walk around him. “Let’s go,” I call, already hustling my way down the stairs.
Clark follows behind me, hardly hesitating. When he meets up to me, he grabs my elbow and pulls me to the side, where the trashcans are. I frown up at him, but he holds up a finger, a silent command for me to wait.
He lifts the lid off the can and digs into it, pulling out a black pistol. He digs for something else and it’s a gun magazine. He slams it into the bottom of the gun, loading it up and then cocking it.
He digs for another pistol, a silver one, and does the same thing.
Just as he pulls out a leather gun holster and straps it around him, the back door creaks on its hinges, and Jen appears.
20
GIANNA
My eyes stretch wide when Jen steps around the corner and looks right at us.
I can only see her from the moonlight, but the worry on her face is clear.
“I could hear you guys talking from my room,” she murmurs.
Clark groans, tucking the second gun into the holster. “Fuck, Jen, just go back inside and pretend you didn’t hear anything. We don’t have time for this right now.”
She ignores him, focusing on me. “Are you really leaving?”
“Jen.” My head shakes and my mouth clamps shut. I don’t even know what to say. Suddenly, all words are lost, and I feel awful—just awful and so fucking ungrateful.
“I guess I saw this coming,” she sighs, tucking her hair behind her ears. “The way you talked about him…like he was everything to you.” She steps up to me, and Clark sucks his teeth, turning around and flipping his wrist to check his watch.
“Jen, I will try to see you again,” I tell her, taking a step forward.
She looks down at the ground. “You’re worried I’ll tell my parents.” Her sad eyes flash up to meet mine. “I won’t.”
“You won’t?” Clark asks, looking over his shoulder.
“No. You clearly love that man, Gia. I’m not going to stand in the way of it.” She picks her head up and smiles. “I told you I want love, too. One day…hopefully.”
I walk up to her, holding her shoulders tight, locking on her eyes. “You’re still young. Your time will come. Travel. Be happy. Use that silly Chrissy name so no one knows who you really are.” She giggles softly, but then chokes on a sob.
“Shh,” I coo, wrapping a hand around the back of her head. “I will stay in touch.”
“What if something happens to you or even Clark?”
“Nothing will happen. We’ll be fine,” I tell her.
She lets out a ragged breath. My heart aches when her glistening eyes meet mine again.
“Gia,” Clark calls brusquely. “We have to fucking go.”
I don’t look away from Jen. She holds my shoulder, nodding. “I hope he makes you happy, Gia. I hope he forgives you and gives you the world when you find him.”
My eyes burn, but I nod my head, reluctantly pulling away. She steps back, and I turn, snatching my gaze away and meeting up to Clark, who has already walked off.
“Get back inside, Jen,” he orders over his shoulder. “And keep your mouth shut. I will be back in a few days.”
I glance back at her, but she hasn’t budged. She’s still standing in the same spot in their backyard, watching us go. Her innocence kills me. It kills me because I was that girl, once—watching my Daddy leave and having him tell me to go back inside and wait for him to come back. I wanted to beg, plead, and cry. I wanted to protest and lash out—do whatever I could to make him stay.
But I never did.
I never did, because I knew when he left, he was leaving to handle business and to make things right.
And that is exactly what I am doing now. I’m going to make things right.
21
DRACO
I wish I could stop myself from doing what I am about to do, but I can’t.