My father gave me a slight smile. “He’ll come back. He’s the strongest man I’ve ever met. It would take an entire army to take him down.”
“I hope he never crosses paths with any army…”
“He’ll be fine. Only two left, and it’ll be over.”
I had to focus on that, to remember that this would be over for good eventually. “You asked for his help with the Skull Kings. What does that mean?”
My father sighed before he explained the plan to me. “Griffin has a pretty solid relationship with them. My goal is to pay them off, basically. End the war before it can escalate. Conway is about to be a father, and Griffin is getting out of that life of crime. I want to settle our debts so we can never think about it again.”
“And you’re going with him?” I asked, slightly afraid.
He nodded. “But it’ll be alright, tesoro. I’ve been in worse situations.”
“When is this happening?”
“Once he gets back.”
So Bones would return to me but then take off on another mission. This nightmare would never end.
My father gave me a look of pity. “I wouldn’t have asked him if I had any other choice. He was eager to get on board because he wants to make sure this is done right. He wants all the Barsettis to have peace…since you’re a Barsetti.”
“Now I understand the need for a simple life…what you’ve been talking about all these years.” I wanted to leave my front door open without fear of who might walk inside. I didn’t want to look over my shoulder and expect to see someone following me. I wanted my family to live freely under the sun, unafraid of the past.
My father gave a slight nod. “And we’ll get it, tesoro. I promise.”
Twelve
Bones
I set it up to look like an accident.
An overdose on opioids put him in cardiac arrest.
But in reality, I slipped something into his drink and put the pills where they belonged. He collapsed on the floor of his office, foam pouring out of his mouth and his heart giving out on him.
I watched the whole thing—to make sure it was done right.
Then I slipped out and headed to the airport. Egypt was warm this time of year. I headed through the poverty-stricken streets until I found my bike in the alleyway. I kicked it into gear and sped to the airport at the edge of the city, just fifty miles away from the iconic pyramids.
Max spoke in my ear. “Everything went according to plan?”
“Yeah.”
“No witnesses?”
“They won’t even notice he’s dead for a few hours.” His guards remained outside the dining room and surrounded the entire block, but they hadn’t noticed me slip inside from the roof.
“Good.”
“Tell Vanessa I’m getting on my flight.” I pulled up to the terminal and left my bike in the parking lot.
“Sure thing.”
“How has she been?”
“Spending time with her father. He’s come to Florence every day to hang out in her gallery.”
It wasn’t clear if he was doing that just to spend time with his daughter or give me peace of mind that she was safe. Maybe it was both. He’d been trying to earn my forgiveness, and the best way to do that was through Vanessa. I liked knowing she wasn’t alone, that she was distracted instead of counting down the hours until I returned. “Good to know.”
“I’ll let her know you’re on your way back.”
“Thanks.”
“You’re one of the best in the group. I’ll miss working with you.” Max never hid his displeasure at my decision. We’d decided it would be the four of us until we were too old to do this anymore. It wasn’t difficult to find someone who could kill people for money, but it was nearly impossible to find someone who could be trusted. It would be impossible to replace me. Instead of finding a fourth man, they would manage with three instead.
Words escaped me, and I didn’t know what to say. A part of me wanted to keep working with Max, but I knew that wasn’t possible anymore. Shane stayed in the business, and as a result, Cynthia wouldn’t live nearly as long because of the stress. Vanessa wanted to raise a family with me. I couldn’t do that if I was gone all the time. Once she became my wife, she would be the center of my universe—even more than she was now. My place was beside her, keeping her safe day and night.
Not killing men for money.
I finally responded to his words. “I’m going to miss it too, Max. But we both know it’s time for me to move on.”
He didn’t say anything for a long time, like he’d turned off his mic. But then his voice came through. “Yeah, I know. Doesn’t make it easier for me to accept.”
My plane landed in the middle of the night, and I arrived at the apartment past three. But the late hour didn’t fool me. I knew what would be waiting for me the second I walked in the door.