LILY
I don’t knowwhat to do.
If I’m right, and Vance is the mole, then he can’t be trusted. This meeting he’s taking Nero to has to be some kind of setup, a way for the Feds to finally get him connected in person to something shady.
The gun.
Fuck. He’s walking into the situation armed. He’ll end up behind bars again, and this time, I have a feeling that Lydia will find a way to make it stick.
Should I warn him?
I waver, my phone in my hand. A few minutes ago, I was sure that our marriage was over. My trust in Nero has been obliterated, after finding out that he’s been hiding my mother’s death all this time. Surely there’s no coming back from that?
But still…
My heart aches. I dial his number. It goes straight to voicemail, like he’s turned off his phone. Still, I leave a blurting message, telling him not to trust Vance, and to get the hell away from him. I hang up slowly, still on edge.
What if he doesn’t get the message in time?
I look around, at my half-packed case, sitting on the floor in the house that Nero bought for us. For me. I should finish packing and run while I have the chance, but it feels like my head and my heart are at war inside me, keeping me frozen in place. No matter what my mind tells me, all the logic and reason in the world, my heart keeps sending me back to him.
I love him, despite all the betrayal.
But is it enough?
My gaze falls on a picture on the bureau, of Nero and me, back when I was just sixteen. A blurry Polaroid photo of the two of us, arms wrapped around each other, so in love, you can see it all the way through the frame.
Nero kept it.
For ten years, he kept that photo. Was he waiting for the day I’d come back to him? Because I was. All those years, deep down, I’ve been pining for the boy I’d loved with all my heart.
Longing to see the man he’d become.
And now I know him—too well. The darkness, as well as the bashful hope. His wrath, and his tenderness. It’s all two sides of the same coin.
And I can’t help but love them both.
His ring is on my finger. Our fates are connected, whether I like it or not.
We’re bound together. Until the very end.
I grab the keys to Nero’s car and slip out the back door. Kyle is out front, on duty, but I can’t trust anyone right now. I hop the fence into the alley, and circle around to where Nero’s car is parked out front. Kyle is watching something on his phone and doesn’t even notice me until I’m inside the car and the engine starts.
“Hey!” he yells sprinting across the street, but I floor the gas, and peel right out of there, leaving him in my rearview mirror.
I can’t stop for anything. I have to get to Nero, before it’s too late.
I drive fast, my fear growing by the minute. I overheard Vance saying where the meeting is taking place, down by the docks, and I cut across the bridge to get there. It’s nothing but warehouses in this poorly lit area, some abandoned and boarded up, and I slow to a crawl, eyes peeled in the darkness for any signs of Nero.
I reach the end of Porter Street and pull over. I can see Vance’s car parked up ahead, so I climb out, wishing I’d changed out of my tight dress and heels. But there’s no time for hesitation, every second could count, so I take a deep breath, and silently creep towards the building. I edge along the wall, staying in the shadows, until I can peer around the corner, searching desperately for any sign of Nero.
There!
I can see him, about thirty feet away. He’s deep in conversation with some guy I don’t recognize, as Vance loiters nearby.
There’s no sign of the Feds, or any kind of trap.
I exhale in a rush. What if I got it all wrong?