“Danika! Are you okay? What the hell happened? We got a call from Gabe saying you were okay, but…”
“Mom…” I interject, the tension between my temples swelling infinitely.
“…then this morning on the news we saw pictures of you and Savage and you were covered in blood! They said something about three dead…”
“Mom! Stop.” I don’t mean to snap at her. Really, I don’t, but she never stops. She never listens, and if she starts drilling me about what happened I know I will lose it. I can’t lose it. I can’t. I’m too strong for that.
Keep it together.
After a sharp intake of breath, Nora whispers something to our mother before responding. “Are you okay, really?”
I sigh, pressing on my temples to try to ease some of the pressure. “Yes, I’m fine. I’m at Savage’s and will be here for a while, I think, but I’m fine. I promise.”
Nora tells our mother she will be right back and I hear her footsteps and a door slam. “Sorry, I needed to get away from Mom. You’re at Savage’s? What’s going on? Are you two back together?”
“Yeah, we are. We talked, and things are good.”
I don’t know how else to explain it to her. I have no intention to giving her any of the salacious details. It’s awkward enough having my sister work for my boyfriend. The last thing that needs to be tossed in that mix is her having knowledge of our deep, dark secrets.
She releases a sigh. “Thank God. You two were fucking miserable asshats the last couple weeks. I swear to God, if you didn’t figure this shit out soon, Gabe and I were ready to lock you two in a room and leave you until you got your shit together.”
“Gee, thanks, sis,” I say, sliding off the bed and making my way to the bathroom. A long, scalding-hot bath sounds amazing right now. I grab what I need and walk down the hallway to the guest bathroom and its enormous whirlpool jet bathtub.
“I’m just being honest. It was awful watching both of you torture yourselves. It was clear neither of you wanted this breakup, or whatever it was. I’m just happy you worked it out. I could have done without the heart attack I had when Gabe called to tell us what happened and then saw you on the news.”
“Yeah, sorry about that.” I switch on the water and sit on the side of the tub as the steam rises around me. The eucalyptus bath salts sitting on the edge of the tub look beyond inviting so I dump some in as the tub fills.
“What are you doing now? You need me to come over?”
“No, Savage is over at Gabe’s for a bit. I am going to take a long, hot bath and just try to relax.”
“Okay,” she says, and I hear the disappointment in her voice, “but let me know if you need me.”
I know she wants to be here to support me, and I love her even more for it, but I’m too on edge right now to deal with her. Especially when she doesn’t, and can’t, know the whole story.
“Maybe tomorrow, Nora. I’ll call you.”
“Okay, I love you.”
“Love you, too.” I hang up and slide my phone onto the counter before I strip and step into the tub. The hot water sears my skin, almost to the point of intolerability, but I sink down into it anyway, letting it continue filling around me.
Dropping my head back against the headrest, I close my eyes and try to concentrate on the sound of the rushing water. Maybe it will wash away the images in my head, the ones that, even after what happened with Savage this morning, I can’t seem to shake.
He promised things would get better. He said it gets easier, more bearable.
I hope he’s right because the thought of going to bed and closing my eyes, being with my thoughts and the vivid memories all night, terrifies me. It’s different in the daylight, easier to make it through with distractions like Savage. But nothing will ever get better if he and Gabe can’t find a way to deal with Abello.
The cops told me they didn’t have enough on him to arrest him, just like I didn’t have enough to write my story. So, Savage is right. They’re useless as far as protecting me is concerned.
But something inside tells me not to underestimate Savage, or Gabe for that matter.
They’ll figure something out. They have to.
Gabe stares at me from across the coffee table.
“You want to do what?” he asks, his jaw dropping open in disbelief. “Are you fucking insane?”
His response shouldn’t surprise me, I guess. My plan isn’t exactly foolproof, but I can’t think of any other feasible way to get out of this clusterfuck.
“You have a better plan?”
“Than blackmailing the head of the fucking mob and then relying on him to keep a promise not to come after us? Yeah, I think I can come up with something better than that, Savage. For fuck sake, you can’t trust this guy. You, of all people, should know and understand that.”
“Oh yeah, and what’s your plan? Take him out with your damn rifle?” As soon as the words leave my mouth, I regret them. He recoils and presses his lips together in a tight line as his blue eyes go ice-cold instantly. It wasn’t fair, and I know it.