Elect(50)

I basically swallowed the granola bar whole and waited for Nixon to grab his gun again. Instead he cuffed me back to the chair and walked toward the door.

“Is that it?” I called. “You’re just going to leave?”

His hand was on the doorknob. Without looking back he answered, “You were one of my best friends, Phoenix.”

“What’s your point?”

“Every friend deserves to die with a little dignity, wouldn’t you agree?” He turned, meeting my gaze.

“Not me.”

He smirked. “Well then, thank your lucky stars I’m not the one making calls on Judgment Day. Try to get some sleep. You’ve got a long week ahead of you.”

“I look forward to our bloody meeting tomorrow,” I called back.

Nixon’s face fell. With a nod he opened the door and left. Confused as hell, I could only sit and wonder why.





Chapter Thirty


Nixon


I pulled up to the building and made it three steps before I heard the sound of footsteps lightly tapping against pavement. It took less than a few seconds for his men to grab me by the arms and drag me the rest of the way to the large wooden door.

“What do you want?” a man in a thick accent demanded.

“He’s here for me,” a crisp voice said from the doorway.

I looked up into Luca’s eyes. “That I am.”

“Do you have what we discussed?”

“Right here.” I pulled out the journal. “Let’s talk inside.”

He nodded and we walked into a small kitchen.

Luca poured me a large glass of wine. “You work faster than I expected.”

“I had help.” I sighed and pointed at the journal. “I’ll keep your secret if you keep mine.” It sounded like a taunt, when it was more like a plea.

“And what do I have to gain in this little exchange?”

I took a large gulp of wine. “You’ve been trying to cover it up for too long, Luca. At least admit that much.”

“It has become… trying.”

“She should know you’re her great uncle.”

“Trace does not need to know these things. It is best to keep them… private.”

“Like how you fell in love with her grandmother? Things like that?”

Luca slammed his fist onto the table. “That woman should have left well enough alone! To write about it in a diary is beyond my comprehension.”

“Wasn’t as if she could tell anyone.” I sighed. “But, you have the diary, you have something you need… and I still have a problem.”

“The killers? You haven’t found them?” Luca paced in front of me. “I thought that you were coming to celebrate! Finally, we can put the past behind us, yes?”

“Soon.” I drummed my fingertips on the countertop. “I have discovered some information about my parentage.”

“And?” Luca took a seat. “Why does this concern me?”

“Because my real father killed Trace’s parents.”

“I see. And who is he?”

I played with the stem of my wineglass. “You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. I need more proof than someone just telling me. I need to catch him.”

Luca nodded and took a tentative sip of his own wine. “You mean to catch the fly.”

“I mean to make such a damn good web that everyone within forty square miles will know he’s a rat, but it’s complicated.”

“Our business always is.”

“Right.”

Luca pulled out a cigar and sniffed it. “Let us speak plainly. What can I do for you, Nixon?”

My heart hammered in my chest as I looked into his eyes and said, “I need you to kill me.”





Chapter Thirty-one


Chase


I watched him leave and did nothing. I wasn’t sure if I had a right to be pissed; after all, technically they were dating, right? Or were they? Even I was confused at this point and all I really wanted to do was drown myself in a bottle of something.

She was in his bedroom.

Sleeping.

And I knew I had to go get her and bring her into her own room. How could he be so careless? What if Luca would have come by? It was strange that Nixon would just leave her in the bedroom without telling anyone. What if they had eyes on the house? Or worse yet, what if they had someone on the inside watching the whole damn time? Shit.

I walked into the room and lifted Trace into my arms. I covered her as best I could and set her carefully onto her own bed, then lay down next to her.

Well. Nobody ever said life was fair and by the looks of it, I’d been dealt a pretty shitty blow.

Nixon had slept with her and then left.

Nixon didn’t do things like that. I did things like that. The feeling in the pit of my stomach didn’t dissipate.