She twisted her bracelet around her wrist, glowering at the wall above my head. “No. I misspoke.”
“I thought so.” I walked out of the restaurant with my chin high and my five hundred dollar shoes clicking over the floor. Fighting back was empowering. I felt liberated.
When I put a half a block between the restaurant and me, I grabbed my phone from my purse, pausing in the shade of a tree. Everyone thought I was with Ava, which gave me the perfect opportunity to meet up with Kon. There was a hotel right around the corner, which may or may not have been the reason I picked this restaurant.
As I scrolled through my contacts, car tires screeched around the corner. My head shot up, and fear shot through my chest, remembering the near miss the other night. A black SUV reduced its speed, almost coming to a full stop. The dark tinted window rolled down. The silver barrel of a gun peeked out, glinting off the bright sunlight nearly blinding me.
Without thinking too hard, my body knew what I needed to do. I lurched into a frenzy of movement. My phone tumbled from my hand, cartwheeling across the pavement. One stride and my leg jerked, refusing to budge. The heel of my lace up sandals were caught in the metal grate surrounding the tree on the sidewalk.
Shit. Fuck. Shit.
Mid-motion to dislodge my shoe, I heard it.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
A hot, searing pain tore through my upper arm, right below my shoulder. I wrapped my hand around it, and warm liquid seeped through my fingers. Screams echoed through my ears, and I didn’t know if they were mine or someone else’s. The smell of gunpowder lingered, mixing with the metallic odor of my blood.
Black dots blurred my vision. I gasped for air, but my lungs were tight. I teetered forward. Right before I fell, I stretched out to steady myself on the tree trunk. The palm of my hand skidded down the rough bark, ripping at my skin, and I lost my balance. I freefell, the breeze whispering through the strands of my hair, and I wondered if this was how Rocco felt when Marco DiTonno shot him.
Images flickered through my mind like a movie reel.
Rocco. Gian. My dad’s lopsided grin. My mom’s golden eyes…and Kon. I wanted Kon with me right now more than anything. More than anyone. He’d help me. I needed him. God, did I need him…
Seconds that felt like hours later, my head collided with the metal grate and everything went black.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE
Konstantin
I opened the door, and my entire body sagged with disappointment. I had hoped it was Carmela so I didn’t bother putting on a shirt. I hadn’t heard from her all day other than a quick text saying she was going to an early dinner with Ava, and she wanted to meet afterward. It was now eleven o’clock at night, and I was coming out of my skin. I didn’t want to think about what would happen to her if her family found out she hadn’t cut me out of her life.
“Laney, what the hell are you doing here?”
“You’ve been avoiding my calls. I didn’t have any choice.”
She twirled her nearly white blonde hair around her finger and jutted her lower lip out into something resembling a pout. I’d seen this practiced look too many times to count, and sadly I used to fall for her shit over and over. Not this time.
I didn’t feel anything except relief when I looked at Laney. Relief I didn’t still want her. Relief our dysfunctional relationship was truly over. Even before she started doing drugs, her moods were all over the place. One time she destroyed my apartment, slicing sofa cushions, breaking dishes and shattering my shower door because she thought I was flirting with the waitress at dinner.
“Yeah? You could have left me the hell alone.”
She pressed her palm to my chest. “Give me ten minutes of your time, Kon, and I’ll go if you don’t want me here anymore. That’s all I’m asking.”
I gripped the doorknob harder, eyeing her hand with disgust. “I don’t have anything to say to you, Laney. I shut the door on our past years ago, and I’m not interested in rehashing it today or any other day. I’ve moved on. You should too.”
“Please. I need to apologize. It’s important to me.”
“You have apologized. I don’t want or need another apology. The only thing I want is for you to stay out of my life.”
“You don’t have to be so inflexible all the time.” She curled her hand around my shoulder. “What happened to the boy I met when we were younger? You used to be sweet and caring. You loved me.”
I shrugged out of her hold. I couldn’t stand her touch. “You happened to me. We happened to each other, and none of it was good.”
“That’s not true. We had good times, Kon, really good times. I’ve forgiven you for your part in what happened to me. I wouldn’t have had access to those drugs if it weren’t for you and your family. Maybe you can find that same forgiveness for me.”