Huge tears splashed down her face. “Wait. Please. Don’t do this to us. I need you in my life. I’ve spent the last month replaying everything that happened and losing you killed me. It still kills me to think that I threw us away chasing my next fix. That part of my life is over. I promise you. I won’t go back there again. I have too much to lose.”
A tentative knock sounded at my door.
Dammit.
The last thing I needed was Carmela to show up right now and get the wrong idea about Laney being here. We had enough shit stacked against us without adding misunderstandings into the mix.
“Don’t answer that. We’re not done talking,” Laney ground out when I didn’t make any move toward the door.
Remorse and ruin were eating at my insides like a festering wound. “Jesus, Laney. I can’t rehash this bullshit with you again.”
Bang. Bang. Bang. “Open the fucking door, Kon. I hear you in there. We need to talk. It’s important.”
“It’s my sister. You need to go,” I muttered, crossing the room and opening the door.
“Kon,” Evie said, her eyes ping-ponging between Laney and me. Her hair was disheveled, and mascara ringed her eyes. “Who’s she?”
“No one. She was leaving.” I glared at Laney and pointed at the still open door.
Laney rubbed her hands over her tear-stained face and headed to the door. “Can we continue this conversation later?”
“Just go, Laney.”
“I’ll go, Kon, but this isn’t over.” She paused with one hand on the door handle. “I’m not giving up on us. I made that mistake once. I won’t do it again.”
I flexed my hands, checking my desire to throw her out the fucking door. Like always, Laney had piss poor timing. I didn’t want Evie hearing any of this shit. Inevitably, it would trickle back to Carmela, and that would only complicate our relationship further.
Worst of all, Laney was a loose cannon. I used to blame some of her crazier behavior on her being artsy and feeling her emotions so deeply. Now I was older, and I knew better. She wasn’t right in her head.
“Don’t meddle in my life, Laney. I mean it. I won’t be nice this time. Things will be ugly.”
“We’ll see.”
The second she stepped over the threshold, I slammed the door closed. The look on Evie’s face told me everything I needed to know. She was fucking pissed, which could only mean Gian had found out about Carmela and me. I paused near the door, buying time before diving into another confrontation. At least she came rather than Gian, because a confrontation between the two of us would end with guns drawn.
“Who was she?”
“Nobody important.”
“Are you seeing that woman?”
“Why the fuck do you care, Evie? Just get to the point of your visit. I’m tired and I’ve had a shit night.”
“Don’t be an ass, Kon. I’m not here for your benefit or mine.”
“Then why are you here?” I grabbed a beer from the refrigerator and popped it open. “Because I distinctly remember you telling me I was dead to you.”
“Carmela was hurt today, and I thought you’d want to know.” She started pacing, rubbing her hands on the thighs of her dark blue jeans. “Maybe I was stupid to come here. Gian will flip if he finds out, and then you had that woman here, so maybe you don’t care and I wasted my time.”
I grabbed her arm. “Stop rambling and tell me what the hell you’re talking about. What do you mean she was hurt?”
“Holy fuck, Kon. I was so scared. She’s my best friend.” She covered her mouth with a shaking hand.
“Evie. Tell. Me. What. Happened.”
“She’s in the hospital. When Gian called me, I was freaking out. I thought she was going to die, and we got in that fight last week. I’m such an idiot…”
Evie’s voice droned on and on, and I didn’t hear a single word. My blood turned to ice. My stomach clenched, my throat constricted, and my chest felt like I couldn’t take in enough air.
“Evie,” I said, my voice hoarse, “you’re not making any sense. Why is she in the hospital?”
“Oh my God. It was so terrible. She was leaving a restaurant and someone drove by and sprayed a few shots. She was hit, and—”
I yanked on my hair, not caring if I ripped it out of my fucking head. She had inched her way deep under my skin, and I was a fucking goner where Carmela was concerned.
Evie hauled me into a one armed hug. “I’m sorry I’m rambling. You look sick. She’s okay. I promise. The bullet grazed her arm. She fainted and hit her head, so she has to stay the night in the hospital. She’ll be fine.”