Page 45 of Forbidden Devotion

LAUREN

Mrs. Marino assured me that Rich just needed to process all of this, that he’d probably call his friend Mark and they’d do stupid boy shit to blow off steam, and then he’d be back. Still, the whole time I explained the charges to his family, I couldn’t help but be deeply concerned by his reaction. I couldn’t help but feel like he would blame me when I couldn’t get Fabrizio free.

Just last night, I had felt so safe in his arms. He’d fucked me slow and hard, keeping me tethered to reality through the haze in my brain, and reassured me that I was still here, alive, mostly unharmed and that he was going to keep me that way. I’d checked my phone that morning after it had charged all night and found the numerous calls, messages, and voicemails he’d left for me throughout the afternoon, proving how worried he’d been when he couldn’t reach me. His first thought wasn’t that I ghosted him, it was that I might be in danger—and he still hadn’t overreacted until he was sure, in spite of his raging concern.

Last night, he’d been perfect. The whole last week, he’d been perfect, even though we were both so busy we hardly had time to text, let alone actually meet. Our chemistry was off the charts, we had the same sense of humor, we could talk for hours about nothing, we both wanted the same things in the bedroom—so why did I have this foreboding feeling in the pit of my stomach?

I tried to talk myself out of it, focusing on his family’s promise. This was just how he dealt with being overwhelmed, they said, and they would obviously know better than I would. He’d come back tonight and apologize for running off, and we’d be able to put our heads together to fix this situation as best we could.

So I focused on explaining the details to his family, sitting in the chair across from them. All three present Marinos had their focus on me and on me alone.

It was nerve-wracking. I didn’t want to let these people down, and not just because they could vanish me with a snap of their fingers. I genuinely liked Richard, and even though we’d hardly truly known each other, I was already growing very fond of his whole family. The family I was disappointing. His little brother, who I was failing.

Jen was fast, but I doubted I’d hear back from her on the video until late afternoon at the earliest. That left me in the awkward position of trying to work from the guest room of the Marino’s house, despite the high tension. I had called into work to let them know I hadn't been well the previous night and that I would be working remotely. I didn’t mention the new case yet.

Frankly, the atmosphere was suffocating. Not that I could blame anyone in the family, of course. It was nerve-wracking, and I was sure they were terrified for their youngest member, but the more I dug, the less certain I was that I’d be able to help him.

There was no way to dismiss the evidence shown in the video. The lighting was good, the image was clear, and the loss of audio did not alter the fact that Fabrizio's face was captured in full view. I rewatched it a thousand times, analyzing it. Fabrizio was pushing the deceased, Tobias Cole, out the front entrance of the bar. Tobias was visibly upset,

The two men stood alone on the sidewalk, arguing. Even in the video, I could feel the tension growing, and it seemed that Fabrizio was threatening him. The deceased was not backing down, coming up in Fabrizio's face, and the latterwas not backing away either. They absolutely looked like they were about to square off in the street.

Then, there was the shine of oncoming headlights, which Fabrizio clearly noticed. He glanced to the road, but the car that wasn’t yet visible on camera. Then said something to Tobias before grabbing him by the shirt and tossing him into the road.

Tobias stumbled, turned, and was promptly crushed by two tons of vehicle.

It wasn’t pretty. In law school, they’d shown us plenty of hit-and-run videos, but most of them weren’t quite this bloody. Most hit-and-runs weren’t lethal, after all. This one, though… it was very obvious when the blur of the car shot through the frame that Tobias hadn’t stood a chance. The car was just moving too fast.

I could argue that the car was speeding, which it clearly was, but that didn’t change the fact that Fabrizio had bodily thrown a man in front of the car in the first place. That, and the argument that led up to it, made Fabrizio’s guilt more than clear. No judge or jury would listen to any other arguments, nor should they.

The only good news was Fabrizio’s reaction. For a second, he was just frozen, but then he darted forward towards the broken body on the ground. He looked frantic, falling to his knees and visibly scanning the injuries with his hands, hovering uncertainly over Tobias’ chest. He was saying something, holding the bleeding gash on Tobias’ side with both hands in a clear attempt to save his life before realizing he was dead. For a second, he tried chest compressions, but something made him recoil after just one push. He didn’t try again.

He stood slowly, backing away before swinging his head side to side like he was making sure no one saw. Then he turned, and he ran.

Running was bad, but I could argue that it was a panic response. I could also argue that, based on attempted life-saving measures, Fabrizio hadn’t intended to kill Tobias. Unfortunately, that only meant so much. I needed more.

I needed the story straight from Fabrizio’s mouth.

Cook County Corrections was no different than it had been last week, even though it felt like it had been ages since I had stepped foot in here. Everything was happening so fast, while it seemed like the rest of the world was just untouched. Like nothing had changed for anybody else.

The door buzzed, and a guard led Fabrizio in. I stood up, worried. I’d been eating breakfast with this young man just a few hours ago, and now he was in cuffs.

As soon as the guard left, I looked at him in concern. He was more tanned than Richard and had his father’s blue eyes, but otherwise, they looked so similar. He had the same forehead, the same nose, the same chin. But he still looked like a boy to me.

“How are you doing?” I asked, brow creased. Fabrizio, bless him, managed to smile for me.

“I’m alright,” he said. “I’ve got a cell to myself, so that’s nice.” I tried to smile back, but I don’t think it worked.

“Listen, Fabrizio,” I said, “I need to know what happened. All of it, leave nothing out, no matter how bad it is.” Fabrizio took a deep breath.

“I killed him,” he said, looking me in the eye. “He—he was an abusive bastard who treated his girlfriend like shit, and that night at the bar, I saw him slip something into her drink. I knocked it over. Claire—she didn’t deserve that. She’s a good person, she’s smart and helpful, and always follows the rules. She never speaks up in class even though she has top marks; she keeps her head down all the time—she deserves better, Lauren.”

I swallowed. Okay.

“So you know Claire and Tobias personally?” I asked.

“Claire’s in my class,” Fabrizio said, “and Tobias never lets her go anywhere alone. Walks her to class, waits for her after class, he’s just always there. It’s like he’s always watching her, just waiting for her to slip up.” I nodded slowly.

“So you saw them at the bar?—”

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