Page 85 of Crime Lord’s Captive

“Where’s Carmen?”

“Asleep. Blade sedated her.”

“Carmen’s a passionate woman. If she was trained like Gavin, she would be hunting right alongside him.”

Lyla shuddered because she knew it was true. Aunt Isabel and Uncle Louie entered the kitchen and greeted Manny respectfully. They made small talk, but they fell into a weighted silence as they all wondered if Gavin had found Vinny’s killer yet.

***

The next few days passed in a rollercoaster of emotions. Lyla spent every waking moment with Carmen. She let her cousin rage, reminisce and grieve. Lyla forced Carmen to eat and even bathed her after outbursts that left Carmen weak as a baby. Through Aunt Isabel’s gentle suggestion, Carmen was able to plan a funeral, but it left them all exhausted. By the end of a week, Lyla was bone weary and heartsick. There was no word from Gavin, which increased her anxiety and stress, but she pushed that away so she could focus on Carmen. Lyla didn’t leave Carmen for a second. She slept at Carmen’s and used her cousin’s clothes.

The night before the funeral, neither of them slept. They lay side by side in Carmen’s bed, staring up at the ceiling. Lyla couldn’t believe how the course of their lives could change so drastically in so little time. She was haunted by the thought of Vinny being shot in the chest five times. How could one human being do that to another? In retrospect, it was now glaringly obvious that Vinny would be Gavin’s choice for crime lord since he trusted so few people. If she’d known that Vinny wanted to take over, would she have put a stop to it?

“How could God do this to me?” Carmen whispered.

“Things happen,” Lyla said, focusing on Carmen instead of her dark thoughts. “Did you know that Vinny agreed to take over that side of the business?”

“Yes, I knew, but...”

Carmen began to cry again. Lyla squeezed her hand.

“I never thought something like this would happen. He said he could handle it and I trusted him to be careful, to come home to me.”

“I’m sorry, Carmen,” Lyla whispered, heart heavy with guilt.

“It’s not your fault.”

“Gavin’s not going to give it up after this,” Lyla said quietly. “He doesn’t want anyone else to get hurt.”

Carmen turned her head on the pillow to look at her. “What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t called me in a week. He’s just gone cold.”

“Maybe after he finds who did this to Vinny he’ll come back to you.”

“We’ll see,” Lyla said doubtfully. “They kidnap me and then kill Vinny. What next?”

***

Carmen decided to keep Vinny’s funeral small, but with the large Pyre family there, there were easily more than one hundred people. Carmen wore a black dress, veil and red hooker heels. Lyla stood by her side as they greeted everyone. Uncle Louie and Aunt Isabel stood in the receiving line with them. It wasn’t a secret how Vinny died, which created an underlying tension that turned her stomach.

Lyla’s heart felt as if it were breaking. A week ago, Vinny was alive and now they were at his funeral. A week ago she tried on wedding gowns and now she was wearing unrelieved black. Lyla looked up as someone made a path through the crowd. Her heart lightened when she saw Gavin. He was alive... and pissed. He hadn’t called or stopped by Carmen’s house. A part of her wanted to think he was staying away because he didn’t want to intrude on Carmen’s grief and because he believed he was to blame, but the wrathful look he directed at her made her heart shrivel into a ball. So he still blamed her for Vinny’s death.

“Gavin?” Uncle Louie demanded.

“I got him,” Gavin said.

There were cheers and satisfied grunts from the Pyres and the dark energy in the room dissipated slightly. As everyone took their seats, Gavin went up to the podium and began to lead the service while Lyla sat between Carmen and Manny. Family got up to tell stories and honor Vinny’s life. Such a waste, Lyla thought and examined Gavin who stood off to the side as a cousin told a story about him and Vinny when they were kids. Gavin looked as remote as ever. He didn’t look at her. She called the wedding planner and dressmaker to let them know about the tragedy. She was shocked to hear that Gavin had already postponed the wedding until further notice. What did that mean? Lyla twisted the blue diamond ring on her finger.

After the funeral, they congregated at Carmen’s place where everyone could eat, talk and decompress. Lyla didn’t stray from Carmen’s side. Carmen had a few outbursts, but she quickly got herself under control. It was dark before Lyla was able to look for Gavin in the crowd. She found him in the back yard, staring at nothing. She walked up beside him. He didn’t acknowledge her presence.

“So you got whoever did this to Vinny?” she asked.

“Yes.”

“Just him?”

“I needed to make a statement.”

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