Page 64 of Life

Gillian is hot on my heels when I make it to the kitchen.

“Honey, they’re trying really hard. And this does prove his alibi is toast. But we need more to tie him to the break-in. Regardless, Chase will make a call to the San Francisco police and give them a heads up that he knows Antonio’s coworkers were lying about the alibi. He’ll have some detective interview the guys again and see if they can break them. Maybe separate them and play them against one another. There’s hope. Okay?”

Even after all the shit she’s been through, she’s ever the optimist.

I pop the top on a cold beer and chug it back before slamming the can on the tile counter. “I’m so tired of everything being screwed up! We just got over months of the Danny hell, and now Antonio. Kat’s not even clear to go home yet from the hospital, and I can’t even get in my own car to go visit her. We’re still living our lives in the dark, under the shadow of fear. I’m so tired of it!” My voice cracks and shakes.

Gigi plops herself onto a stool and places her head in her hand. “I know. I’m sorry. We had some years there where we felt super solid, and things were normal. That’s not exactly the case as of late.”

“Si, what happened to those days? I miss them.” I crinkle my nose and wish we were back to a simpler time.

“Then again, without all the strife, I wouldn’t have met Chase, Bree might have never gone for Phil, and you wouldn’t have met Tommy or Eli.”

“If we go on that train of thought, you would’ve never been kidnapped, all those people would still be alive, and Kat wouldn’t have been burned.”

“Oh, Ria, things are simply not that black and white. Danny would have come after me no matter what. I’m thankful I had Chase to help get me through, and as much as we have lost, there’s so much more that we’ve gained.” She rubs her abdomen where her two unborn children rest. “Our family is getting bigger. Bree and I are going to have three more children for all of us to love, and they need their auntie to teach them to dance, how to speak Spanish, and how to be the most amazing woman in the world.”

I lean my arms on the counter and try to even out my breathing due to the sheer anger rippling through my chest. She’s right, though. Our family is growing. “You’re right,cara bonita,you always are.Gracias. Sometimes I think I need to see the light.”

Gigi slips off her stool, comes over to me, and places a delicate white hand on my shoulder. “I’ll always be there to offer you a light and to lift you up when you’re down, the same way we always have for one another. We’re sisters by choice, not by blood. That bond is special and can never be broken by the ups and downs life brings our way. Remember that when you feel lost.”

I turn around and wrap my arms around her.“Dios mio, te quiero.”

“I love you more. Now, let’s start brainstorming ways to get this cockroach out from hiding behind the fridge so we can squash him like the disgusting bug he is.”

Eli shutsthe door and comes back with the Chinese food he ordered and two long, white business envelopes.

“What are those?” I ask, gesturing to the envelopes.

“Don’t know.” He sits down and places the food on the table and glances at the envelopes. “A courier from the law firm handling my brother’s estate dropped these off at the same time I was paying the delivery guy.”

Mention of Tommy in any way, shape, or form causes me to break out in a cold sweat.

He hands me an envelope. “One has your name on it and one has mine.”

I swallow and hold it up into the light. As he stated, the front has my name in Tommy’s uneven scrawl.

“I thought you said you already spoke to the attorney?”

He nods. “Yeah, regarding his will. As you know, he didn’t have much, being so young, but for what he had, he listed me as the beneficiary. There was nothing else that said I should give this or that to specific people.”

“Tommy was married to the job, that’s for sure,” I admit. Now that I’m genuinely thinking about it, we hadn’t spent a lot of time together. He’d be on the job for days on end, and I wouldn’t even see him. I’ve seen Eli more in the past three weeks than the nine months I spent as Tommy’s girlfriend.

“The guy dropping these off said they’d been instructed to deliver them a few weeks after his burial. Why, I don’t know. I guess there’s only one way to find out.”

“You gonna open yours?” There’s no hiding the trepidation currently running rampant through my system.

I tip my head toward his. “You first.”

He takes a deep breath, rips open the envelope, and leans back into the couch. I watch his face as he reads. His eyes fill with unshed tears. His chest lifts up and down in a labored pattern. His beautiful lips that were smiling a moment ago are flat and white with unchecked emotion.

I scramble up and sit next to him on the couch. “Cazador,” I say softly, using the nickname he seems to enjoy the most, probably because it’s special to him and him alone. I sure as hell love that he calls me Spicy.

His arm jerks when I touch him. His skin is misted with sweat and burning hot to the touch. Whatever he’s reading is hitting him hard.

“Eli…”

“Fuck. Fuck me.” He rubs his face. “Thomas, why the fuck did you have to be so good? Man, I want to hate you for this.” He tosses the letter on the table and ruffles a hand through his hair. He leans forward, holding his head in his hands, elbows to his knees. His body shakes with tremors.

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