Page 17 of Spiteful Heart

Even though we weren’t closer to finding the killer, I still felt better knowing we had a plan. It was more than we had yesterday, although it’d come at a cost.

The image of the poor girl’s face was burned in my mind. Just like Tina’s skeletal severed head, only today’s was fresher and bloodier. Today’s body might not be on any missing persons list, but we had to try. Maybe he’d grabbed them from across the river, in the neighboring city. It’s where he’d grabbed Tina after I’d taken her home from the club.

I wasn’t a praying sort. After everything I’d gone through, I didn’t believe in gods. I didn’t believe in society or the men in charge. The only person I believed in was myself, because I was the only one who could truly take back my life and what was stolen from me.

And even if I couldn’t, knowing sooner or later I’d sink a knife into this serial killer’s skull made me dance in anticipation. What a bloody fun day that would be. I just hoped it came sooner rather than later.

Chapter Four – Sylvester

Jimmy was getting me that list. He said it might take some time. Apparently missing persons were quite plentiful here, go figure, and if I wanted him to go beyond what was reported in-city to the rest of the state, he’d need to pull some favors so no questions were asked. I was fine with that; I told him I’d pay him well for his service. Dirty cops could always be bribed.

I called Roman next, gave him the update on where we were and what I wanted him and Carter to do. I told them the hours I wanted them to take, who they’d be following. I stressed that they had to watch in secret; secrecy was our best weapon when it came to Newton. If he found out he was being tailed… I could only imagine what he’d do. He wouldn’t be happy, obviously.

Roman didn’t question me. He knew better than to do that. The man was loyal to the Luciano name; now that my father was out of the picture for good, he was my man, as was Carter. As were a lot of contacts in the city.

And yet all those contacts, all those people loyal to the Luciano name meant nothing right now, because we couldn’t find this damned serial killer.

The last person I called was Harvey. I got his number from Lola’s phone, and then I stepped outside the house, telling him to get his ass over here. That I wanted to talk to him. He didn’t act too surprised, and I took that to mean Lola had warned him that I’d be having a chat with him soon.

Lola and her fascination with Harvey. I didn’t get it. I just didn’t get it, and I never would. The guy was weird, awkward, and he had no friends. He claimed it was because he spent all his time waiting around for Bianca to order him about, but was that really the case?

I didn’t know. I didn’t trust him. His whole awkward persona might be nothing more than a facade, a charade he put up while in the company of others. Newton might know our inner workings… but Harvey did, too.

Harvey knew how we worked, because he’d worked for Bianca DeLuca for years. He saw how families like ours worked. He knew where we frequented. He was close to Lola, always finding a way to be around her all the fucking time. He didn’t know when to stop, but maybe that was on purpose. Maybe it was all a lie, and Lola had fallen for it worst of all.

No, I didn’t trust him, and I wanted to see his face when I told him I was putting him on Newton as a tail for eight hours each and every day. If he tried to argue with me, I’d get Lola out of the house and make her repeat exactly what I’d said; he might technically be under her employment, but Lola and I were one.

I stood at the base of the steps, waiting for Harvey to show up. When I saw his car pull up, my shoulders straightened and a frown grew on my lips. He pulled right up to me, slow to get out.

Frankly, Harvey was an unimposing guy. In his early thirties, just under six feet tall. He wasn’t overly muscled. If I had to describe him, I’d call him more lanky than anything else, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t like the guy too much. The wind lapped at his brown hair as he walked up to me. He wore a black suit… with a damned bowtie.

Yeah, a fucking bowtie, like he was eighteen and going to prom.

“Harvey,” I spoke his name, hating the taste of it on my tongue. My dislike of him was natural; it was like I couldn’t help it. Anyone who worked for the DeLucas I didn’t trust of principle, although, I supposed, if the situation was flipped, they wouldn’t trust us, either.

“Sylvester,” he said, stopping when he stood three feet away. “What is it? You sounded, uh, odd on the phone. I didn’t know you had my number—”

“I didn’t before today. I grabbed it from Lola’s phone. She’s inside, by the way,” I added, in case he tried to tell me he wasn’t going to do anything I said. Which he might. You never knew. “But I didn’t bring you here to talk about Lola, as you probably already guessed. You’re here because I need you to do something.”

He didn’t hesitate: “Of course. What is it?”

I narrowed my stare at him, frowning slightly. His eagerness came off as genuine, but I didn’t trust him, and that made it hard to take anything he said or did to heart. “I need you to tail Newton from eight to four every day—and to be clear, that’s eight at night until four in the morning. Do you think you can do that?”

“Lola won’t need me?”

“Like I’ve said many times before, Lola isn’t like Bianca. She has us, whereas Bianca only had you. She won’t need you. And, regardless of that, she’s the one who came up with the idea of tailing Newton.”

He blinked, his gray eyes trained on me. “Oh. Okay. Yeah, yeah, I’ll do it. Of course I’ll do it. For how long?” When I didn’t say anything to him, he answered his own question, “Let me guess: until you say otherwise. That’s fine. I don’t mind.”

Hmm. So eager to stalk someone each and every night. “I hope it won’t get in the way of your dating life,” I referenced the thing Lola was fucking obsessed with lately: Harvey’s relationship with that girl he’d started to date. Giulia, I think her name was? I couldn’t help but think it was all one big ruse at this point, but any time I brought Harvey up to Lola, she shook me off, not wanting to hear it.

She thought the world of the guy, for whatever reason. I didn’t like it.

Harvey chuckled, though I didn’t see what was so amusing. “I’ll be fine, sir. You can count on me.”

“I guess we’ll see about that,” I remarked, meaning it. Seemed odd he’d finally, supposedly, connected with a woman after being alone for so long, and now that I’d given him a job during the peak hours of seeing someone outside of a normal full-time job, he wouldn’t be able to see her as much—and he didn’t act like he cared.

He didn’t go to leave right away. He stood there, staring at me, an awkward air about him. “You don’t like me very much, do you?” A blunt question for a guy who constantly acted like he was never socialized as a child.

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