Page 136 of Into the Fire

“Do you want to just watch a movie?” she asked.

I blew out a breath. “I don’t know. I feel like I should be doing something. Dominic and I have never met, but I still give adamn. The last thing I want to do is lose another family member. Did Enzo say what hospital he was in?”

She shook her head. “No. He hasn’t called or messaged either. None of them have.”

“Don’t you have a tracking app to see them?” I asked hopefully.

She wrinkled her nose. “I-I don’t.”

I sighed and scrubbed my hand down my face. “Maybe I should call my father.”

Rosalie bit her bottom lip. “Ani—”

“Fuck.” I got to my feet and paced the room. She was right. She didn’t need to say a word. I already knew. Maybe it would be a bad thing if Matteo knew. I didn’t want to make things worse.

I stopped my pacing and rubbed my eyes.

Warm arms encircled me.

LeeLee.

“It’s going to be OK. I know it is,” she said, hugging me so tight that I felt completely consumed by her.

I hugged her back, my heart feeling like it was cracking even more.

“I don’t want to take over for my father,” I whispered. “It’s Dominic’s job, not mine. I-I only want to find my mom and sister’s killer. Then I want to be free, LeeLee. I want my freedom from all of it.”

“I know,” she murmured. “I want that for you too.”

She pulled away and looked up at me. “What can I do?”

I sighed. “Nothing. There’s nothing we can do but wait.”

“I’ll message the guys and see if they’ve heard anything. We have a group chat,” she said, moving away from me.

I watched her go to the counter where her phone was. She thumbed out a message and came back to me.

“Come on. Let’s just sit. We can talk if you want.”

I nodded, not having a reason to say no to her and really just needing a place to sit before I wore a hole in the floor from pacing.

We went to the couch and stayed in silence for a long time. The buzzing of Rosalie’s phone sounded out, and she stared down at the message for a moment before showing me the screen.

Enzo: He’s still alive. He lost a lot of blood. They’ve closed his wounds, and he’s being kept here for a few days. He’s not awake. We’re going to be staying here to keep a watch on everything. It’s a dangerous time. We don’t want someone coming in here when he’s down and out and finishing the job. I’ll keep you updated and will call later. Let Anson know to expect a call from me too.

“OK.” I breathed out. “OK. That’s good. Dominic is still alive. He’ll be OK. I know he will. De Santis’s are strong. This. . . this confirms it.”

A small bit of relief rushed through me as I said the words and reminded myself of Enzo’s message.

“For what it’s worth, I really am sorry,” Rosalie said, offering me a sad smile.

“I know, LeeLee. This world can be a rotten place, and grief is a demon. I would know.”

She turned in her spot, her legs criss-crossed, and stared me down. “Do you want to talk, Ani?”

I gave her a tiny, grateful smile. She was so intuitive, but so was I.

“Doyouwant to talk?” I replied.

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