Page 71 of Weaponized

I gasp.

“Yeah,” he says. Listens. “Call me as soon as it’s done. Immediately.” He hangs up.

“Rowan. I—I—Do you really think?” I feel sick.

“Who has a key to your apartment?” He is clearly pissed. “Luca? His brother? A neighbor?”

“Uh, well. No one but me, you…and Luca. We had the place scanned after I moved in, remember?” I’m trying to think. “I mean, we know someone broke in to steal the file. I didn’t have anything else to find. I didn’t think about listening devices. I live on campus.” A safe zone.

He growls. “Fucking Italians.”

“I’m so sorry.”

He doesn’t reply as his hands clench the steering wheel.

An hour later, I am curled up on Rowan’s couch. He tells me to rest and promises he will wake me with any news.I assume I won’t be able to sleep, but I’m wrong. I’m out like a light.

I jerk awake some time later to the sound of Rowan shouting.

“Row?” I call out. He walks down his hallway toward me, cursing the whole way.

“There were bugs. Lots of them. With cameras. All over your apartment.” He is seething. “I have to run out.”

“No! Wait! Don’t go out this mad. We need to think. Strategize.” I am so anxious he’ll get hurt, I can’t even process that someone was recording me. On video.

“Gráinne. I need you to listen to me very carefully. Stay inside. Keep the door locked. Do not go out or talk to anyone.”

“I don’t have a phone,” I say stupidly.

“Good,” is his response. My brother storms out of his front door.

I understand he wants to protect me, but he should know me better than this. There is no way I can sit here, helpless, while he goes off to impulsively get himself killed by confronting the Italians. I take a deep breath, steel my spine, and walk out his door.

Luca

Being sober sucks. I spent Friday morning listening to Theo Nicopolis insist he never touched Gráinne while his buddies tried to pull me off him. I was lucky enough to find him off campus, so I got a few good shots in before he started threatening a war. I already let Gráinne put my family at risk; I couldn’t ruin an alliance over her as well. Instead, I muttered something to him about staying away from the Irish. He spit blood in my face, but agreed.

I spent the rest of the day trying to track down Gianni. When that was a bust, I was up most of the night, piecing together ways that his story did make sense. Then, I’d convince myself he was lying based on what Theo had to say. I would berate myself for how I treated Gráinne, and then I would berate myself for ever trusting her.

Through it all, I felt hollow. I never knew that emptiness could carry such weight. If I dozed off, I dreamt of her. Smiling at me. I dreamt that we were cooking dinner, laughing. My heart aches because it is more of a memory than a dream.

The one conclusion I came to is that she is lost to me forever. If Gianni is telling the truth, or anything close to the truth,it’s over. If he’s lying, after the things I said, the way I acted, well, it’s still over. There is no coming back from any of this. That’s the only thing I’m sure of. That, and I miss her. Even if I shouldn’t. I do. My throat feels tight with emotion and I choke it down.

“Are you drinking again?” Matteo asks when I stumble down the stairs just after lunchtime on Saturday. “You look hungover.”

“Didn’t sleep well,” I mumble. “And you of all people don’t get to lecture me on sobriety.” That shuts him up.

I am able to eat my Cheerios in peace. Matteo left the room, and unfortunately, it’s just me and my thoughts. Gráinne hasn’t called me this week. Hasn’t texted or stopped by. Last night, I convinced myself it was a sign of her guilt and how much she never cared for me. In the light of day, I know it’s because I left no doubt when I screamed at her that she wasn’t welcome here. I unleashed my demons on the person I said I’d do anything to protect.

I hear a commotion in our backyard and turn to look out of the patio doors. Gianni, Anthony, and Matteo are having some sort of argument. Gianni is bleeding. What the hell?

I’m out the door quickly. “What happened?” Surely, Matt didn’t hit him? Right? He knows I wanted to be the one to question him.

Matteo turns his attention away from our friend. “Nicopolis apparently sucker-punched Gianni. Found out that he was the one who told you about Gráinne. Took it out on Gianni’s face when he wasn’t even looking.” My brother’s face is full of skepticism as he says this.

“Oh shit, do you want to come inside and clean up?” I should have killed the Greek asshole.

“Yeah, sorry, man. Should have asked you that. I just thought you’d have taken care of that before getting in your car and driving all this way.” Wow. Matteo is being a dick. Anthony has said nothing. He just stands back with his arms crossed, studying Gianni’s face.

---