Page 128 of Till Death Do Us Part

She swallowed hard and thanked me. Then she nodded toward the shower. “Go rinse the funk off. It helps.”

It helped me smell and look better, but I didn’t feel all that revived.

“You look better, but we need to get you out of here for a bit. Let’s grab a bite to eat.”

“I don’t want to leave, Lo. Besides, Fel—John doesn’t want me leaving without him.”

“Cassio is downstairs.” Elsa closed the fridge. “He’ll drive us and go where we go. He offered.”

Against my best judgment, I relented. Cassio was waiting downstairs and walked us to his SUV.

He looked at me and shook his head. “What?” He opened the back door for me. “You and John running a race on who’s more miserable?”

I ignored him, buckling in. Lo sat next to me. Elsa sat next to Cassio. He pulled out of the garage, and the sun hit my eyes. I dug in my bag and slid my sunglasses over them. They were sensitive to the light. I was getting a headache already. I sighed.

“You need food,” Lo said.

“And to talk to John,” Cassio said.

“Is that what this is about?” I rushed out. “Are you bringing me to him?”

“It’s called an intervention,” Lo said.

“Hear us out.” Cassio glanced at me through the rearview. “You need to talk to each other on neutral territory.”

“We can do that at home!”

“Do you?” Lo asked.

“Home isn’t neutral territory. It never is. There’s a bed there. Whenever there’s a bed—” Cassio shook his head “—forget it.”

“What does a bed have to do with this, Cassio?” I asked.

“Everything.”

“Forget the bed,” Lo said. “But just have lunch with him. You’ll never get past this if no words are shared. It’s like trying to edit a blank page, right? You can’t. So, spill it, no matter how hard. It’s a start. You and John will perfect it later.”

I rubbed my forehead against the window, closing my eyes. They just didn’t have a clue. I’d always be twisted up in whatever John, Babbo, and Alfonso had going. And I refused to be used.

Cassio slowed when we came to a restaurant with al fresco dining. John was sitting outside, his black wool jacket on, dark sunglasses over his eyes. My breath caught. It was like I was truly looking at him for the first time since I’d found out what he’d done. He looked haunted. He sat with a cup of coffee in front of him, but he wasn’t drinking it. He was pushing it back and forth, staring down at it.

A tall blonde came out of the restaurant and sat at the table with him. He looked at her and said something. She answered him and then laughed.Hahahahahaha.The blonde from Halloween.

“You knew about this.” Elsa stared at Cassio. “You knew she was going to be here with him!” She lifted her purse and whacked him with it.

He held a hand up. “You’re always busting my balls!” He sighed. “All right. This is a setup. John had no clue she was going to be here.”

“I don’t understand,” I said.

“Neither do I.” Lo glared at Cassio.

He glanced in the rearview at me and then pulled off. He circled the block but parked where we could still see John.

“When you refused to answer your phone or see your sisters, Emanuele assumed the worst. He went to Tommaso again. This time he was specific about what he wanted and asked nicely.”

“That is?” I held my breath.

“John gone.” He cleared his throat. “Elsa. Lolita. A minute alone with Roma.”

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