Page 76 of The Last Ones Standing, Part Two

I already know they don’t. PJ was able to fill me in when I called him on the way over. Justin Thompson is keeping an eye out for me as well.

I have him thinking I want to know who did this to my sister-in-law. I could give two fucks, to be honest. I’m only playing the game.

“No, but I need this to stay out of the media. Bethany’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal level for her to have been operating a vehicle. That’s why I called you, Gio. See to it this stays away from the news.”

Now this caught me by surprise when it was mentioned earlier. I was livid. The cunt really was a narcissist. She didn’t care about anyone but herself.

She could have ruined some poor family with all the alcohol in her system. I say we did the world a favor.

“I’m on it,” I reply. Now for what I need to know. “Tell me about this other driver. What do we know? Were they drunk too?”

I heard what PJ told me, but it will come from Dante differently. I’ll piece together what’s most likely to be true from there. People always twist things according to what they hear or want to hear.

Sometimes a change of detail can be an innocent slip of the brain. Other times, details are left out to favor a need or agenda. I trust few, so I listen to everything.

“We would have to know who they were to know that. They were gone by the time the emergency responders arrived. The vehicle had no plates, and the VIN was removed. Unless they can lift some prints, there’s no way to know who did this.”

I nod. Great, everyone’s still doing their part. I can’t afford anyone getting crafty.

Dante continues. “They wanted to question Lizzy about my alibi until my phone records and Oliver cleared me. So you guys might want to make sure you’re ready to be questioned. You know, since they’ll be grasping at straws. The accident was around eleven, up in the hills, near her dad’s.”

“I was home with Carleen all night,” Dario starts to reply. This catches my attention. “We ordered Chinese around just before eleven, eleven thirty. Carleen got sick two minutes into eating, and I went next door to get Dr. Brown.”

“She’s staying with you, right?” Dante asks him.

“Yeah, something happened with the contractor for her place, and she had to move out for a while. She’s been with me for about a month now.”

I stifle my grin. That reminds me, I need to send Ralphie that envelope. I may just send double the commission after all. He’s done his job well.

“How about you two?” Dante looks to me and Jace.

“I had a doll party last night,” I say.

“So, I guess that covers you both.”

“No, I wasn’t there,” Jace says. “Well, not the entire time. I went out to eat with a friend. We joined Gio later. However, we were ticketed for public lewdness. We weren’t anywhere near the site of the accident.”

This I didn’t know. A ticket for public lewdness. What the fuck? Before I can think better of it, I look at Jace as my jaw tenses. I’m going to fuck him up.

He gets me to trust him and then fucks me over. I knew I smelled her on him. I see red.

Of all people, I never thought I had to worry about him betraying me. I’m seething. I crack my knuckles as I reel it in for now.

This is about my family. I’ll address this bullshit later.

“Let me know if there’s anything I can do,” I say as I pull my shit together.

“Actually, there is. There’s another reason I called. Bethany was on a drunken rant before the collision. She said something about some guy she was fucking. She said she told him all about us. He was going to help her take us down or something. I need to know who he is and make sure whatever she told him is never breathed to a soul.”

Ah, my good friend Franky. He hasstugots. If he did have something on us, Riccardo would have used it already.

I have more on both of those families than they have on us. Bethany was a fucking liar. However, I have plans for her lover boy. I’m not done there.

“I’ll handle that,” I say. “You need to focus on burying your wife and taking care of Bella.”

I watch as Dante stumbles to take a seat. If I didn’t know I could fix this, I’d feel bad for him. Yet, I do know I can fix it and I know he’ll be better off for it.

At the start of this, I resigned myself, accepting that I was going to cause a lot of pain before I handed over all the happiness. Luckily, I have the stomach for myself and my methods. I know how far I’m willing to go.

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