Page 37 of The Burnt Heart

I sighed. Those words would have been everything a year ago. Now they were a testament to how far we’d fallen. The shrill echo of my phone saved me, and I snatched it up, hoping it was news about the shooter.

“Addy? Are you still with Briar?” Lara’s voice wobbled through the speaker. I gently jostled Briar as I sat up. He didn’t react, slumping into the couch further. I missed his warmth.

“What is it?” I bit out, not able to soften my brusque demand. Logan scooted to the end of the couch, frowning. I waved him down, there was nothing he could do, even if I allowed him to. “Isn’t Jonah with you?”

I had insisted Jonah accompany Lara back to her apartment after she sweet-talked Chief Goldman. She’d turned his attention convincingly enough that he hadn’t questioned why Briar had been hanging off me as we exited the hospital. I owed my best friend.

“I’ve been trying to contact Ray for hours and he didn’t reply. After the shooting, I was on edge...” Lara’s voice wobbled again. I stiffened, on high alert. Not much affected my friend. She was a tough bitch.

“What?” I ordered, the back of my neck tingling. Had the Chief been intimidating Lara? She’d always taken my world in stride, existing on the edges but understanding how the danger lurked, always a threat.

“It doesn’t matter,” her breath hitched. “I’m not calling because of that. There’s a package that’s been delivered here. It’s addressed to you.” Lara’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It’s leaking, Addy, dripping red.”

“I’m coming,” I answered, rising from the couch like I’d been levitated. My pulse galloped in my ears for a moment, and I paused, shoving threads of emotion into the box deep inside me. I couldn’t be distracted right now. I needed to turn everything off.

Someone shot at me tonight.

Now they were leaving possibly bloody packages on my doorstep.

Nobody threatened Adelaide Orazio. They were about to find out why.

20

Adelaide

The lady’s hand had been to a nail technician recently. She’d chosen a peach color, with white tips. Too bad someone had severed it from her body. Those responsible had nestled it on a bed of dried roses, just to give it a dramatic twist. Someone had taken great care to make it seem gruesome. It happened recently if the liberal spray of blood leaking from the packaging was any sign.

How did I know it was real?

Because Ray dipped his pinkie in it and tasted it.

“You’re a feral creature.” I wrinkled my nose at him. “Why, just why?”

He widened his eyes in bewilderment. I was crowded around the sagging box in Lara’s kitchen with Ray and my father. I madea mental note to put a call into our cleaner. The red stain on her marble countertop was unacceptable.

“What? It smelled sweet, and we can’t exactly call up the police for confirmation.”

I rolled my eyes and looked at my father. He shrugged. The wrinkles in his face creased while his eyes danced.

“I would have done the same thing.”

“See Adelaide?” Ray chuckled, and I slapped him on the shoulder. I’d raced home after peeling Briar’s sleeping form off me. As soon as I saw what was in the box, I’d called Ray. He’d answered immediately, something which had dimmed the light in Lara’s eyes. Ray was in my shit books for now until he could explain what had happened between them.

“Quit joking around, this is serious,” I admonished him, and my father’s smile grew.

“Ahhh, you two have the same chemistry as my parents. I guess there is truth to the rumors about your romance, after all.”

I choked and wheeled around, giving Ray a panicked look.

“Not if the note they left has any say in it,” I recovered, shivering at the handwritten note. An angry, black slash through thick cream cardstock.

Hands Off.

Whoever sent this obviously objected to Ray and me ‘dating’ and thought this message would scare me off. Even if I had actually been dating him, it wouldn’t have worked. Being told what to do usually resulted in me doing the opposite.

“Severed limbs couldn’t keep me from proposing again.” Ray sent me a leery wink.

“A marriage union joining our families? After the debacle at the hospital?” My father made a derisive snort from his perch. I wasn’t surprised that my father already knew what had happened. Jonah was lurking in the shadows behind us. He or one of the other guards would have told my father everything.Including me leaving with my ex’s. I wonder what he thought about that? I hadn’t asked him about what Logan had told me yet. There were too many conversations I needed to have and not enough time. Including why Lara was currently holed up in her room, eyes red-rimmed from more than just the macabre package left on her doorstep. She couldn’t move fast enough when I confirmed Ray was on his way over. I needed time to dig deeper into that. When my life stopped being threatened, I suppose.

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