Page 629 of Not Over You

She shook her head and then hit the gas when the traffic broke up. My head was plastered to the seat, then jerked forward again when the traffic stopped once more.

“Fuckin’ New York traffic!” She punched the horn. “You think Shadow Man will answer if you call him?”

“I can’t call him. He went in after my dad. Then you showed up. What if he’s trying to sneak and his phone goes off?”

“If he has his phone on while he’s trying to sneak up on those assholes, then he’s not Shadow Man. Or the one I heard about.”

I pulled out my phone and dialed Aren. He answered on the first ring. Through the mirror, I could see it was pressed to his ear. Our eyes met. I didn’t have time for pleasantries, so I went straight into the story.

“Tell her to let you go,” Aren said when I finished. “My nephew will handle this.”

She must’ve heard him because she was shaking her head before he was even finished. “No,” she said. “Sorry. But I trust no one, not when my sister’s life is on the line. They say they’re keeping her at The Cigar Bar. That’s where we’re going. If Shadow Man doesn’t show up in time, you’re coming with me. Mo will know what’s up when he sees you.”

What’s up—that he’d have to deal with Shadow Man if something happened to me. She planned on using me as a hostage. She’d keep the gun trained on me while she negotiated for her sister.

What if she’s already dead? That was my next thought, but I didn’t speak it out loud. Why would they keep her? Why would they keep any of them? They knew too much, or they suspected they did. And they were right.

“Tell the man on the phone to wait around the block. Once I get my sister, I’ll drop you off.”

“Tell her it will not help,” Aren said. “Her sister’s already dead. And she will be, too, if she goes through with this. She will not have to worry about Paul Gallo.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, looking at me for a brief second. “You have no idea what it’s like being a triplet. We’re connected. And a part of me is already dead. I knew it the second—” She shook her head. “Lorna is still alive. I can feel it.”

She was in shock, I was starting to realize. And willing do to anything to save the one link keeping herself whole. I couldn’t fault her for that. I was sure the silent clock on her dash sounded loud in her ears, and it was strapped to her sister’s life. Depending on the situation my husband had found himself in at Sonny’s—that clock was strapped to me, too.

“Get in touch with—Shadow Man,” I said to Aren, then hung up.

Traffic broke and she took off again. Aren was a few cars behind. But when he really started to weave in and out, gaining speed, she pressed the gas harder. He did, too. Something I missed must have happened with him—maybe he ran a red light? A car came out of nowhere and slammed into the front of the cab. It spun him around, sending him into another car, before the noises in my head went silent and all tires stopped moving.

“He’ll be okay,” she said, going even faster. “But I can’t say I’m sorry about it. When it comes to my sister’s life or his—or even yours, or mine—I won’t stop for anyone.”

She pulled into the empty parking lot of The Cigar Bar without slowing. We came to a screeching halt, and she threw the car in park. She didn’t bother turning it off.

There was no Shadow Man waiting in the shadows.

Shawna whipped out the gun from her side, pointing it at me. “Move. I won’t tell you twice. Or you’ll lose a kneecap. Anything to keep you here.”

LILO

PRESENT DAY

Molly couldn’t decide where to keep her eyes. On the three dead bodies lying around the house, two from gunshot wounds and one from a gunshot wound and a saw wound—where I chopped both of his legs off below the knee—or at Sonny, whose face was almost unrecognizable.

They’d knocked him around the house, destroying the work that’d been done, and beat him to a pulp. Then they’d pulled his pants down and used a staple gun, left by the crew, to nail his balls to his inner thigh.

I only hoped he was unconscious when they did that. I had no idea if Sonny had fought back or not, but he was always getting put down. Taking hit after hit for his daughters. I was fucking sick of it on his behalf. I also had something personal to resolve with Mo. He had my wife working in that place, knowing what I’d do if I found out.

Molly didn’t know where to touch Sonny, but when she did, he whined. I wasn’t sure if he could breathe through his nose. It was crushed. Then her eyes lifted and met mine. Her lips were pursed. She had something to say, but I had a feeling she was scared to say it.

Maybe because she’d just watched me kill three men. The first two went down right after my bullets pierced vital organs. I made the third—Mo—suffer for all of them. I felt a droplet of blood slide down my jaw and dribble from my chin.

She squared her shoulders. “Your wife’s gone. A girl in a car took her by gun point. She was parked down the street, lights out. I don’t know who, but her trunk bears a dent from my club. Aren went after them.”

My mind disconnected from my body for a second. It was like the connection had gotten severed, and when I screwed it on again, it still wasn’t right. I felt like I was on auto pilot. I reached into my pocket. Pulled out my phone. Found the contact. He answered on the first ring.

Aren’s voice was in my ear. Telling me what had gone down. Shawna had taken my wife as collateral. For assurance. Nose would usually be the one Gallo would send. But he had a new guy, a younger guy out to make a name for himself, that he’d been sending in Nose’s place. They called him “The Head” because he didn’t mind busting them. Nose would have known better than to touch my wife. This new guy?

“Your cab drivable?”

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