by Jordan Ford
My expression crumples with despair.
I want to hear it. I want to be transported to that pile of musty sheets in the greenhouse and sit with her all day so she can tell me everything in detail.
But not even the greenhouse is safe anymore.
I feel like nowhere is.
“Vincent?” Chloe touches my face again. “What’s the matter? Talk to me.”
“I can’t.” I clear my throat, hoping to strengthen my voice. “This isn’t going to work.”
“What isn’t?” Her face puckers with confusion.
I look to the floor between our feet and manage to croak, “Us.”
“What?” She jolts with surprise.
“I shouldn’t have told you I loved you. I just got caught up in the moment and I said it because I wanted to make out with you.” I rush through my rehearsed speech. It sounds wooden and turns me into the world’s biggest asshole. “But I was wrong. You’re not the girl for me, and I’m sorry for leading you on. I—”
“You’re lying.” She cuts me off, crossing her arms and staring at me with eyes that are rapidly filling with tears.
Shit. Chloe, don’t cry.
I clench my jaw and look at the wall. “I’m not lying. It’s better if we’re not together.”
At least that’s the truth… in some ways. Not being with her keeps her safe.
I glance at her, waiting for her next argument.
But all I can see is trembling lips and a bunched chin. She’s fighting the tears as best she can, but she’s going to lose.
“Please don’t do this,” she whispers. “Vincent, you don’t—”
She reaches for me, but I flick her hand off my arm. “It’s over, Chloe. It never should have happened in the first place.”
I’m trying to sound harsh to make my point, but it only hurts more.
The ache in my chest is going to annihilate me, so I dive out of that alcove and head for the stairs.
I nearly make it.
But then I catch her sob.
It’s a heart-wrenching, pitiful sound that matches the silent cry ripping through my chest.
I grip my head and mutter to myself, “Do the right thing. Fucking do the right thing.”
But I can’t.
I can’t walk away from that cry.
Closing my eyes, I battle it out in my chest and slowly rotate on my heel. Shuffling back down the hallway, I find Chloe against the wall, her hands covering her face. She whimpers into them, the sound a pure kind of torture that hurts worse than Diego’s fists.
I lean my shoulder against the wall and softly murmur, “I’m such a fucking liar.”
She goes still, then slowly drops her hands. Her face is streaked with tears that I can’t help but brush away with my knuckles.
Her blue eyes are bright with confusion and I dip my head, humiliated by my own weakness. “I’m trying so hard to do the right thing. I should walk away and leave you the hell alone. But now that I’m actually trying to do it, I can’t.” Cupping her cheek, I flash a little of the agony I’m feeling. “I love you, Chloe. I love everything about you, from that stubborn streak of yours that I’m sure will drive me crazy, to that beautiful heart, which I want to own and cherish for as long as I can.”
Her lips pull into the smallest of smiles.
“You wouldn’t smile if you knew what an asshole I was. If I were a good guy, I’d dump you and walk away. I’d do everything in my power to keep you safe. But I can’t listen to you crying, and I can’t walk off making you believe that I don’t love you.”
“I love you too,” she whispers, lurching into my arms.
This time I hold her. I wrap my arms around her and we cling to each other.
She brushes her fingers through the back of my hair and the resolve I was trying so hard to stick to crumbles to dust. I won’t be able to pull a stunt like this again.
I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do, but somehow I have to keep this girl safe while not breaking her heart.
Splaying my hand across her back, I glide it up her spine until I’m holding the back of her neck. Her skin is soft and warm beneath my fingers and I’m not sure how I’ll let her go. I wish the universe could suck us up to space—somewhere safe and private where I could tell her everything and we could find our way forward.
I wish I could take her hand and sneak out of school and then just drive until we’re in the middle of nowhere, safe from everything that’s trying to pull us apart.
But reality doesn’t work that way.
The bell rings, reminding us that we’re still juniors at Armitage High. That I have no money to support her or look after her. That driving to the middle of nowhere will achieve nothing in the long run.
Chloe pulls out of my embrace. Holding my cheeks, she drinks me in with a sweet smile. “I don’t know why you just tried to do that, but I’m guessing we need to talk.”
“Yeah,” I rasp.
She glances down the hallway. “Dad’s on high alert, and I can’t afford to skip class right now.”
“It’s okay. I know.” I brush my lips against hers. “But we can’t meet on my side of town anymore. It’s too dangerous.” I wince.
The worry skittering across her face fills me with a mixture of warmth and fear. She cares so damn much about me. I don’t deserve it, but I don’t know how to walk away from it either.
“We’ll find a way.” Her smile tries to break through my anxiety. “I don’t know how yet, but one day I’m going public with you, Vincent Mancini, and everyone’s going to know how much I care about you.”
She rises to her tiptoes, owns me with a short, searing kiss and then races off to class. I flop against the wall, watching her blonde hair fly, and all I can manage is a giddy, euphoric laugh.
It’s surreal.
This whole thing.
I don’t know whether I’m a fucking idiot or the luckiest guy on the planet.
Maybe both.
31
A Thought
CHLOE
Vincent trying to break up with me was just weird.
For a second, I seriously thought he meant it, and my heart had never hurt so badly in my life. I was all set on telling him my news about the club and Max and that woman I’m trying to remember.
But then he totally distracted me by lying.
And then he came back and told the truth.
I feel kind of wrung out. This weird blend of elation and confusion.
He must have tried to dump me for a really good reason and I’m desperate to find out what it is, but with Max going through her crisis and my parents on full alert right now, it’s kind of hard to move.
Vincent and I need some decent time together so we can talk this all through. I have to know what went down at his place last week. I need to figure out why he was trying to distance himself.
His family must have said something to him to make him scared. Shit, I have to get him out of that place.
Drying my hands on the dishtowel, I leave Mads to finish up the dishes and walk to my room. I need to get my homework done, although it’s going to be freaking impossible to think about Biology when all I want to do is figure out Vincent and how to set him free.
I want to be with him.
I want to rescue him.
I want Dad to see him for who he really is.
Opening my laptop, I start searching Nick’s case again. I have a bunch of searches in my Google history and go through some of those, rereading the articles and trying to find nuggets of truth within the lies.
“Hey, Chloe.”
I jump a mile when Dad greets me. Slapping my laptop closed, I give myself away without thinking. Dad’s eyebrows dip together as he moves from my doorway and further into my room.
“What are you doing?”
“Homework.” I blink, then cringe.
I am so not getting away with this lie right now.
And with everything Max has been doing, Dad’s not letting a single thi
ng slide.
Stopping by the edge of my bed, he points to my laptop. “Open it.”
“Dad…”
“Open it!”
With a soft huff, I do as I’m told and spin the computer so he can look at my screen.
He perches on the edge of my bed and quickly scans the front article before shooting me a dry glare. “You still on this?”
“I’m sorry.” I shrug. “But I just can’t seem to let it go. Nick Mancini is innocent, I’m sure of it.”
“Chloe.” Dad kind of groans my name while rubbing his forehead the way Max does when she’s stressed. “Why won’t you just believe me when I tell you the Mancinis are bad?”
“And why won’t you believe me when I tell you they’re not all bad?”
“Just because Vincent saved you that night doesn’t make his brother innocent! I can show you the case file. The evidence is substantial and pretty damning.”
“I think the case files have been fudged. I think it’s one big cover-up. Just like the way Luke set up Vincent.”
Dad huffs and lets out a hard snicker. “Luke tried to set Vincent up for stealing. It’s hardly murder.”
“It’s still a crime. It’s still injustice!”
Dad looks tired as he sags forward, resting his elbows on his knees and shaking his head. “We don’t always get justice, Chloe. And I told you, I can’t reopen a case unless I have a decent reason to.”
“And that’s what I’m trying to find for you.”
He snaps up straight and turns to me. “You stay away from this. You’re not a cop, and I don’t want you getting in trouble.”
“If you think I’m wrong, then there won’t be any trouble,” I retort.
His eyes narrow to a glare that’s strong enough to make me apologize.
“I’m sorry, okay? Something just feels off and I can’t turn my back on it.”
“Please try.” Dad’s expression bends, the hardness being melted by a look of desperate pleading. “I need my family safe, and after everything Max and Conrad went through this weekend, I just need you to drop this for a little bit.”
Closing my laptop with a sigh, I splay my fingers over the gray machine and look at him.
“So you’re dropping it?”
I shrug. “That’s what you want me to do.”
“But will you?” He leans in, studying my expression.
I tip my head, softening my gaze and talking quietly. “Dad, I know you’re hurting right now. Max giving up baseball, Uncle Conrad…all these people lying to you. People you thought you could trust. But can I make a point that you’ll probably hate?”
His eyebrows dip into a sharp V.
“Maybe none of them would have lied if they weren’t so worried about your reaction. Maybe…they would have come to you for help instead.”
“Are you trying to say I’m some kind of scary beast or something?”
“Sometimes,” I whisper so softly that maybe he can’t hear me.
He does.
I can tell by the look on his face.
Reaching for his hand, I curl my fingers around his and smile. “Dad, I love you. And I know how much you love us too, but you can’t keep putting your dreams and expectations on Max this way. You can’t do that to any of us. These are our lives. And I know you want to protect us, but you can’t do that forever. You need to let us figure out our own mistakes, work out our own dreams.”
“I’m letting you follow your dreams,” he mumbles. “You want to save the world. I’m all for that.”
I grin. “And what if I fall for someone you don’t think is good enough for me?”
“You mean how Max has fallen for Cairo? And apparently there’s nothing I can do about it!” he spits.
“Well, Dad, there isn’t. They like each other, a lot, and if you just gave the guy a chance, you’d see how good he and Max are together. He’ll take care of her, you know?”
“I thought that was my job,” Dad mutters.
“It was, but she’s not your baby anymore. None of us are.”
Dad cringes, his jaw working to the side as he tries to take in this weird role-reversal. I’m kind of reeling too, but it’s one of those golden moments I have to snatch and hold for as long as I can.
I’m basically lecturing my father and he’s listening.
Who knows where this could lead?
If he buys into this conversation, it could open up a whole new world where Vincent Mancini might not get judged as Satan the second he walks through my door.
“Chloe…” Dad squeezes my hand with a sigh. “While you’re under my roof, whether you like it or not, you are my responsibility. And you may not be babies, but I love you and care about you enough to protect you. So if you’re trying to help Max get out of her grounding, it’s not going to work. I’ll let her play guitar for this prom thing, but she still has to be taken to and from school, and her weekends will be spent playing baseball or hanging out here. I’m not changing my mind on that.”
I nod.
“And as for you, leave this Mancini thing alone. If you’re right and it is some big cover-up, then it could lead to trouble. And I never want to walk into another situation where my daughter’s life is threatened. Do you get me?”
“Yes, Dad.”
“Paying that Santiago guy was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. I want that asshole to go down. And maybe once I’ve dealt with him, maybe then I’ll spare a thought or two for Nick Mancini, okay?”
His little speech gives me hope and for a second I have the fleeting thought that maybe I should tell him everything I already know. Tell him what Vincent and I got up to over Spring Break.
But instinct warns me to shut the hell up. Dad’s just held out an olive branch that will snap in half the second I admit to sneaking around.
He’ll compare me to Max and what she’s gotten up to. He’ll picture me in Escapar with that Santiago guy and his fear will have me on permanent lockdown the way Max is. We already have to ask for permission every time we leave the house. Both my parents are asking for every last detail before we walk out the door.
I guess I can understand why. That night at the club must have scared the crap out of Dad.
The look on his face as he thundered out of there with Max.
The club.
Outside the club, with that woman I still can’t figure out.
Her beautiful face flashes through my mind—her dark hair, perfectly shaped eyebrows, flawless makeup…the beauty spot on her upper lip.
My insides ping as a voice flitters through the back of my mind.
“She even had a beauty spot on her upper lip.”
Who said that to me?
“Now get on with your homework.” Dad leans across to kiss my cheek before lumbering out of the room.
As soon as he’s cleared the door, I whip my laptop open and start a new search: Luisa Garcia Escapar Brazenwood.
A photo pops up of the petite woman dwarfed between two tall men. It’s an article about the Summer Rock Festival auditions and how Tomas Santiago and his brother-in-law and business partner, Donny Garcia, are hosting the event.
I enlarge the image and squint at the screen, spying the black spot on her upper lip. I can picture someone tapping her upper lip as she describes it to me.
“Camila.” I gasp as the thing I’ve been trying to remember since Saturday night finally pops into my conscience.
Todd McCrae’s girlfriend described Luisa Garcia in detail when she told me about the lovely female detective who looked like a model and even had a beauty spot on her upper lip.
The woman who came and took away Todd’s stuff was no detective.
That was the sister of Tomas Santiago—the guy who threatened my family.
I have another dot. Another piece of the puzzle.
Now I just need to figure out how it all fits together.
32
It’s Time to Talk
VINCENT
I’m weak, but I’m
happy.
I’m living in a constant state of worry, yet all I have to do is catch one of Chloe’s smiles and I’m brought home again.
I should have broken up with her.
But I couldn’t.
And so I’m trying to make it work.
We still need to have our big talk. I have to tell her what Enzo is expecting of me, and she needs to give me the full rundown of Max’s horror at the club in Brazenwood.
It’s kind of impossible to find the time at school. Students are everywhere, always watching. We can’t exactly talk in Biology, and sneaking away to that alcove only gives us enough time for a quick chat, nothing serious.
Chloe’s been sticking close to Max this week. Her big sister’s needed the support to tell her parents what she really wants. Apparently she’s calling a family meeting tonight and she’s freaking out. Chloe has to be there for backup.
Her sisters still don’t know about our relationship and Chloe’s obviously not prepared to tell them yet. I kind of don’t want her to. This secrecy provides a certain amount of cover until everything blows over and we can figure out how to tell the world we’re together.
Will that ever happen?
Are we dreaming?
I have no idea how I’m going to get Enzo off my back. He currently thinks I’m working Chloe for any new information. I’ve fed him a couple of half-truths to keep him happy.
Chief Barlow’s attention has been captured by a new guy in Brazenwood—some Santiago dude. It was enough to make Enzo smile.
“He won’t get anywhere in Brazenwood, but if it keeps his beady eyes off us then all the better.”
He sniffed an arrogant sniff and chuckled before walking out of the room to call his half-brother, Geri.
I don’t know what the hell he’s up to, and I don’t want to know. He’ll definitely take advantage of the fact that Chief Barlow’s distracted.
Shit, I wish I didn’t know him. I wish he wasn’t my family.