Page 25 of Dirty Mafia Sinner

Never mind how out of control, how paranoid, how psychotic Ciro has acted these past few weeks, or how horribly he’s treated her—vanishing for days on end, coming and going at all hours, abusing substances like a child consuming candy—Emily always makes excuses for him.

She tosses her half-eaten sandwich onto the table. “Not everyone’s a Stephanie.”

“What?” How cruel can she be, bringing Stephanie into an argument?

“You walk around like a zombie,” she snidely continues. “Avoiding relationships and trusting no one. In your eyes, everyone’s a Stephanie in the making. Especially Ciro.”

“That’s not true.”

She laughs cruelly. “Name one relationship you’ve made outside ours.”

“I’ve had relationships.” A relationship … a fling. But for some reason, I kept it from her. Maybe because our friendship is so emotionally one-sided? Is that why I accepted her invitation to move to New York? Because she’s the one person who barelynotices my struggles? A friend more worried about missing my chicken salad than about my emotional well-being?

“None,” she stresses. “Because in your twisted psyche, Ciro is a villain, when he’s been nothing but kind.”

“He calls me Triple B,” I burst out, Stephanie’s name triggering me in the same way her stupid handbags do.

“He told you this a thousand times. He isn’t making fun of your breast size.”

Three weeks after I began my job at C&C Enterprises, he began calling me Triple B. I took offense, because what else could he possibly mean? Emily caught him harassing me during one of his coke-binge episodes. “What?” He tossed his hands up in the air like the nickname made perfect sense. “BBB—Beautiful Beneventi Bait.”

“Beneventi?” Emily asked. “As in—”

He kissed her on the mouth and ended the conversation.

The Beneventi family owns the casino. That’s all I know about them. Is it a work thing? C&C Enterprises is employed by them?

You can Google them once you’re home.

Home. Right. Since we’re arguing about Ciro, I should break the news. I draw in a breath. “I’ve made a decision—”

And she starts crying.

My anger evaporates.

“He’s quitting coke and getting sober, once construction is complete,” she proclaims between sobs. “He promised.”

Does she actually believe this bullshit?

“And … I’ll tell him not to call you that name anymore.”

“This isn’t about that, or him…” It’s about me. Me, making peace with the Tragedy. Me, accepting I’ll be hearing the name Stephanie a lot when I return home, but I’m ready for it. This is about me, and my fresh start.

“I want to help him so bad. What do I do, Riley?”

Dump him.

Move home with me.

Chase happiness, not despair.

“I’m on your side, Emily. Always.”

She stares at me with big tear-filled eyes. “Really?”

I choke on air. Dizzy and delusional. “We have the summer to figure it out,” I offer. Sealing my fate.

I can’t abandon her to the likes of Ciro.