Page 78 of Steal My Heart

“You’ll cry foul, and the department will have egg on their face. Any potential charges will quietly go away.”

“I’ve been arrestedpublicly.” Rage coats my tone. “I’m not too keen on thisquietlygoing away.”

He rises. “Then I’ll go speak to?—”

I hold up my hand, halting Bennett in his tracks.

Pride before the fall.

My brother’s warning rings in my ear, but pride won’t keep me from heeding it.

“Sit the fuck down.”

“But—”

“Sit. Down.”

His large ass finds his seat.

I’m also not too proud to punish Bennett.

He’s going to leave me to rot in jail so he can party? He can sit here and rot with me for as long as it takes.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Remi

I’m not going to drown. I’m not going to drown. I’m not going to drown.

It’s a mantra I cling to like a lifeline.

I’ve been treading water for what feels like an eternity. There was no point in fighting the current, but that means I don’t know how far I’ve drifted from the party.

All I know is it’s dark. I’m getting disoriented. And it’s cold as fuck.

Exhaustion sets in, and I switch over to floating on my back. Except just like in the pool, my lower half sinks like a stone, and this time, I don’t have an Alessandra to chastise me.

Or an Angelo to save me.

It’s a struggle, but I get my body positioned vertically, scissoring my legs while moving my fatigued arms. My teeth rattle my jaw from the cold.

Things are starting to get fuzzy in my brain, my thoughts jumbled…

At least I got to be on the stage. Maybe MawMaw would be proud of me. It really sucks getting murdered. I hope Angelo takes care of Nola; she acts like she doesn’t need anyone, but that’s just a front. Maybe the same could be said about me.

No man has ever taken care of you.

I was so close to letting him, but wouldn’t that have been silly? Me falling in love with Angelo Calvani.

I’m so tired, and my limbs no longer seem to cooperate. My head dips beneath the water, my lungs on fire….

Voices. Panicked voices.

Is this a dream?

Something hard is pressing on my chest, and I puke what feels like a gallon of water. Coughing, my eyes open, and I blink rapidly, looking around.

“Ma’am. Are you alright??” An old man asks me.