Page 100 of The Fractured

“Ha, fair.” Somehow, she thought this conversation was light-hearted.

There wasn’t a hint of amusement on my face. “You tried to have Lily killed off by making out she was reporting Antonio to the cops.”

“Not my best moment, but you still came back.”

“I was drunk and not in the right frame of mind. I thought things with Lily were over…” I looked down at the pavement and scoffed in disbelief. “You said yourself that Lily was good for me.”

“You believed what came out ofmymouth?” she chuckled. “That offer still stands, by the way. Not killing her, but fucking me. If you want something on the side.”

“You’re unbelievable.” I fixed my eyes ahead. All I could think about half the time was getting home to Lily. There was no way in hell my mind could be swayed by another woman.

“You’ve really got it bad, huh?”

“Yep.”

Her silence made me look at her. She was half smiling, considering me as if she was seeing something new before she huffed in amusement. “God, people in love are disgusting. Cute, but disgusting.”

I half smiled. At least I got one thing in my life right.

Our pace slowed as we reached my car and stepped off the curb.

I paused near the taillight of the Cadillac, fishing out my keys as Roxy crossed the street to her Aston Martin.

The street was eerily quiet.

I could hear the city around us, but something was off.

“Hey, Roxy. Be careful.” I don’t really know why I said it.

She tossed her long, dark hair over her shoulder as she looked back, strutting across the street in her too-high heels. “Is that a hint of worry I hear? For me?”

“You heard what the boss said. Stay vigilant.”

“Dean, I’ve got this. I’ll lay low. Or maybe travel to my family’s beach house in Miami.” She unlocked the car with a shimmy and climbed into the front seat.

My lips twitched as I shook my head.

And then, for the first time since I met her, Roxy shared a smile that wasn’t snarky or smug. It was genuine as she waved at me through the window and turned on the car, triggering a blast so powerful it flung glass and debris in all directions.

One minute I was standing on the road, the next I was thrown backwards. I hit the pointed rim of the taillight first, right on my hip bone, before my head connected with the sidewalk.

Pain rippled through my skull, and my vision blurred.

I couldn’t hear or see anything; I couldn’t hear anything but the ringing in my ears until everything came back in stages.

The street was vertical when my eyes finally adjusted, and my vision was bordered by blurry, flickering flames. The ringing in my ears grew into a sharp pitch at first, and then gradually faded into the rest of the noises on that street.

The crackle of fire, the pop of glass, the distant shouts, hurried footsteps, and screaming.

Blood curdling, raw screaming.

Roxy.

Gasoline and burning rubber clung to the air, creating a heady daze as I fought to stay conscious.

I sucked in a breath and held it as I rolled over with a broken groan, letting gravity do the rest before I slumped heavily onto my back, wincing as glass crunched beneath me and the gun in my pants pressed against my spine.

Eventually, I let that breath out, slow and steady as I watched the pillar of black smoke rise into the night sky.