Page 104 of The Fractured

Dean and I left, but not before a young officer approached us with Dean’s keys in hand. As he handed them over, he said, “Your car is parked at the rear of the building.”

“Thanks,” was all Dean said. Not a hint of worry about the car's condition or if they drove it carefully. A blank sort of stare was in his eyes, and there was complete disinterest in his voice.

I gently took his hand, trying not to bump any of the cuts in his skin.

Following the officer’s direction, we took a back exit that led us down a flight of stairs and opened onto a small parking lot with a tiny area of green space beside it. The Cadillac was parked beside the small garden — if you could call it that, with its single picnic table, one tree, and the evidence of it being used as a smoking area. Instead of heading for the car, Dean led me to that one table.

The clouds in the sky closed over the sun, casting the area in a gray shadow while an icy wind weaved its way through the parking lot.

My gaze fell to the left side of the Cadillac.

“Oh my god…” I breathed, taking in the small dents and scratches that marked the emerald-green exterior.

Dean slowly took a seat at the picnic table, pressing his lips together in a pained grimace. His entire body seemed to ache.

“Dean…” I took a seat beside him. “Were you in an accident?”

He shook his head, still distant as he focused on the car. “No… There was an explosion after the meeting last night—Roxy’s car…”

Everything went still, like the city was listening.

I was hesitant to speak as I tried to gauge anything from his face. “Is… Is she okay?”

Dean broke his focus on the car and looked down at his hands. There were no tears in his eyes, just a sort of emptiness. He seemed to be replaying whatever happened in his head. When he spoke again, it was more of an empty statement than anything.

“She’s dead.”

Something heavy settled in my chest.

“I think it was Antonio’s kids… Or at least Gabriele, after he found out she was lying to him to get close.” Dean sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees as he looked at his car again. “She was screaming, and I couldn’t do a fuckin’ thing.”

A sickening shiver ran through my body.

“If that was you—” Dean cut himself off, swallowing hard as he rubbed his thumb against his palm. “I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you. Not again.”

I knew where this could go if he let his thoughts get the better of him.

“It won’t, Dean.” I brought my hand to his opposite cheek and turned his head to face me, bringing that blue-gray gaze to mine. “It won’t...”

Dean looked at me in silence, and his throat bobbed. Straightening again, he cupped the back of my head and pressed a kiss to my forehead, letting it linger.

When he pulled back, I took his hand. Despite the cold weather, they were warm, unlike mine. On feeling how cold minewere, he grabbed my other hand and wrapped both in his before lifting them to his mouth to breathe warmth onto them.

He inhaled sharply. “Let's get you warm, yeah?”

When we were in the car, with the heat on, we didn’t leave right away. As if we needed more time to stew on what happened.

While Roxy wasn’t someone I ever imagined being friends with, I couldn’t help but feel numb and confused by the news of her death. Several months ago, Dean went to her on a drunken mistake when we broke up, but I didn’t hold any grudges towards her. Roxy became someone I rarely thought of after that.

Suddenly, she was dead.

To be trapped and burned alive. No one deserved a death like that.

Chapter 36

Seb

The gloomy weather matched the mood outside the pizzeria.