Page 107 of The Fractured

On the small side table to my right was the gun from Antonio — the gun I had tucked into the pocket behind the front seat of my car when the cops, paramedics, and Brooklyn fire brigade pulled up after Roxy’s car exploded. That was after I managed to drag myself to my feet, crawling through broken glass while my head spun and throbbed.

I was taken to the hospital to be checked over. In hindsight, I knew I should’ve called Lily while I was there, but at the time I couldn’t think straight — being thrown six feet from the road will do that to a person.

Vince had shown up, getting in before the police could get my statement. He was there not out of moral obligation, but to check if one of Antonio’s assets was still alive after the explosion happened so close to the meeting.

A few minutes after he left, and while I was struggling to remove my hospital bracelet to get out of the stark white nightmare of an emergency room, two cops showed up. Notebooks in hand and ready for my statement. Before they could say anything, Mark rounded the corner, flashing his badge and saying he would get my statement instead.

It was a save I never thought I would be grateful for.

He told me his team heard the explosion over the mic, which had somehow remained taped to my chest when I was thrown back, but then the signal dropped out.

Mark didn’t get my statement. Instead, he insisted I rest before going anywhere. I couldn’t remember falling asleep at the hospital, but when I woke up, I checked out as soon as I could. After discovering the police, aka Mark, had organized to have the Cadillac moved — not for investigation, but to be hidden — I hadno choice but to go to Mark’s office. I spent the morning going over everything with him, right up to the moment Lily showed up. She looked so radiant that afternoon, with the light of the floor-to-ceiling office windows behind her casting a hazy glow around her figure. I almost forgot I was injured.

My phone buzzed on the table beside the gun, pulling me from my thoughts as a call from Lily came through.

I answered mid-ring. “Hey.”

She sniffled quietly. “Hi…”

The chair creaked as I slowly straightened in it. “You okay?”

“Not really.” She inhaled a shaky breath. “I, um— Things here aren’t going great. Mom was sort of badgering me over dinner, and I lost it.” Her voice broke with emotion. “I blurted out what James Henderson had been doing to me. I know I wanted to tell them eventually, but not like that—my hands won’t stop shaking,” she mused nervously. “I just needed to hear your voice to feel sane again…”

Physically, Lily was safe with her parents. Mentally, not so much.

Logic was telling me to tell her it wouldn’t be forever, but my emotions were pulling me in the other direction. I needed her with me, in my arms, and as far away from her mother as possible.

I turned in my seat, glancing at the house I knew was secured at every door and window. No one was getting in, but the off chance of being followed back here… My mind was split between two opinions. But one was pulling me towards it faster than the other.

“I’m comin’ to get you,” I said, rising from my seat as I peeked through the curtain one last time.

“What about the plan to lay low?” she asked, sniffling again.

“Fuck the plan.” I held the phone between my cheek and shoulder as I picked up the gun and tucked it into the back of myjeans. “I should’ve listened to you. I shouldn’t have left you there alone.”

She let out a soft sigh in relief. It shuddered with the emotion that lingered in her voice. “Thank you.”

We ended the call, and I shoved my phone into my pocket, already thinking of several things to say to Kate in the off chance she wanted to confront me when I did show up. I had to remember to keep those words PG.

After collecting my keys from the kitchen’s servery window, I headed for the front door. Only to stop in my tracks when I spotted the familiar black Mercedes parked out on the street.

Fuck.

Vince’s shaved head rose from behind the car’s roof as he stepped out onto the street, casually glancing left and right as he rounded the headlights and made his way up to my house.

Clenching my jaw, I pulled the door shut and locked it.

“Evening, Dean.” He stopped at the bottom of the porch steps.

I slowly turned, irritated by the delay in getting to Lily. “What do you want?”

“The boss wants you on a job tonight.”

“No text?”

“It’s a two birds, one stone kind of evening. Bring the gun.”

“If I say no?”