Page 22 of Tormented Diamonds

“Are you questioning my judge of character?”

“Of course not. It’s just odd to go from squeaky clean to dirty and damned in twenty-four hours.”

Normally, I’d agree with him, but he’s casting too wide of a net on this one.

“It was forty-eight, and you don’t know Owen like I do. That man’s loyalty runs as thick as they come, but, like us, when it’s betrayed, it changes and curves.” I arch an eyebrow at his skeptical stare. “Maybe not for the better, but for the more deserving.”

He forces out a long exhale. “I hope you’re right.”

Me, too. If not, we’re all fucked.

Chapter Seven

BECCA

Owen sits across from me with his forearms braced on his thighs, his knees bouncing like a jackhammer. It’s a little frustrating, considering I asked him to come over to calmmedown. I don’t know what he’s so nervous about. He’s the one who suggested Gianni offer himself up like a sacrificial tribute.

“Can you not do that?” I ask.

“Do what?”

I fling my hand to his twitching leg. “That. Your anxiety is cranking mine even higher.”

He stops. “Sorry.”

“No,I’msorry,” I say with a sigh. “I don’t mean to take this out on you. You probably shouldn’t even be here. Gianni told me you have to be careful about being seen with us.”

“I can make my decisions for myself, Becca,” he assures me. “Besides, I’ve been a player in the federal game long enough to know all their moves before they make them.” The cornersof his mouth tighten in a forced smile. “Well, most of them, at least.”

He’s talking about Henry. I want to tell him not to beat himself up, but I know it wouldn’t matter. He and Gianni are more alike than either of them would like to admit. Both are proud and stubborn, each believing in a system that failed them and a friend who betrayed them.

Which is why a sane person would accept the comfortable silence settling between us. Unfortunately, I don’t possess the ability to stop myself from asking the one question that’s tormented me since he picked up the phone. “Why did you send him that text?”

For a moment, I don’t think he’s going to answer. He just sits there with his eyes lowered and his hands clasped tightly between his knees. Then, he lets out a heavy exhale. “I assume you’re aware of the deal Gianni made with the Authority concerning you.”

“You mean the one that resulted in ‘’til death do us part?’” I brush my thumb over the diamond on my left hand. “Yeah. I witnessed a mob hit, so he had to marry me or murder me.”

“It’s not quite that cut and dry.”

“I know, all right?” Hitting my feet, I swing my arms out wide, my voice pitching an octave too high. “I’m a walking liability that Toscano guy would prefer to crush under his shoe. What I don’t know is why you encouraged Gianni to crawl under the feds’ shoe, instead.”

Owen’s eyebrows slam together. “Did he not tell you about Toscano’s stipulation?”

My stomach knots. “What stipulation?”

“Apparently not.” He shoves his hand through his hair. “Fuck. He’s going to kill me.”

“Owen…” Softening my voice, I take a small step toward him. “This is my life, and it’s hanging by a thread. Please don’t shut me out of it.”

I count one beat of silence after another. I’m about to beg when he drops his hand in his lap and groans. “What the hell. I’m probably not going to make it out of this alive, anyway. Toscano told Gianni there was a stipulation to their agreement. If it was ever found you’d talked to the feds, the deal became null and void, and…”

“And...?”

“And you’d be taken care of.”

Which is a nice way of saying I’d be relocated to the bottom of the Hudson.

My knees start to buckle, so I sink beside him.