“If Jerry knew that, then he must have been involved, right?”

  “It’s a long story.” I switched the phone to my other ear and said, “I’ll tell you all about it in the morning, but right now, I need your help with something, Nico.”

  “Sure. Anything.”

  “I need you to find Steven’s photo in our files and get it to the SFPD right away. They’re putting out an all-points bulletin on him. I also need you to mobilize the family. Get everyone out there looking for Messina, but tell them to be careful.”

  “Consider it done. What’s going to happen to Jerry?”

  “I don’t know yet.”

  He said, “I trust you to do the right thing. I’m going to make some calls and get that photo. Talk to you soon.”

  “Definitely. Thanks, Nico.”

  A group text to Connie, Andreo, and Ferguson followed, bringing them up to speed. I’d just hit send when Charlie’s phone finally ran out of charge, and I slipped it in my pocket as I started walking. A couple inches of snow had accumulated on the ground, and my feet were freezing in my wet shoes, but I ignored it.

  I passed the apartment building and walked another half-block to a large park. Trees flanked a central open area and framed the view of an enormous, dormant fountain near the tip of the wedge-shaped peninsula. Appropriately, the piece of land was called the Point, and it jutted out into the confluence of three rivers, which came together to form a huge ‘Y’. A grade school geography lesson came to mind, reminding me they were the Allegheny, the Ohio, and the Monongahela. What a fucking useless piece of information.

  The park was well-lit with a series of streetlamps, which gave it an otherworldly, yellowish cast. I circled around the broad, snow-filled base of the fountain, then crossed the promenade to the drop-off at the water’s edge. An icy wind blew in off the rivers, and since the sweat from my recent sprint had cooled on my skin, I was freezing. But instead of retreating indoors, I buttoned up my overcoat, folded up the collar, and stuffed my hands in my pockets.

  As soon as I returned to the apartment, I’d have to deal with Jerry, and I was torn about how to handle it. He’d betrayed our family, there was no question about it. At the very least, he’d gone to work for our enemy, and I could only imagine the secrets he’d passed along to the Messinas and their sociopathic leader. But it seemed like he was telling the truth when he said he had no idea that Steven had been planning the fire.

  I really wanted to believe he hadn’t set up his entire family to be brutally murdered. Steven Messina might be a psycho, but Jerry Dombruso wasn’t. And yet, even if he hadn’t been directly involved or known about it ahead of time, my cousin had been a part of what led up to the fire. Maybe all he’d done was plant a seed about putting himself back in charge of the Dombruso family, in addition to telling Messina where to find us. But that was still a betrayal.

  Not only was I torn, I questioned my judgement after totally failing to see Steven Messina for what he was. He’d obviously been playing Cameron Doyle and me with the innocent act, right down to those ridiculous clothes. Jerry had said it was all a game to Messina. Apparently getting close to the lead investigator on the arson case was just another part of that.

  I was startled and yet somehow not overly surprised when someone said, “You’re facing the wrong way, the view’s behind you. Oh, and hands where I can see them, precious.”

  I pulled my hands from my pockets and turned slowly. Steven Messina had totally transformed himself, trading the teen gear for a polished ensemble. It was all black, from his knit cap and leather gloves to his impeccably tailored pea coat and the huge gun he was pointing at me. Fear made my skin prickle, but I forced myself to keep my voice strong and level as I said, “I miss the Pokémon T-shirt. It suited you.”

  He grinned at that and came a little closer, stopping when he was maybe ten feet from me. “Did you like that? Your pal Cameron sure did.”

  “Why did you let us lure you to a hotel room that first night? You must have recognized me at the bar and knew we were setting a trap for you.”

  “Of course I knew, and I couldn’t resist getting to see you work, up close and personal-like.” He smiled at me, but then his face fell and he said, “Imagine my disappointment when you turned out to be a total wuss. Your badass reputation is most definitely not deserved, Dante.”

  “I could have shot you.”

  Steven batted his eyes and added a lilt to his voice, sounding like he had in that hotel room. “And gun down a poor little innocent?” When I glared at him, he chuckled and added in his normal tone of voice, “I was heavily armed. If you’d gone for your weapon, I would have shot you dead. But God forbid you’d do anything that interesting. You couldn’t even make yourself rough me up. Fucking pathetic!”

  I watched him for a moment before asking, “Did Cameron tell you I was in Pittsburgh?”

  Steven nodded. “He accidentally let it slip last night, after I got done fucking him. For a cop, he really is far too trusting. He’ll let anyone into his bed.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  “Now, why would I do that? It’s so much more satisfying to let him live, then crush him under the guilt of his mistake when I send him a picture of your dead body. He’ll know he led me right to you.”

  “I’m surprised you found me. Pittsburgh’s a big city.” I was stalling for time and trying to think of a plan, but I kept coming up empty. I’d given Charlie my gun, and there was nothing I could use to defend myself in that snowy landscape. I wondered how quickly I’d freeze to death if I jumped into the river to try to escape.

  “Doyle was dumb enough to tell me right where Jerry had been spotted, so I figured you’d be camped out close by. After that, I just got lucky,” he said. “I arrived late this evening and happened to be looking out my hotel room window when your brother and cute little hubby paraded Jerry right past me and into the building down the block. Not five minutes later, there you were, all by your lonesome. It’s as if all the stars aligned to make sure I got to kill you tonight.” Messina smiled at me sweetly, and my blood ran cold.

  “You had a million opportunities to kill me over the last year and a half. Why didn’t you take your shot sooner?”

  “You’re right that I could have killed you any time I wanted to, but where’s the fun in that? It was so much more enjoyable to watch you flailing around, trying desperately to find the people responsible for the fire, yet utterly failing! But then you tracked down your idiot cousin, who obviously caught you up to speed the moment you found him. That must be why you didn’t seem particularly surprised to see me. And now that you’re actually gunning for me, well, there’s no more time for fun and games, Dante. Now I need to take care of business.”

  He took aim as adrenaline surged through me. I started to move, intent on diving into that cold, dark water. But before I could take a single step, a shot rang out and my heart stuttered with fear.

  It’s not entirely true that your life flashes before your eyes when you think you’re about to die. Not like in the movies anyway, where it plays like a highlight reel. Instead, what you get is a moment of perfect clarity. It slices right through the terror, right through everything. It stops time, and it lets you truly see.

  In that moment, my husband’s beautiful, smiling face appeared in my mind’s eye. The love I felt for him and from him was the truest thing I knew. It was perfect and unending, stronger than death, stronger than anything.

  Even though I was sure I was about to die, I felt oddly at peace. I thought in that split second that I’d lived a good life, because I’d gotten to love my Charlie and be loved by him in return. He’d made it all worthwhile.

  I accepted my fate, and I waited for the bullet to rip through me.

  Chapter Ten

  In the next second, time sped up again. The crack of gunfire still echoed in my ears, but I couldn’t tell where I’d been hit. I wondered if I was actually too numb from the cold to feel the bullet wound.

  I looked up at Messina. His expression was one of pure shock. The arm holding the gun fell to his side. I didn’t understand what was happening.

  A second after that, a trickle of blood ran out from under his black knit cap. It cut a path right down the center of his face and dripped off the tip of his nose. Then Steven Messina’s lifeless body crumpled to the ground.

  When he fell, it revealed Charlie standing about thirty feet behind him, still aiming a large-caliber handgun. My husband’s expression was fierce. He lowered his arm slowly.

  Vincent, Connie and Andreo were running toward us, and they reached Charlie a moment later. Connie gingerly took the gun from his hand as my husband blinked a couple times. I sprinted over to him and grabbed Charlie in an embrace, and he crushed me to him and asked, “Are you okay, Dante?”

  “Yeah, thanks to you. Hell of a shot, angel.”

  “We need to call the police,” he said, turning his head to look at the body on the ground.

  Constantino chimed in, “Um, we really don’t want to do that. Shooting someone in the back of the head with an unregistered weapon, especially that one with its…complicated history, would land you in jail, Charlie.”

  My husband took my hand, and then he said, “You’re freezing, Dante.”

  I turned to our companions. Connie had tucked the gun under his arm and was texting someone, and he looked up at me and said, “Get Charlie out of here, we’ll handle the clean-up. And make it fast, someone might have heard that shot.”

  I asked my cousin, “What are you going to do with the body?”

  “I’m going to make it go away.”

  “There are probably surveillance cameras lining this park. You need to make sure all the footage gets scrubbed.”

  Connie waved his phone and said, “Already on it. Now go already!”

  We jogged back to our building, and Charlie and I held each other as we rode the elevator to the fifteenth floor. As soon as we stepped into the apartment, Ferguson leapt to his feet and asked, “What the hell’s going on? Your family took off a couple minutes ago with no explanation. They just told me to stay here and watch him.” He used his thumb to gesture over his shoulder. Behind him, Jerry was tied to a chair with a truly excessive amount of rope. He was also gagged.

  “Everything’s under control. I’ll fill you in on all the details in the morning. Did Jerry try to escape?”

  “Nah. He did give me some lip though, so I might have gotten a bit overzealous in my efforts to restrain him.”

  “I have no problem with that.”

  “Great. So, now that we found him, what do you want me to do with him?”

  I glanced at Jerry, who was staring at the carpeting, and said, “I’ll deal with him later. Right now, Charlie and I need some time.”

  Ferguson said, “No hurry. He’s not going anywhere, and just to make sure, I’ll stay here and keep an eye on him for you.”

  “Thanks, Fergie. By the way, I’m giving your son a reward for finding my cousin. Didn’t you tell me he just started college?”

  “Yeah. He’s done one semester at University of Pittsburgh.”

  “Well, since you also mentioned he was having trouble covering the cost of tuition, the rest of it’s on me, right up until he graduates.”

  Fergie exclaimed, “Holy shit, are you serious?”

  “Of course. Just call it the Dombruso family scholarship fund.” He thanked me profusely, and I smiled at him, then put my arm around Charlie’s shoulders and guided him down the hall.

  When we reached our room, my husband shook himself out of his daze and turned his attention to the business of warming me up. He led me to the bathroom and started the shower, and we both stripped and got under the warm water. My feet were so cold that the warmth was actually painful at first. But after I got used to it, he turned up the temperature in increments, until it was nice and hot.

  We embraced each other for several minutes under the cascade of water. When I told Charlie I felt a lot better, we got out and dried off quickly, then climbed under the covers. I drew him into my arms, and he put his head on my chest and held on tight.

  After a while, I asked, “How did you know Messina had followed me out to the Point?”

  “There’s a view of the park from the living room windows.”

  “But he and I must have looked like specks from this distance.”

  “I recognized you by the way you walk. When I saw someone sneaking up behind you, I told Vincent to call my phone and warn you, and I grabbed one of Connie’s guns from the coffee table and took off running. I didn’t know who was following you, but I knew it wasn’t good, and I was scared I wouldn’t get there in time.”

  I said softly, “I never would have wished that on you, but I’m so grateful for what you did. Another second and I would have been killed, no two ways about it. You saved my life, Charlie.”

  After a pause, he said, “I guess what I did tonight hasn’t hit me yet. Right now, I’m just….”

  “Numb? That’s understandable. When it starts to sink in, I want you to know I’m going to be right here to help you through it.”

  But Charlie met my gaze and said, “Actually, I’m relieved. I know that must sound callous, but it’s the truth. Messina was a monster. He was about to kill you, and before that, he tried to burn our entire family alive. Now he can never hurt anyone again.”

  I kissed his forehead and told him, “You’re so strong. Stronger than I gave you credit for.”

  He grinned a little. “I’ve been trying to tell you that for a long time, not that I don’t appreciate the way you take care of me. But if and when this does hit me like a ton of bricks, I’m definitely going to take you up on your offer of helping me cope with it.”

  “You know I’ll be right here.” After a moment, I grinned a little too and said, “Before I forget to tell you, the flying tackle that brought Jerry down was one of the best things I’ve ever seen in my life.”

  “Finally, a practical, real-world application for all those years I spent playing football!”

  “It totally paid off.”

  “Speaking of Jerry, what are you going to do about him?”

  “I don’t know. Right now, we just need to get some rest. I’ll deal with him in the morning.” Charlie nodded and shut the light off before curling up in my arms.

  But sleep eluded us, despite our exhaustion, and the events of the last few hours kept cycling through our thoughts. When a little tremor went through my husband, it hurt my heart. I knew what he was reliving.

  After a while, I said quietly, “I was sure I was going to die tonight. When I heard that gunshot, I thought Messina had pulled the trigger. In what I believed was my final moment on this earth, all I could think about was you, Charlie.” He kissed me tenderly, and I told him, “I wish I could find the words to tell you just how much I love you.”

  My husband touched my cheek and whispered, “You just did.”

  *****

  We were still awake a couple hours later, when someone knocked lightly on our door. Charlie and I quickly pulled on some pants and let Vincent, Andreo and Constantino into our room. I closed the door behind them and asked if they’d run into any trouble, and Connie said, “Nope.”

  He took off his coat and began fixing his hair as I prompted, “Tell me everything.”

  “We disposed of the body, cleaned up the blood and the bullet casing, erased the footage in every camera in the vicinity, and destroyed the gun. This won’t come back to us.” I glanced at Vincent for confirmation, and my brother gave a single nod.

  But I still felt compelled to ask, “Are you sure?”

  Connie said, “Oh, believe me, we were thorough. We even melted down the gun. The evidence has all been destroyed.”

  I raised an eyebrow at that and asked, “How do you melt down a gun?”

  “You break into a big fucking steel mill,” he said as he inspected his shirt and dusted off the lapel, “and you throw it in a big fucking blast furnace. That’s after you discharge all of its bullets into a river, of course. You don’t want that shit blowing up on you.”

  “And the body?”

  “Same thing.” When I frowned a little, Connie said, “What? Cremation is a totally legit thing to do to the deceased.”

  “How’d you get to the steel mill?”

  “We borrowed a boat and went on a lovely little river cruise. Afterwards, we put the S.S. Minnow back where we found it.” He let out a huge yawn and said, “I need sleep. Andreo and I won’t be here when you wake up, just so you know.”

  “Thank you for everything, Connie. You really stepped up throughout all of this.” He seemed startled when I pulled him into an embrace, and I told him, “I meant what I said about finding ways to come visit us in San Francisco.”

  When I let go of him, he looked embarrassed, but he grinned a little as he murmured, “Yeah, okay.”

  Andreo and I shook hands, and I said, “That goes for you, too. You’re both a part of this family, and we expect to see you before too long.”

  “Count on it.” He took Connie’s hand and nodded to Vincent and Charlie, and then he and his boyfriend headed for their bedroom.

  My brother said, “I’ll book the three of us on an eleven a.m. charter flight back home tomorrow. That should give us enough time to tie up everything in the morning.”

  “Perfect.” I threw my arm around his shoulders and squeezed him a bit as I said, “Thanks for coming along, Vinnie. You’ve always had my back, and I want you to know I appreciate it.”

  When I let go of him, he raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re very touchy-feely tonight.”

  “I’m entitled. I was sure I was going to die a few hours ago. That gets me a one-time pass to Sentimental Street.”

  “I’m going to bed.”

  “I bet you’re looking forward to seeing your husband and kids tomorrow,” I said as he started to walk away.

  Vincent murmured, “You have no idea.”

 

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