Don’t Let Go

36. Aurora

36

Aurora

When I woke up, a toasty, warm body lay beside me. For a brief second, I thought Lizzy had snuck into bed with me like she used to do when she thought a monster was under her bed. I stroked her hair, but it didn't feel right. It was short, soft, and I painfully remembered it couldn’t be Lizzy lying next to me.

My Lizzy was gone.

I opened my eyes and found myself tangled in Tyler’s legs, and his arm draped across my stomach as my head rested under his arm.

“Shit,” I muttered, sitting up carefully.

Tyler rolled over, and sunlight fell upon his face from the crack in my curtains. “What time is it?” he moaned.

I reached across his torso to grab my phone on the nightstand, hitting the power button, and the screen brightened. It was a quarter past seven.

“Time for you to get out of my room,” I said, rubbing my eyes.

Tyler slid out of my bed and stretched his arms over his head. “Admit it. You loved having me as a pillow.” His smirk was playful, making me smile too.

He was undeniably comfortable and smelled like sandalwood and fresh laundry. I did sleep for a few hours without tossing and turning or having nightmares.

I moved to the edge of the bed, making fists with my toes on the carpet. “Thank you for staying. Sometimes falling apart to rebuild helps you come back stronger.”

He nodded. “We need to talk. I wanted to ask you this last night, but you were in bad shape.” He looked at the door and then moved closer to me. “What are you involved in? Chloe told me your family is tied up in the mafia.”

My heart leaped into my throat as my gut twisted into a tight ball. I wiped my sweaty palms on my thighs and stood to face him. “The cat’s out of the bag.” I sighed, looking at my hands, plucking up the courage to tell Ty the truth. “For generations, my family has been a part of the Italian mafia. I have a lot of family in Italy and some throughout the country. They all function at different levels, doing different jobs.”

His face paled, and his lips thinned. “So, for the most part, your family makes people sleep with the fishes and puts horse heads in beds?”

His comment stung a little, but it also made me chuckle. “You watch too many movies. Certain families have positions in the mafia. I don’t quite know what my distant relatives do. As for my mamma, she is the fixer for the Phoenix branch. She makes sure nothing can tie to anyone within the family, meaning anyone in the mob. She also cleans crime scenes.”

Tyler rubbed his hands together nervously. “Does she also remove the bodies?”

I shook my head. Some hair fell over my shoulder and covered my right eye. I left it there to help ease myself into revealing more.

“No.” I dug my nails into the palms of my hands. “My brothers usually take care of that.”

Tyler took a step back, swaying a little on his feet. “Wow,” he said, pulling on the ends of his hair.

“That’s enough info for right now. We need to get ready for school, and you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Tyler nodded, rubbing his forehead. “Yeah. I’ll go.” He moved toward my door.

“Wait,” I hissed.

He paused. “What?”

“Are you seriously going to walk out of my bedroom door? I don’t want anyone to get the wrong idea.” I folded my arms across my chest. “You need to go back out the window.”

“Are you crazy?” Tyler put his ear to the door. “No one is out there. I’ll go to the bathroom first, and it won’t seem so strange. Okay?”

I guess it was a berserk idea to make him crawl through the window again, especially after blowing his mind with my family’s dirty secret.

“Fine,” I finally said, sitting on my bed. “Be quick.”

He opened the door a crack and peeked out. “Coast is clear,” he whispered before leaving and closing the door softly behind him.

I laid back across my bed.

Tyler was just in my bed with me. I slept like a baby curled up next to him. He knew my family was a part of the mafia. He knew too much about me.

I felt too many conflicting emotions about him and wanted to hide from the horrified look on his face when he learned the truth. Another part of me wanted to punch him for making me feel like I could trust him with anything. And my damn heart wanted me to grab him by the collar of his shirt and kiss his stupid lips.

After taking a few moments to collect myself, I stood and got ready for school. My gut twisted, and it was hard to breathe. I felt like the other shoe was about to drop.

I had no idea how fast my life could go from bad to worse, but I was about to find out.

My phone rang as soon as I stepped out of my last class for the day. I didn’t recognize the number, but I accepted the call anyway.

“Hello?”

“Am I speaking with a Miss Aurora Giordano?” the male voice on the other end of the phone asked.

I looked around. No one seemed to be acting out of the ordinary. My fellow classmates pushed past me, rushing to their lockers or out the doors so they could begin their weekend.

“Yes, I’m Aurora,” I said, leaning one shoulder on the wall next to my classroom.

“I’m Detective McMann. We met briefly at your house after—”

“Yes. I remember.” I vaguely remembered, but that didn’t matter. “Do you have news about Lizzy’s case?” I bit my bottom lip too hard in anticipation, and blood coated my mouth.

“I do. We have recovered a security video, and I’d like you to come down to the station as soon as possible to review it.”

I pushed off the wall and made a beeline for my car in the student parking lot. “I just got out of my last class and can drive to the station now.”

“Okay, great. See you soon.”

The call ended, and I shoved my phone into my back pocket. I pushed the metal door open and almost ran into Tyler as I raced toward my car.

“What’s the emergency?” he asked, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

“The detective on Lizzy’s case called. He has new info. I gotta go,” I replied, shouldering past him.

Tyler jogged to catch up to me. “Do you need some company?”

I unlocked the car with my key fob. “Thanks, but no thanks. I can handle this on my own.”

A look of disappointment flashed through his eyes as he took my hand. “You can call me. I’ll come running.”

I swallowed, still tasting blood. “I’ll remember that. See you at home.”

Butterflies attacked my insides. I wasn’t sure what I was about to walk into.

Did I want to know the reason why I lost Lizzy? Could I handle who pulled the trigger? It didn’t matter. I’d never rest without answers. God willing, I’d be tough enough to handle whatever the detective threw at me.

I said a silent prayer before entering the police station. A thin male officer sat at the front desk. He was on the phone and held up a finger, telling me to wait to be helped. I sighed and looked around. I vaguely recalled what Detective McMann looked like, but I didn’t recognize anyone walking around in uniform. The police visit after losing Lizzy was all a blur.

The officer at the desk hung up and looked at me. “Can I help you, miss?” he asked, clicking the pen in his hand over and over with his thumb.

“I’m Aurora Giordano. I have a meeting with Detective McMann.”

He nodded and grabbed his phone again. “I’ll call him at his desk and let him know you’re here.”

“Thanks,” I said, moving out of the way as two officers brought in a rabid man foaming at the mouth as he swore. The guy was filthy and had no shoes on. By the way he acted, it looked like he was on heroin or meth.

Detective McMann sidestepped the cops with the crazed junkie and approached me. “Hello, Aurora. Thanks for coming down so quickly. I have the video cued up in the interrogation room. It’s the only place around here that’s quiet.”

I nodded. “No worries. I want to find whoever killed Lizzy.”

Detective McMann walked ahead of me, looking back to make sure I wasn’t too far behind. “Same here. It always hits us harder when it’s an innocent child who suffers.”

Wasn’t every child innocent?

As I followed Detective McMann, I witnessed officers standing around laughing while drinking coffee. Three cops were in a far corner looking at a murder board like those in crime shows on network primetime. I squinted to see if I knew any of the suspects by their photo.

Detective McMann cleared his throat. “This way, please,” he said, pointing to a dark room. I paused too long, studying their murder board.

“Sorry,” I mumbled, walking past him into the room. There was a laptop on the rectangular steel table with a video already up and on pause.

Detective McMann shut the door before grabbing the metal chair from the opposite side of the table and dragging it over by the other one. “Take a seat. This shouldn’t take long.”

I plopped into the chair and nervously drummed my fingers on my thighs. Detective McMann sat beside me and moved the laptop closer to us.

“Remember, this video is from a surveillance camera from one of your neighbors across the street. It’s not clear, but let me know if you see anything or anyone you recognize.”

The metal chair bit into my back as I pressed myself to sit up straighter. “I will,” I said, not knowing if I was telling the truth.

Police were never quick enough. Sometimes, revenge at your own hand was the only way.

Detective McMann hit the space bar, making the video play. There was no sound. The video was a little grainy, but it was in color. I dug my nails into my palms as I saw Lizzy rush out of the house and skip to the car to retrieve her phone. As a red car came into view from the far right of the video, I wanted to turn away and close my eyes from the coming tragedy. I didn’t want to witness her fatal gunshot again, but I had to. I had to see who stole my little sister from me.

The car slowed a bit as it passed our house. A tanned arm with a dragon tattoo came out of the passenger side window, holding a pistol. Silent shots were fired, and Lizzy fell onto the ground as the rest of us ducked for cover.

“Play that back,” I said, leaning closer to the screen.

Detective McMann moved the video back to a couple of seconds before the gun went off. I didn’t remember the car, but I recognized that arm. I knew that tattoo of a dragon curling its way up to his left wrist. That arm used to hold me, and later that arm used to strike me and pin me down. That arm belonged to Paolo. I studied what little of the driver I could see and wouldn’t doubt it was one of his cousins.

That motherfucker!

He wasn’t lying when he said he’d go after my family and ruin me. Now I had my proof to go after the devil himself.

Detective McMann paused the video. “Well, did anything stand out to you? Can you identify the shooter or the driver? Any tip, big or small, could help Elizabeth’s case greatly.”

What I had was better than a tip. I had suspect number one with an accomplice.

I took my time answering, licking my lips and glancing at the screen once more.

Dare I say the truth and put my faith into the legal system?

“I’m sorry. I don’t know that car or recognize anyone in it,” I lie through my teeth, digging my nails deep into my fleshy palms, and tears prick my eyes.

“Are you sure?” his voice was low, almost as if he didn’t believe me.

I nodded, standing up. “Yes. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. It was a long shot. We ran the plates, but the car was stolen.” He closed the laptop and picked it up, putting it under his arm. “I hoped you maybe had a lead to who was in the car.” He paused for a moment. “Let me walk you out.”

The police may not know who was in the car, but I did. I was going to have my bloody revenge. Paolo was as good as dead. No one was going to stop me.

It was time for Paolo to pay.

A life for a life.