Don’t Let Go

39. Tyler

39

Tyler

“I don’t know if I should tell you this while you’re driving,” she said quietly while wringing her hands together in her lap.

“Okay. We’ll talk when we get there.” I stared straight ahead to avoid crumpling at Rory’s sad glances. Her eyes, full of anger and violence a few moments ago, have melted into a soft green, like a cool pool that could drag me to my death. She truly was a beautiful siren.

God, I think I’d do anything for Rory, even after everything that has happened. What does that make me?

“Where are we going?” Her voice hitched. It was barely above a whisper. She turned the radio off. All I could hear was her breathing and the tires on the road.

“We’re going to my parents’ lake house. It’s in an undisclosed location.” I squeezed the steering wheel to keep myself from saying more. I was on the verge of wanting Rory to tell me everything she knew about my parents’ deaths and wanting to remain in the dark forever.

“At least it’s not the police station,” she mumbled, sinking further into her chair.

“I wouldn’t do that to you,” I said, reaching over and taking her hand in mine. She squeezed my hand before letting go.

I snuck a sideways glance at Rory. She turned her head toward the window. Her hair hid most of her face but based on the quiet voice she had, I could only imagine how somber she looked.

Did she truly believe I’d hand her over to the cops?

As I drove the winding road to my parents’ lake house, or I guess my lake house now since all the deeds were in my inheritance, we sat in silence. Rory mumbled things to herself in Italian, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying.

Gravel cracked under the Charger’s tires as I turned off the main road and toward the lake house. There was a half a mile between the houses with tall, thick pine trees all around. It was crazy to think a two-hour drive out of Phoenix would take you into a beautiful forest near a crystal-clear lake.

I killed the engine and opened my door. Rory didn’t move. I thought maybe she had fallen asleep, but then she sat up and slowly moved her arm, unbuckling herself.

“Let’s go in. The kitchen should have something. The least we can have is a strong cup of coffee.”

“I could use some coffee,” she said, opening her door and dragging herself out of the car.

Her hair looked like a wild mane around her face as the wind howled through the trees. Rory twisted her hair together in a messy handheld ponytail as she moved toward the house. I wanted to wrap my arms around her and tell her she was going to be okay, but I had no idea if she was. She killed someone today, and she shot Paolo. I wasn’t up to speed on who was who in the Italian mafia, but I was pretty sure they frowned on killing each other without being ordered to.

“Make yourself at home,” I said over my shoulder as I unlocked the front door.

I walked through the living room to the kitchen, searching through all the cabinets and finding nothing but expired crackers, a brand-new can of coffee, and some random seasonings. After my mom died, we didn’t visit the lake too much. I did have a few parties here, though, until my dad found out and took away my keys earlier this year. I clenched the keys in my hand. They weren’t mine. The keys I had now were the ones my father used. This keyring had keys to everything, even things I had no idea what they kept locked up.

“Looks like I was right. All we have is coffee.” I sighed, filling the coffee carafe with filtered water from the tap. I poured the water into the coffee maker and put three tablespoons of coffee into it before closing the lid and turning it on. The machine bubbled and gurgled as it brewed the wondrous brown liquid of the gods.

After grabbing two blue mugs from the cabinet above the sink, I poured coffee into each once it was ready. “I hope you like your coffee black. There’s no sugar, and the fridge is empty,” I said, walking into the living room with a mug in each hand.

“It’s fine,” Rory grumbled.

I looked around the living room to find where her voice came from. She wasn’t on the couch like I thought she’d be.

“Where—” I spotted her as soon as the word left my mouth. Rory curled herself onto the window seat in the living room and stared out at the lake. The water was pure blue as far as the eye could see. It was as smooth as glass this time of year, especially in the middle of the week when no one was here.

As the moonlight streamed through the tree branches and window blinds, it highlighted the gold in Rory’s hair and made her skin shine like porcelain. Her hand had a slight tremor as she reached for her coffee mug. “Thanks,” she mumbled toward the glass, taking a giant glop. She didn’t flinch at the scorching heat of the liquid.

I sat by her and sipped my coffee, burning the tip of my tongue.

“So…” The word hung like an invisible noose.

“There’s so much to tell you. I don’t know where to start.”

I nodded outside toward the lake. “You know this used to be my favorite place in the world. My parents would lock up their laptops and phones in the vault and I had their complete attention for the entire weekend. Looking back, I should’ve taken advantage of that more.” I tapped my thumb on my coffee mug. “We had some amazing adventures on that lake. That’s where I learned to swim.”

The corner of her mouth went up a bit as she, too, looked out at the water. “I could see how a family getaway would be fun here.”

“Is the coffee okay?” I took another sip of mine; it was extremely bitter.

She tipped the mug so I could see she already drunk all of hers. “Yeah. Not too bad.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “Wow. Do you want any more?”

“No. Thank you.” She clicked her fingernails against the glass. “I don’t have proof, but I’m about ninety-eight percent sure Paolo had someone kill your parents.”

“I want to know whatever you do,” I said softly, touching her hand.

She chewed on her bottom lip, and her eyebrows pushed together in thought. “Paolo would say certain things that waved a red flag. I always ignored his comments because he was always so loud and attention-seeking.”

“Go on.”

“I recently put it all together after seeing the police video.”

I leaned forward, setting my mug on the floor near the wall. “I thought you said the video wasn’t helpful.”

Rory stared at her mug, drumming her nails on the glass again. “I lied. The video showed a car I didn’t recognize, but in the passenger seat with the gun in his hand was Paolo. I’d know his shitty dragon tattoo anywhere. I assumed the driver was his cousin, the one who dragged me into an illegal drug deal involving luxury cars.”

“Wait.” I put my hand up to stop her. “You’re losing me. You had proof Paolo killed Lizzy, and instead of telling the police, you went rogue? And how does this tie to my parents?”

She blew a raspberry and clicked her ring against her mug. I kindly took the empty cup away from her so she would focus more on the story.

Rory placed her hands into her lap as she continued, “It wasn’t until after you moved in that Paolo hinted at your parents’ deaths. We were at a pizza place once, and he saw your papà on the TV and said something like, ‘wouldn’t it be a shame for Tyler to end up like his parents? He needs a family reunion’.”

I licked my lips, setting Rory’s mug next to mine before I threw it across the room. “So, he talked shit. I still don’t see the connection,” I said calmly, but my heart rate rose.

“The devil is in the details. We had a mob meeting a while back. They mentioned how your mamma was poisoned by Lily of the Valley if I remember her autopsy right.”

I balled my hands into fists. “How do you know what my mom’s autopsy said?”

She raised her right shoulder and let it fall. “My mamma saw it and knew heart failure wasn't her COD, but didn't know what to do with the info at the time.”

I got up and paced like a wild animal trapped in a cage. “My mom trusted yours enough to have me live with your family, but yet your mom knew my mom’s death was suspicious and did nothing? How does that make them good friends?”

Rory toyed with the ends of her hair. “Not everything is black and white, Tyler. My mamma is in deep with the mob. She has no way out. Besides, my mamma wasn’t the one who poisoned yours.”

“Then who poisoned my mom? What’s your stake in all this?” I asked, sounding angrier than I meant to. I didn’t want Rory to clam up because I frightened her. Then again, could my anger scare a siren who bloodied her hands in the name of the Italian mob?

Rory stretched her legs out, filling the entire window seat with her body. She sagged against the wall, tilting her head toward the window. “I’m associated with the family , but I’m not in it. They haven’t made me a full member yet.”

She cleared her throat and swung her legs around, planting her feet on the wooden floor. “I never wanted to be in the mob like my mamma is. She didn’t want me in it either, and she warned me to find a way out. I knew it would be hard since I got myself tangled with Paolo, who's the son of the boss in Italy, but I thought we’d break up after we decided to go to different colleges. That’s what usually kills high school relationships, you know?”

Rory gestures with her hand as if dismissing Paolo like a fly annoying her. “Then there was talk I was being spotted, umm… considered for a position within the family since they saw me with Paolo a few times. I had to find my way out faster than I thought, but then everything blew up in my face.”

She sighed and ran her hand through her hair. “Your parents weren’t in the mob, but they were associated with it. The mob’s money helped your papà win his senate seat. Your papà didn’t sign certain things, and he wasn’t taking any more money for reelection or his upcoming run for president. There was a guy at that meeting who was held responsible for poisoning your mamma and killing your papà without orders. But he didn't explain why.”

“My parents would have never taken dirty money. Are you sure?” I pulled on my earlobe. “What did this guy look like?”

Rory stared at me with dark eyes. Without blinking or looking away, she said, “Yes. I might not have followed politics, but I did know mob money bought the senate race. Who was bought off, I didn’t know or care about at the time.” She sighed, spinning the ring around her ring. “As for that guy, he was tall but not super tall and had on a wrinkled blue blazer. He seemed like a business guy by his short haircut. I could see him involved in politics by the way he spoke.”

“Wait, that sounds like Jacob. My dad’s PR guy.” My gut twisted into a double knot, and my throat tightened. “Was he wearing gold glasses?”

She shook her head. “He had a hood on, so if he had glasses, they took them. I believe he was squinting. The name Jacob does sound familiar.”

I jammed my fingers into my eyes, rubbing too hard while trying to absorb what Rory was telling me. “Let me get this straight. My parents took dirty money and Jacob murdered them in cold blood? The guy who has been in my life for years and organized their funerals?”

Rory nodded. “I don’t have all the facts, but yes. I believe so.”

My head spun with her stories and all the directions they had taken. I leaned against the wall next to Rory. There was no way I could wrap my head around what happened to my parents or how deep Rory was within the mafia. “If Paolo is the grandson of the mob boss, what does that make his cousin?”

Rory hung her head and said, “Vincenzo is the boss’s nephew. He came here from Italy with his brother.”

I let out a low whistle.

Damn, Rory is screwed.

The back of my throat burned as I asked my next question. “Do… do you know how my old man died? What did the report say?”

Rory stood and placed a hand on my shoulder. Her evergreen eyes bore into mine. “That guy… umm… Jacob said he poisoned your papà’s steak with blowfish and, once he was unconscious, took the fish out to make it appear he ate the fish. The report says your papà died from blowfish toxin, but what’s left out is he didn’t eat a bite of the actual fish.”

I placed my hands on her hips and gingerly moved them toward her lower back. “How is Paolo involved in all this?”

Rory slid her hands off my shoulders onto my chest. “During that mob meeting, Jacob looked at Paolo like he controlled him. He refused to talk, and Paolo made sure of that by making a slicing motion across his throat. It’s not too farfetched to think Paolo gave the orders to kill your papà without the say-so of his grandfather.” She paused for a second, worrying her bottom lip. “I also think Paolo and his cousins are running their own show with the Mexican cartel with drugs and cars and undercutting the family.” Rory pushed my chest away, forcing distance between us.

I took a piece of Rory’s hair and curled it around my fingers. “Why would they undermine the mafia that their family is in charge of?”

Rory looked up at me through her long lashes. “My only guess is they want to prove they are capable of doing more without any help. I don’t know if it’s for themselves or what they want to prove to the higher-ups in Italy. As I said, these are all my opinions I’ve strung together.”

“That’s why he drove by your house. He thought you knew too much and he was angry you dumped him, and with me on the team, he had multiple targets.”

Rory hooked her fingers through my belt loops on my jeans. “Yes, and Lizzy got in the way.” Her voice caught at the mention of her sister. Rory pressed her forehead into my neck. “This is all my fault.”

I wrapped my arms around her. “No. You didn’t put that gun in his hand. A girl should be able to break up with her boyfriend without fear of retaliation.”

“Maybe in Scottsdale, but not here in South Phoenix when everyone you know is a part of organized crime in one way or another.” She sniffed as her arms snaked around me.

For a moment, we stood there hugging as people do at airports before going away for a long time.

“I’m afraid,” she whispered to my chest.

“Of what?”

She let go, but her lips were only a breath away from mine. “I’m afraid of myself. I never knew I could have so much rage and vengeance within me. Now I’m marked for death.”

“Eye for an eye, remember? I’m sure they won’t like what you’ve done, but you had a good reason. He took your sister. What I witnessed of Paolo, he’s a shitty person and had this coming.”

She let out a dry laugh. “Maybe, but you don’t know the mob. He’s blood, and I’m not.”

My thumb brushed along her jawline, and Rory leaned into my touch. I stroked her jaw again before cupping her face in my hand.

“You’re going to be okay,” I whispered, gently tracing my thumb along her lips.

“How do you know?” she mumbled. Her eyes were closed. A single tear fell down her cheek. I wiped it away before pressing my forehead against hers.

“It just has to be. Isn’t there enough pain and sorrow in your life?”

“My life is a damn soap opera, keep up,” she joked, but her laugh was hollow. She didn’t move. We were somehow linked together.

The compulsion to kiss her was too strong. I kissed her cheek. She made a low moaning sound. My hands twisted into her long hair as I kissed the tip of her nose. She opened her green eyes and staring into them, I’ve never seen so much sorrow.

“I’m sorry you lost Lizzy,” I said, kissing her other cheek.

“I’m sorry you lost your parents,” she replied.

Her teeth sank into her lower lip. My thumb gingerly tugged on her chin, freeing her swollen lip. Rory stared at me with such passion, those jade eyes burning into my soul. When I kissed her lips, she opened her mouth, inviting me in. Our tongues tangled as our kiss deepened.