“It’s over, Derek. I don’t have to worry about Ethan anymore.”
“I know that, but…” Raking a hand through his hair, worry lines marred his beautiful face. “Shit, Gianna. This past week has been the scariest in my life. Between me, Isabella, Christopher… we’ve all been freaking out, wondering what happened to you. The police wouldn’t give me a damn thing. Can you at least tell me a little about what the hell went down that day?”
“Your training happened. Your words.” I took a step back, held out my arm, and shifted my sleeve up. On the underside of my wrist, the words ‘I Am’ had been tattooed in a cursive font. The skin surrounding the ink was still shiny and pink, not yet completely healed.
“You got a tattoo.”
“I had it done a few days ago when I was in Cinci. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but I think it’s fitting. These were the words you made me say. I remembered them, and you saved me.”
“I saved you? Are you trying to say…”
“If you think I killed him, I didn’t. I want to be clear about that before it becomes an elephant in the room. But… I would have done it if I had to,” I added in a whisper.
“But you didn’t. Even if you had, nobody would blame you. That son of a bitch deserved to die. I wanted to kill him myself.” The venom in his voice caused me to shiver. “What else happened?”
I squeezed my eyes shut as I recalled the deafening crack of Ethan’s head connecting with the coffee table, the pool of blood, and my tears of relief.
“There was a fight. He said some things… He really was a complete stranger to me. His name wasn’t even Ethan Walker. For four years, my life was nothing but a lie. His name was Anthony Gallo.”
“You’re joking, right?”
I shook my head.
“I wish I was. He came after me, but I fought him off. He tripped, went down hard, and hit his head on the corner of a table. He died almost instantly. The police and the FBI easily deduced self-defense, and I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing,” I assured. The clanking of weight machines in the background caused me to pause as I remembered where we were. I looked around at the people in the gym. Clients were busy with their workout as employees and contractors bustled about. Nobody seemed to be paying much attention to us, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be overheard. “There’s more to the story, but that’s it in a nutshell. I don’t really want to get into it here. Okay?”
“Okay,” he agreed, nodding. “Why don’t we take a walk to La Biga, grab a coffee, and chat on the way.”
“That sounds like a perfect idea.”
Derek took my hand, and we began the short walk to the little coffee shop that had quickly become one of my favorite places in Queens.
“I like the tattoo. And you’re right—it is fitting. But I doubt you went all the way back to Cincinnati just for a tattoo. Are you going to tell me what else you were doing there?” he asked as we waited for the traffic light to turn, so we could cross the street.
“After I told the FBI Ethan’s real name, it opened up a whole new can of worms. Agent Gregory was able to track down who his mother was. Apparently, she had a history of mental illness and was in and out of psychiatric institutions throughout her twenties. There’s a police record in Salt Lake City of her claiming she was raped, but there was no follow-up. Her history picks back up nine months later when Ethan—or rather, Anthony—was born. His birth records proved he wasn’t lying about his real name. It brought the legality of our marriage into question and complicated who was next of kin. His supposed ‘big family’ was really just people he knew from the police department. I never knew they weren’t really his cousins. There was no blood relation at all. God, I was so stupid…” I trailed off, thinking about how easily I believed everything he told me.
“Not stupid,” Derek stated vehemently. “The guy was a sociopath. You can’t blame yourself for his manipulations.”
“Maybe.” I shrugged. “Maybe not. At the very least, I should have questioned things. If I hadn’t ignored the red flags, maybe things would have happened differently. I suppose it doesn’t matter now. I can’t change the past, which is basically what the lawyer said.”
“Lawyer?”
“Yes. I had to meet with a lawyer about the estate. Ultimately, I left it up to him to work out the legalities, but I did get the opportunity to go through my old house. The FBI was with me to supervise and approve anything I wanted to take out. They said something about preserving evidence after they found the bodies of five other women Ethan had photographs of. So far, they’ve tallied nine women.” I forced myself to swallow the emotional guilt welling in my throat. I wondered if I’d ever get over the guilt of living when so many others had died.
If only I had gone to the authorities sooner, maybe…
There were so many what-ifs, I would go crazy if I didn’t stop thinking about them.
Derek’s grip on my hand tightened, almost as if he knew what I was thinking.
“Like I said, the son of a bitch deserved to die. None of this is your fault.”
I returned his squeeze, taking comfort from his words.
“Apparently, he had mementos from the places he’d disposed of their bodies. He had the items hidden in the safe in the house—the house I lived in for years,” I spat out in disgust, unable to believe there had been evidence of such gruesome murders right under my nose for years.
Our conversation died once we arrived at La Biga. The coffee shop, as usual, was bustling, and there was no way to talk without raising our voices several octaves. While we waited for our to-go beverages, I watched Derek out of the corner of my eye. After the emotional week, I wanted to take a moment to appreciate him—to appreciate the man I was choosing to be with. He was gorgeous and always made me a little weak in the knees. His stance was confident yet easy, with one hand inside the pocket of his gym shorts. Wide shoulders bulged beneath the red t-shirt that seemed molded to his skin, accentuating the hard-muscled pectorals no shirt could ever hope to conceal. I didn’t think I’d ever tire of looking at him.
After we collected our drink orders, we exited the coffee shop. Derek kept throwing cautious glances my way as if I were a mirage that would disappear at any moment. I needed to keep talking and assure him I wasn’t going to run anymore—I was here to stay.
“The FBI showed me the pictures you told me about,” I said as we walked aimlessly with no destination in mind. “The ones of his apartment in Avondale. You have to believe me, I had no idea.”
“I never thought you did,” he replied automatically.
His unwavering loyalty and faith in me brought a small smile to my face.
“When I was at the house, I was surprised to see Ethan had kept all of my stuff. At first, I didn’t know what to do with it. I hadn’t made up my mind whether I was going to stay in Cincinnati or come back to New York.”
Derek stopped walking and turned to take my chin between his thumb and forefinger, angling my head up to meet his gaze.
“Sparky, if you’ve never listened to a thing I’ve said before, I need you to hear me now. I’ve already thought about this long and hard. Whether you choose New York or Cincinnati, I will follow you. Ethan controlled your life for too long. It’s time for you to do you without all the strings attached. Wherever you decide to go or whatever you decide to do, I’ll be more than happy to let you lead me to the ends of the earth. You’ve earned… ” He stopped contemplatively. “No, that’s the wrong word. Deserve is more accurate. You deserve someone to follow you. You know that, right?”