I couldn’t tell her that I understood to some extent what she felt because my mother’s story is not mine to share, but it’s because I knew her pain had to be ten times worse than mine that I was going all out to destroy the one responsible. My mother was still here, just missing a little piece of her soul that had been ripped away from her while hers was gone from this world.
I can’t give her back to her, but now more than ever, as the man who’d taken her child’s innocence, I owe it to both of them to fuck Becky’s shit up. I owe her a hell of a lot more than that for sharing her beautiful self with me, but we’ll start there.
“Why don’t you try to get some sleep?” It was way too early, but I knew she was about to crash from emotional exhaustion, not to mention the wear and tear on her body. I was proud of myself for putting aside my baser needs while she needed me, but as soon as I thought of what we’d shared, my body awakened.
Too bad there was no way I was going to do that to her, not after all that damn blood. Technically I know that that’s a consequence of losing her virginity, but emotionally I could’ve gone my whole life without seeing her hurt like that, no matter the reason. I ignored the softening around my heart, now is not the time, not for what I have planned for the rest of the night.
I laid with her until she fell asleep, but even then, she refused to release her hold on me, so I gave it a few minutes more before it was safe to leave. I hadn’t even seen Lancelot before he left, and the twins damn near rushed me when I stepped out of the room. “Shh, she’s asleep. Do me a favor, keep an eye out. If she wakes up before I get back, call me immediately.”
“Okay, but is she okay? What happened?”
“I’ll tell you later. I gotta go before she wakes up and realizes I’m gone.” I left and headed downstairs to find Pop.
“You going somewhere?”
“To Fontane’s. I need a favor.”
“I’m coming with you.”
“Pop!”
“Not up for discussion. Let’s go. You can tell me about that favor on the way.”
“I’m going to send something to your phone; when the cops ask, just show it to them.”
“Cops?”
“She killed Gianna’s mother.”
“What?”
“That’s not what tonight is about, though. I’ll explain everything on the way there.”
I headed to the garage for her car, and he raised his brows before getting in. I had to rearrange stuff in my head since he insisted on coming along to fit in with what I was about to do.
“Cops, Gabe?”
“Yeah, it’s time. I’m not dragging this out any longer than I need to, and I don’t have time to wait around for Fontane to get his shit together. It’s either this, or she comes up missing. Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason, son. No reason at all. Let me make a few calls to set this up.”
“Gramps already took care of it.”
“Bet!”
Our first stop was the police station where the lieutenant gramps had set up the meet with waited. I knew I should’ve left Pop in the car because old boy was intimidated almost to the point of stuttering and all my dad did was sit there and listen while I talked. “Is this all okay with you, Mr. Russo?”
“My son’s the one in charge. I’ll let you know if something’s not to my liking.”
It’s been a while since I’ve seen Pop flex. I sometimes forget that there’s this whole other side to him. The side that would make a grown man sweat in his own house without even making a threat. We left with the understanding that the cops would give us at least half an hour before heading out.
“Do you have a plan B just in case she slips out of this one?”
“Plan B would mean I expect to fail.” His lips twitched, but he held it in pretty well, though he did look out the window to keep his face hidden from me.
I don’t think he realizes that I’d much rather go straight to unliving her than go through all this, but the petty in me wants to watch her suffer. I want both her and the thing she released into the world to feel hunted, trapped. To live in fear every day from now until I lower the boom on their asses somewhere down the line.
I didn’t call Fontane to let him know we were on the way, just pulled into his driveway and breathed a sigh of relief when his car was there, along with the burnt-out mess that was once Victoria’s ride. I guess I have way more petty in me than I ever knew because I can’t wait to get back home to listen to the day’s recording to hear her meltdown live. Her tears are my new source of vitamin A. I’ma feed off that shit until she runs out until they both do.
I realized as I stepped out of the car that something in me had shifted way off in the wrong direction. I feel like an android that’s about to malfunction or some shit. Those around me don’t seem to notice the change, but I can feel it, which is both good and bad. It’s not time for this side of me to manifest itself to the world. Because once this beast breaks out of its cage, it’s not going back in.
“Gabe!” I came out of whatever fugue state I’d just stepped into at the sound of Pop’s voice.
“Yeah, Pop?” Why does he keep looking at me like that?
“Nothing, son, it’s nothing.” He breathed out really hard, which, again, I have no idea why he was acting so out of character.
I used my fist instead of the doorbell because that sound puts more fear in the guilty than anything else. It’s like breaking down their first line of defense and why cops utilize that shit every chance they get. Felix answered the door, and the first thing he saw when he looked past us was the car. “What…?” This is why I won’t even consider forgiving him no matter how much he grovels at this point. It never entered his mind to check on her car even after I mentioned it offhandedly.
Maybe he has a lot of shit going on, I don’t know, but could he for once have put his kid first?
“How did you get that car? Did Gia take it? Where did she get the key?”
“We bought it from your wife.”
“May we come in? We need to talk.” Pop asked but was already moving through the door, making Felix have to step back out of the way.
“My wife sold you the car? I don’t understand; that’s not possible.”
“That’s the problem; that’s why we’re here. You may not know this, but my dad is a collector of cars. He had his buyer looking for a new one, and this one popped up in the search since it’s so close. He, of course, had no idea who you were. He was just interested in the car for Pop.” He looked around as if my words were somehow too foreign for him to comprehend.
“I don’t understand; what list did it show up on? You mean she had it for sale?”
“No, all collectibles are on a list; most people don’t know about that list, only true aficionados. Pop’s guy was very excited to find one so close to home, and apparently, when he called, Becky gave him the impression that the car was hers. We didn’t realize until later, when Gianna saw it, in fact, that something was wrong.”
“Felix, who’s at the door?” Becky came downstairs then and did not look too happy to see us.