18. Cassie
CASSIE
T here’s a faint and strange mechanical sound in the distance.
At first, I tell myself it’s nothing. Some bird. A boat engine. But then the low, rhythmic whup-whup-whup claws its way through, and my stomach plummets straight to hell.
Helicopter.
I freeze by the kitchen window and look out into the sky, and see blades circling like vultures. It’s probably nothing, I tell myself. Could be medical transport, sightseeing, or some rich asshole wasting fuel. But all I hear is Gino.
The blades cut through the clouds like a saw cutting bone, and then disappear.
It’s not him. I could kiss the floor because it’s not him.
But how long will it remain that way?
The terror’s already here. Wrapped tight around my ribs, squeezing like a vise, whispering that Gino could be anywhere. Watching, closing in.
The sound fades, but my hands still shake. My heart won’t get the damn memo.
Ever since he showed up around here that night, every sound feels like him. Every echo, every engine, every shadow stretched long against the trees.
I swallow the panic down like battery acid.
“You good?”
I nearly jump out of my skin and turn to find Tina staring straight at me. She leans against the doorframe with her signature “I see through your shit” expression, dressed to kill, lips painted blood-red despite the early hour.
“Yeah,” I lie. “Totally.”
She cocks a brow, slides her shades down her nose, and studies me. “Sweetheart, you look two seconds from a breakdown. Don’t play me.”
“It’s just… loud mornings bring back old memories,” I offer up some version of the truth. Tina doesn’t know, bless her heart, what happened that night. “With the helicopter out there…”
I glance out the window again, as though I’ll find Gino pressed up against the window.
“Get your shoes,” Tina says in her sharp, no-nonsense tone. “We’re going to town. You need a break, and we need to catch up.”
“We live together,” I say pointedly.
“Yeah, but you’re always out working.” Her brows hit the roof.
“Someone’s got to pay the bills,” I mutter under my breath.
“What’s that?” Tina’s ears perk up.
Exactly my point. I hold back a smile and shake my head. “What about Aria? Can’t leave her alone. She’s three.”
Tina rolls her eyes like I just asked if the Earth was flat. “The housekeeper adores her. You know that woman treats Aria like she hung the damn moon.”
“I don’t like leaving her,” I press, pulse still jittery from the helicopter.
Tina softens for a second, one hand finding my shoulder, squeezing with that quiet “I got you” energy she keeps hidden for very special occasions. “Babe, we’re not going off-grid. We’re grabbing coffee, maybe cake if you behave, and we’ll be back before that kid’s done building her crayon empire.”
I hesitate, chewing the inside of my cheek.
“Cass,” her voice dips, “grab your keys. You need to get out of this damn house before you chew your nails down to stubs. Besides, you’re no good to her being all jittery like that. If your anxiety rubs off on the kid, you’ll be footing Aria’s therapy bills for years.”
At that, I laugh. Then I cave, because Tina Romano’s a hurricane, and standing in her way only gets you flattened.
“Okay. One hour.”
“Eeeeep!” she squeals and pulls me into a bear hug. “Atta girl! Let’s go disrupt the peace!”
We hit town like a flashback to simpler days—coffee shops, salty gossip, window shopping. But my chest’s still too tight.
Tina, being Tina, obviously notices. I swear the woman can read my mind since the moment we became fast friends.
She pulls me over to sit by the boardwalk, sipping overpriced lattes.
“Girl, I need a break,” she moans, slipping off her heels.
“Who told you to wear those?” I ask, staring at the eight-inch death trap glued to her shoes.
“Can’t go around wearing those, can I?” she dishes right back, glaring at my sneakers like they personally offended her.
“Wait until you become a mother. I swear it changes how you dress.”
“Uh-huh,” she says flippantly, then leans on one elbow to get closer to me. “You gonna tell me why you’re floating in the Twilight Zone?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Liar.”
I stare at the ocean, guilt gnawing at me like termites under my ribs. “I’m fine.”
She scoffs, tossing her hair over one shoulder. “Look, babe, I love you, but you couldn’t fake fine to save your damn life. This about Gino?”
I hear his name, and cue the panic attack.
“That piece of shit’s been rotting in karma’s waiting room for years. Not your fault, you got a bad apple, Cass.”
“Yeah?” My voice cracks down the middle. “Well… what if the bad apple’s poisoned us for life? What if I ruined Aria’s life?”
Of course, I don’t tell her the truth. Because of my lie, Gino’s forever going to be a part of Aria’s life. And that might have been my biggest mistake.
“Whoa, whoa—don’t do that.” She leans in, jabbing her straw toward me like a warning. “You didn’t ruin anything.”
“I found the wrong guy,” I whisper, throat raw. “Picked the wrong damn name to love. And now she’s stuck with this complicated, screwed-up story for a family. How’s that fair to her, T?”
“Cass, every family’s complicated.” Tina sighs.
I shoot her a look.
She throws her hands up in mock surrender, groaning. “Okay, fine. Maybe not that complicated.” Her eyes soften as she curls her legs beneath her. “But still… all of us? We’re just making it up as we go.”
She reaches over and gently takes my hand.
“Look. Just because you had one bad experience doesn’t mean it’s always going to be like that.
Now, you know better. Look, Cass, you know Dante and I and how complicated our parents can be.
Nothing’s ever good enough for Dad. Mom is always a heartbeat away from a meltdown.
But you know what? Despite all that, we’re loyal.
And that’s what family is. Messy, but good.
You got the messy part… Next time around, you’ll know to find the good. ”
“You really think so?” I look at her with hope.
Tina nudges my leg with hers and gives me a grin. “Babe, you’ve been surviving so long, you forgot how to live. You didn’t ruin her life. You saved it. Blood means jack when someone’s trash.”
The words hit harder than she knows.
Loyalty. Blood. Family.
The lie I’m sitting on—hiding from everyone, including Dante—feels heavier than ever.
If he really knew…
If he really knew Aria was his…
My brain spirals, questions ricocheting off the walls of my skull. What happens when the truth detonates? When the last thread snaps?
“Babe?”
Tina’s voice cuts through my meltdown. “Whatever’s chewing at you? Spit it out. You’re not carrying this alone.”
I want to tell her. God, I do. But the words cement themselves in my throat.
So I lie again. “It’s just… I’m tired.”
She doesn’t buy it, but she lets it slide again—for now.
By the time we get back to the house, I truly am tired.
Then I see him.
Dante.
Out in the yard, shirtless, muscles slick with sweat, sparring with one of the security guys like he’s straight off a damn action movie set. His fists fly, his stance is lethal, every movement is coiled and precise.
A cut on his lip bleeds down his chin, but he doesn’t flinch. He wipes it away with the back of his hand like it’s nothing, eyes locked on his opponent.
Jesus Christ, he looks like sin weaponized.
My thighs clench. My heart forgets how to beat.
Tina whistles low beside me as she eyes up the guard. “If I didn’t have my eye on that new guy out in town, I’d risk the family drama for that.”
I elbow her, rolling my eyes, but the heat crawling up my neck is impossible to hide.
Dante lands a final blow, his opponent stumbling back. He steps away, breathing steadily despite the fight, eyes tracking straight to me.
He grins—slow, dark, dangerous. The kind of grin that says he’s already in my head and under my skin.
Then his voice cuts across the yard, low and lethal:
“I already know, Cassie, but I want to hear you say it. Sooner or later, you’re going to tell me the truth.”
My pulse flatlines.
The storm I’ve been dodging? It’s here and shows no signs of slowing down.