Chapter 3
SO SICK OF LOVE
Summer
My blood boiled seeing him. Only Thaddeus could go to prison for murder and come out looking like he did.
I’d been caught off guard. Over the years, I’d heard too many people describe him as handsome.
In fact, that’s the only word anyone ever used for the man.
I shook my head in disgust, knowing I’d been guilty of using the word in the past. Obviously, I need to check my vision.
And then there he was. I hated him for that, and for his sense of self-righteousness.
He still believed that killing my father had been the right thing to do.
As I looked the cold-blooded murderer in his sharp dark eyes, it transported me back to the night he held my dad at gunpoint.
A six-foot-two monster, with broad shoulders and a smug expression.
My dad had looked ancient, decrepit, and pitiful compared to Thaddeus.
I’d really hoped they would’ve beaten him up in prison and ruined his face or something.
Why the hell did it look like he was in there getting facials?
I’d had ten years to plan out what I’d say or do when I saw Thaddeus again.
Instead, I lost it and threw a fucking tantrum.
Damn it.
The next morning, I fumed, kicking myself for not coming up with better comebacks, or for not just walking away. I could have been the bigger person.
I was grateful to find my best friend in the kitchen making coffee when I came out of the bedroom.
The night before, I had called Daisy to rant about my run-in with the Tarrytown monster.
I appreciated that she always made good use of the spare front door key.
As soon as I saw her, the story poured out of me, every bubbling inside.
“Summer, calm down,” Daisy begged. I loved her for trying, but there was no way in hell I was chilling out anytime soon.
Yelling and screaming wasn’t what I had in mind for when I finally saw him again.
Adding insult to injury, Thad just walked off while I was mid-sentence.
He dismissed me. Who killed their fiancée’s father and had zero remorse?
My dad had begged for forgiveness. He knew that what he did was wrong and never said otherwise, while Thaddeus just acted with callousness.
The more I thought about it, the more my insides boiled.
Which was the reason Daisy was here. She was keeping me company and attempting to calm me down. I’d never had a better friend.
“Summer, have some coffee.”
“Daisy, I love you,” I said, pacing around the room like a madwoman, “but what I need right now isn’t caffeine.
I need a gun. I’m going to kill that son of a bitch.
” My heart banged against my ribcage. Forget what I said about not being able to follow through on violence.
Thaddeus destroyed me and couldn’t show a flicker of regret in his eyes.
Just stomped around proudly with those big muscles, looking like he only went on a long vacation.
Because of Thaddeus’s inability to forgive, I’d lost the two most important people in my life.
Did he even suffer from sleepless nights? Did he even try to understand what it was like to wake up in a cold sweat, hearing a gunshot blast inside his skull?
Guess not. Because, call me one-sided, but what he went through was nothing like what I did. His mom died in an accident. I watched the man I loved kill my father. Saw the life drain out of Dad; his blood covered my skin.
Thaddeus could parade around with his sob story as much as he liked, but I’d been there for him when he lost his mother. What did he do for me? Stab me right in the heart.
Daisy raised an eyebrow and studied me as if waiting for the punch line. “A gun? You’re going to do what?”
For a second, I looked at her, realizing what I’d let slip earlier.
“I’m going to kill Thaddeus.” The words came out of my mouth easily the second time. Yes, I lost every ounce of love for you. I hate you. I want you to pay every second of your life for how you betrayed me.
A burst of laughter came from my best friend. What was so funny? If Thaddeus could kill someone, why couldn’t I? Over the years, I’d thought about it, and killing him seemed like the only thing that would make me feel better.
“Summer. Drink your coffee and calm down. You can’t even kill a ladybug. Let’s not have this conversation again.” She rolled her eyes.
I hated how rational she was being this morning. “Daisy, he—”
“Summer. They say the best revenge is doing well. Why don’t you wash up and squeeze in a therapy session and then go to work? If Thaddeus can go around town with his head held high, you can do it even better. You’re the one with no blood on your hands.”
A sigh fell from my lips. Okay, she was right. I couldn’t kill anyone. “What if I hired a killer?”
Daisy shut her eyes and inhaled deeply. “With what money? The house is all you have, and if you don’t go to work, the bank might take that too.”
What was happening here? Previously, Daisy was the Thelma to my Louise. We even wore matching Halloween costumes in the parade last year. I took a seat, silently drank the rest of my coffee, then called Marni to schedule an emergency lunchtime session, before hurrying off to work.
The legal aid office was an interesting place to work, and most mornings, I really looked forward to going in.
Helping the little guys win had become my passion the last few years, and it felt great to have finally found my footing.
A spark of pride flickered every time I walked into work, armed with the knowledge that I hadn’t lost a case yet.
When I entered the office, Olivia waved me over.
“Glad you came in. We have a crisis on our hands.”
Pushing my problems to the back burner, I waited to be caught up. Olivia hesitated.
“What is it?”
“Well, John Fitzgerald and his money have finally done it. Stripped the historical landmark status from the property on Park Ave., the Starlight building. That means he can put in an offer to buy the land and demolish the building.”
I sighed. Those fucking Fitzgeralds. One just walked around murdering people, and the other pushed people out of their homes and onto the street. I’d fought so hard to save the building. It meant a lot to me. It had . . . memories. “How did he finally manage it?”
Olivia looked to be holding back a laugh at my silly question. “Money. Lots of it.”
“No, I mean, on what grounds did they get that status revoked?”
“Oh, destruction and economic development.”
It made sense; the building was in bad shape, but nobody had the money to fix it, other than the Fitzgeralds, but they wouldn’t do it out of the kindness of their hearts.
It made sense that the pricey Fitzgerald lawyers would push for destroying the building to allow for new developments that would benefit the community.
Thoughts swirled through my mind about how to stop them.
“We can file an—”
Olivia shook her head, causing me to stop mid-sentence.
“Don’t bother. We’re being forced to sit down and come to an agreement by the town.
Fitzgerald is pretending to play nice, so we must too.
But, mark my words, they already bought the votes; the most we can do is hope they leave any part of the building and help relocate all the tenants. ”
My jaw tightened. “I’ll fight tooth and nail for that.”
Olivia looked intensely at me, causing me to squirm in my chair.
“I wasn’t sure about assigning this case to you since you have .
. .” she paused, searching for the right word, “history with them. But you’re the best we have.
The building is in bad shape, and all those people will be homeless or worse.
Fitzgerald knows this, but it’ll be good PR if they help rehouse the tenants.
This is a case where you need to use honey, not vinegar, to win. ”
I nodded but only took Olivia’s words as a suggestion. There had to be a way to get the building fixed and up to code, allowing the tenants who called it home to stay and the damn Fitzgeralds to walk away empty-handed.
I wasn’t about to help that family file one more win in their column. Hell no!
Thaddeus
As my father demanded, I was in the office bright and early waiting for him.
Since I had time, I went around the space, walking past one drafting table after the next.
Each contained blueprints surrounded by precision tools and empty coffee cups.
Since childhood, I’d been familiar with this building, and back then I marveled at the miniature building models that lined the shelves, and that’s where I found myself today. Some things will never change.
He greeted me with two words: “You’re back.”
I stood when Father entered and observed him. He had the same serious face and build. The only difference I noticed was the gray in his hair. Shockingly, Father still wore my mother’s ring on his finger. When this man decided to put on a show, he really committed.
“You ordered, so I came.” I shrugged.
He stood before me, and I froze, thinking age had softened him and that perhaps my father would embrace me.
“You look good,” he said, scanning me from top to bottom, nodding his head with approval. He walked into his office and sat behind the desk without so much as a handshake.
I sighed, relieved he was still the same. I’d come to like that about him. My father was who he was, and he’d never changed in all his years on this earth.
“Business is doing well.” He didn’t break eye contact as he spoke.
“We’ve seen great profits, and now we want to keep expanding.
” Father ran his hand through his hair. “We have a problem. You’re a damn felon, and the board by-laws restrict you from serving, so now there’s nobody to take my place when I die. ”
Poor you. I rolled my eyes, already annoyed he’d dragged me out of bed for this. “So, what am I doing here?”