Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sienna
Eighteen-years-old
Everything hurts. Why does everything hurt?
The putrid smell of trash fills my nostrils.
Am I dead?
What Ringer did to me splits into my mind like a baseball bat busting open a pinata.
“No,” I whimper.
“Sienna, my God, what happened to you?” A familiar voice says as I’m being pulled out of the dumpster.
It takes effort, but my right eye opens. My left eye can’t.
Michele’s blurry face comes into focus. “Jade, help me get her into the car and take her to the doctor,” he orders.
A pitiful moan escapes me as I’m placed inside the back of a vehicle, Jade sliding in beside me.
“Sweetie, it’s going to be okay,” she says, both of us knowing it’s a damn lie.
Sienna
The present
I wake with a start, yanking the pillow over my tear-soaked face. Not the nightmares starting back up!
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhh!” I scream at the top of my lungs.
A low growl has me yanking the pillow away from my face to find Lacey watching me.
I freeze as she plops her huge head on my chest. “I don’t know how you got in here, but please don’t eat me.”
She whines, and I dare to give her a scratch behind the ear. She doesn’t snap my hand off, and I take that as a good sign.
“Up,” I tell her, patting the spot beside me, and she leaps on the bed, sitting beside me.
“Do you have a snuggle command? Not that I need a snuggle. Let’s not let that rumor get out there.
” I run my hand along the fur on her back, feeling much calmer than when I woke up.
“But just so you know, this doesn’t mean we’re friends,” I warn her.
“I’ve been burned so badly I can’t let anyone in, and that includes hellhounds. ”
Lacey doesn’t comment, but of course she doesn’t: she’s a dog. Despite this, I continue the one-sided conversation. “It’s my first day going back to school, and things aren’t off to a great start. Could you pass as my emotional support dog?”
She makes a chuffing sound.
“Yeah, probably not. You look too terrifying, no offense.” I let out a long sigh. “Better terrifying than beautiful. You know where beauty got me? Nowhere, being a nobody, shuffled around the Calvani game board.”
The dog looks confused.
“‘Family above all else.’”
Lacey doesn’t get it, but that’s okay. Eighteen-year-old me didn’t get it, either.
“I need to get ready for class. Come.” She hops down and sits by the bathroom door, waiting for her next command. “Lacey, I haven’t decided if I want you to maul Fabien when he’s released from prison.” I cock my head. “But I’ll keep you posted.”
After a shower, I stand in my underwear as I rifle through my closet. Unzipping the evening gown bag, I retrieve my old boots that I was able to keep hidden from Michele.
I take a seat on the bench, lacing them up and rising. Checking myself out in the mirror, I don’t recognize the woman looking back at me. I wasn’t being melodramatic with Fabien: eighteen-year-old Sienna died in that dumpster.
My fingers trace the hem of a slinky dress, but Madam Sienna is no longer in existence, either. Not with my little black book missing. Three guesses who swiped it, and the first two don’t count.
If I’m neither soft-hearted Sienna nor cold-hearted Madam Sienna, who the hell does that leave me as?
It’s an unsettling feeling to realize I don’t know.
With a frustrated growl, I kick off the boots in the back of the closet, choosing jeans, a boring T-shirt, and sneakers.
I march out to find Lacey standing guard. “Come on. Let’s go back to school.”
She accompanies me to the kitchen, where I’m mentally preparing myself to find another corpse. I don’t, but what I do find hits me differently.
A bobbin is on the counter next to the fox and my wedding ring set, along with a note.
Opening the letter, my brow furrows. The paper’s spattered with what looks like dried blood.
Sienna,
Yes, it’s true that I lost my virginity to Chantelle.
And I paid for it, but not in the way that you think.
She offered to fuck me for free because she was a plant by my old man.
He was paranoid as hell, and thought I might be getting too powerful.
Videoed me in secret as a power play. I didn’t tell you because I was ashamed.
Of my fucked up family. Of an embarrassing excuse for a first time.
Of being such a huge pussy when it came to my old man.
I’ve had plenty of time to go over each and every mistake I’ve made in this life, but my biggest was “Family above all else.” Above you. On my life, I won’t make that mistake again.
Nothing above you, that I vow in blood.
Forever your loving husband,
Fabien
Tossing the letter on the counter, I grab the bobbin and turn it over in my hand.
The turquoise-painted peonies on the antique cherry wood have begun to fade, capped at the tail with nine matching-colored beads.
It’s the favorite of my old collection, and feelings I’d rather not deal with are bubbling to the surface.
Fabien’s latest explanation about Chantelle: revisionist history or fact?
Lacey whines, and I switch out the bobbin for the letter. “Come.”
We enter the training room, and she watches closely as I smear the letter—and Fabien’s dried blood—on the bite-training dummy.
Two graves
I’ve had years to mull over that Confucius quote, but what the philosopher didn’t understand is that my grave was already dug in that dumpster.
Stepping back, I call firmly, “Attack.”
With a growl, Lacey launches herself at the dummy, biting the arm and mauling her head back and forth.
“Glad to see you’re working with Lacey on the commands.” Her trainer appears in the doorway.
Haven’t decided if I’m digging a second grave, but I’ll be prepared, either way.
Allowing Lacey’s handler to take over training, I go in search of coffee.
Saint is seated at the kitchen table, huddled over some documents. “Don’t tell me a corpse in my kitchen is going to be a regular occurrence.”
He startles. “Sorry, Mrs. Calvani, I didn’t see you there. I have the hotel appraisal ready for your review, and the contract ready for your signature.”
“Are you always all business?” I wonder.
“Yes,” he admits, straightening the stack of documents.
I walk to the counter, pouring myself an espresso as I consider the man. “Did my husband earn your loyalty, or did he take it by force?”
A shadow of something passes before Saint schools his features. “Loyalty by definition isn’t coerced.”
That’s not an answer to my question, but I let him off the hook. “Let’s see this appraisal.” Sitting across from him, I accept the documents and read through them.
“And the contract,” he says, sliding it over. “As you can see, based on the appraisal, Mr. Calvani’s offer is fair.”
I read through it before tapping my nails on the table. “Tell your boss I’ll agree to his offer, but I want an additional half a million, off the books.”
Saint lifts his briefcase from the floor, popping it open on the table and counting out stacks of wrapped hundreds before sliding the cash over to me.
“Clearly, I should’ve asked for more,” I tell him with an annoyed huff, eyeing the leftover hundreds in his briefcase.
“Sign here, here, and here.” He points to the document signature lines.
I grab the pen and sign the hotel away, and honestly, I’m not sad about it.
“Wonderful. Is there anything else I can help you with before I visit Mr. Calvani?” He gathers the stack and places it in his briefcase.
“Since your boss is going to find out anyway, Jermaine from the hotel is going to be my personal assistant.” I’m under no illusion that Saint is loyal to me, and Jermaine is the only person from my old life that I halfway trust. “Oh, and Fabien will be footing the bill.”
“I’ll relay the information to the boss,” he says with dry amusement. “Anything else?”
I shake my head. “I’m leaving early so I can stop by admissions and pay my tuition—”
“Your tuition’s already been paid for,” Saint assures me.
So my phone’s bugged.
Good to know.
“Sure I can’t talk you into visiting Mr. Calvani?” Saint implores.
My eyes narrow over my coffee cup. “Never been more sure of anything in my life.”
He nods, rising and walking for the door. “Saint?” I call.
“Yes, Mrs. Calvani?” He pauses.
“I hope you didn’t give your loyalty to a man who doesn’t deserve it.”
Saint considers me for a moment. “You think that’s what happened to you, Mrs. Calvani, but you’re wrong.”
His matter-of-factness has me bristling. “For a man who wasn’t there, you seem awfully sure.”
“You’re right: I wasn’t there. But even if I was, eyewitness testimony is inherently unreliable, and do you know why?”
“No, but I’m sure you’re going to tell me,” I say dryly.
“You and I can watch the same scene unfold, and yet we both come to different conclusions about what really happened. I see a man who watched you nearly die and got rescued by his rival, and because he loved you so much, he let you be with the man, placing your happiness above his own.”
An uncomfortable lump in my throat has me swallowing. “But there’s a flaw in your perception, Clark. I didn’t watch the scene; I lived it.”
“And you think your perception has no biases?” Saint challenges.
“If anyone gets to have biases, it’s me and my damn perception. Jesus, I liked you better when you were all business,” I gripe.
He holds up his hands. “And that’s your prerogative on all counts. Enjoy your class.”
I’m left to sip my coffee, stew over Saint’s words, and wonder why half a million in cash has done nothing to quell my need for revenge.
Fabien
The present
“What did the warden say?” My leg bounces up and down impatiently as Saint enters the room.
“He’s reviewed your sentence and thinks we can get around it with a time served recalculation. One million cash at the drop point, and you walk out of here within twenty-four hours of the transfer.”
“Make the drop when you leave,” I order without hesitation.
“Boss, if I may,” Saint says meekly.
“Let’s hear it.” I motion with my hand.
“The warden’s ask is outrageous. You have less than a week left on your sentence.”
“It is fucking outrageous, but the element of surprise will be worth it.” I relay the plan to ambush my brother, backed by Kirksey’s crew.
“And your sister?” Saint worries.
I drag a hand down my face. “Angelo’s cut off our communication. No clue what bullshit he’s fed Al. But one problem at a time. Get me out of here, and I’ll worry about my sister and everything else.”
“Yes, boss.”
“And what of your meeting with Nic?” I play it cool, but internally I’m reeling, because I don’t know where my cousin’s loyalties lie.
“He said he will support the Calvani boss one hundred percent.”
A frustrated growl rumbles in my chest. “That’s a cop out if I ever heard one.”
“Hedging his bet, sir. It’s not a bad move. He reported that all the capos feel the same way. No one wants to risk his neck in this feud between you and your brother.”
“They’re not overtly backing Angelo, so I guess I’ll take it,” I grumble. “What’s my wife doing today?” I held off getting my Sienna fix as long as I could.
“She began her morning with training Lacey to kill you upon command.”
My head falls back on a laugh. “Fuck, I love her so much.”
“Um, boss, I’m not joking.”
“She’s still angry at me.” But I’ll take Sienna’s anger over indifference any day of the week.
“It’s more than anger, sir. She’s plotting your demise, and you’ve just given her the funds to finance her escape,” Saint worries, reporting on the hotel deal having gone through.
“My wife can try to off me.” Honestly, it wouldn’t be a bad way to go out. “But I’m not letting her slip through my fingers a second time. Pen and paper.”
Saint produces those, and I get to work making my case.