Page 90 of The Golden Hour

For a moment, her features soften. “Yeah. We met on campus last year.”

“Then why were you upset about Finn?” Before she can answer, I understand. “You didn’t want the family to know you were seeing someone, did you?”

“Hell no. They wouldn’t have cared how smart, driven, or kind he was—all they would’ve seen is the color of his skin. And now that I know what actually happened to David, I’m extra fucking glad I never brought him around.”

“Me too.”

Her fingers find mine, link for a moment, then release. “That must have been a huge shock, finding out Lizzie killed David.” She nods toward the jail. “I’m glad she’s alive, but I hope they lock her in a padded room and throw away the key.”

Misery tightens my lungs. “I just wish…” I shake my head. Too many wishes, all of them ash. No going back.

Ellie murmurs, “You saw only the best of her. She worshipped you. Me? Hot sauce in my shampoo and dead squirrels in my bed were the very least of it.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Jesus. Where the hell was I when this was going on?”

“Oh, I don’t know, withstanding ongoing emotional abuse and alienation?” She touches my arm. “I’m sorry, Calli. For what a bitch I was to you.”

“Same.”

We share a smile—sad and small.

“What now?” I ask.

“My boyfriend’s dad says we need to make a plan for the house and businesses and whatever else.”

“I don’t care what you do,” I tell her honestly. “I don’t want anything, any money.”

“Good, because after Mom’s trial and all the lawsuits coming our way, there won’t be any left. And you know what? I’m kind of looking forward to it. No more blood money.”

“Do you think Vivian will…” I swallow the words, afraid to even say them aloud.

“Not a chance. She’s my mom, so yeah, I’m getting her a lawyer, but I heard the tape from that night. What she did to your mom, our dad, the shit she said…” She shakes her head. Her lower lip quivers a moment before she squares her shoulders and lifts her chin. “It’s about time someone in this family besides you did the right thing. She’ll pay for her crimes. I promise.”

For all that we share a father and grew up under the same roof, Ellie and I are cut from separate cloth. We might never be close, or even friends, but I’m suddenly overwhelmed with deep love for her. For the woman she’s become in spite of our family.

“I’m proud of you,” I tell her.

She smiles softly. “I’m proud of you, too. You turned out to be a total badass.” An SUV pulls up to the curb beside us. She waves to the driver, a handsome African American man who smiles back. “This is my ride. Don’t be a stranger, okay? Or disappear again.”

“Deal.”

“Oh, I almost forgot—this came to the house for you.” She pulls an envelope from her purse and hands it to me. No return address. My name and the Calabasas address handwritten on the front. Ignoring it for the moment, I hug my sister.

This time, she hugs me back.

When she’s gone, I walk to a small shaded area on the outside of the building and lean against the stucco wall to open the letter. Inside is a single sheet of paper with only a few lines of text, penned by the same masculine hand that addressed the envelope.

After much thought, we’ve decided not to seek recompense for your deeds. Consider your life as payment for ridding us of your troublesome family. Let this be the last time we hear your name.

D.A.

My arm falls, leaden, to my side.

D.A. can only be one person—Dimitri Avellino. My father’s cousin, head of the Avellino family in Chicago, who had his own son murdered for being gay and his niece killed for trying to escape. Who, with a single order, could make me disappear for good.

My head drops against the wall. Hysteria bubbles in my throat, but I choke it back, swallowing repeatedly until the sensation passes.

Inflaming the other side of the family was always a risk, of course. One I weighed against the likelihood they wanted Vivian gone as much as I did. Having a woman in charge of the family out here must have been a thorn in their side.

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