Page 55 of Pretty Poison

“What was your mission then? Why were you sent here?”

“Dario has always been one of those guys that everyone hates and fears—they hate to fear him, but he brings it out in everyone. I guess Aldo just wanted it all to end. He wanted to weaken him to the point that the top spot was open so he could take it. He wanted the fear and power Dario has, but ever since our mission failed, he’s gained more respect and Aldo is no more. Or at least that’s what I assume. There’s no way he’d keep the nameandstick around. It’d be like waiting for impending death, which believe me, isn’t fun.”

“That’s it?” I ask. “That’s all? You came here to kill him and failed. You know nothing else?”

He stays silent, glancing up at the ceiling as if recalling his memories. “That’s it. There was no reason and he stayed anonymous up until the point we found him. We didn’twantto do it, but the money was too good to pass up. And to have a guy like him gone would’ve been a good thing for everyone.” He looks back at me. “But I got to know him in the six months thatI worked here and with every passing day, I knew more about him than he did about me and it didn’t seem like a fair trade. I was going to end it, call it off, but it was too late. Someone called them, informing them of a threat and eventually, when they realised it was us, we left. They held a grudge, of course, and made it impossible for us to escape. I thought my life ended when I found myself here, but it ended when I left Ares. Anything that has happened since is what I deserve for leaving the man I love.”

“They can’t keep you here if they know you did nothing. You’re not going to die here, Apollo. You’re just not.”

“You can’t stop the inevitable, Liana. This is something that is meant to happen. My actions have consequences, and this is one of them. You can’t save me from my own actions; that’s my job.”

“You might be my big brother, but this is something I can help with. Your job might be to look after me, but you can’t do that locked up in this… dungeon.”

“I’ve made my peace with it and so should you. I belong here because of what I did. Nobody forced me to pretend to be someone else; I did that all on my own.” His Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows. “Please, just leave. I’ve loved talking to you, but I’m exhausted now. We can talk another day.”

His words seem so painful to hear. I knew our body clocks were different, but I hate how fleeting our time spent together feels. He’s falling asleep in front of me, and it’s not even 8 pm. It feels so unfair.

“I’ll come back tomorrow, okay?”

He nods, pushing himself backward to the old, dirty mattress in the corner. A shiver runs through me, turning my blood cold. “You can’t sleep on that.”

“It’s comfier than the floor,” he says, his words coming out as a joke. “Besides, it was clean when I got here.”

I push back the feeling of disgust and leave, catching one last glimpse of him before the door closes.

“Anything?” Red asks, pushing himself off the wall opposite me.

“I’d like to see Savio first,” I tell him, taking the lead to his cell.

“You’ve been in there for almost an hour, Liana. He’s asleep.”

“What?” I ask, spinning on my heels. “I missed him?”

“You can talk to him tomorrow,” he says, approaching me with fast steps. “I’d like to get some sleep now.”

Twenty Four

LIANA

“So, what did he tell you?” Dario asks as we enter his bedroom.

“Pretty much what you figured,” I say, lying back on his bed. “He knows the man’s name, but everything stayed anonymous between them.” Propping myself up onto my elbows, I add, “He also said something about someone receiving a call, announcing their betrayal. You know, he wanted to tell you everything. He didn’t want to follow through with it.”

He stops untying his tie and spins around to face me. “He told you that?”

“Yeah, he felt like he knew you—like he’d known you for years. He felt it was an unfair trade between friends and wanted to make it right.”

“Well, we can’t change the past, can we?” he retorts, unbuttoning his shirt. “He and his little friend down there made the wrong choice, trusted the wrong person… They got themselves locked up, not the ghost. Whatever either of them says now to save their own asses, means nothing.”

Pushing myself up all the way, I cross one leg over the other and stare at him as my blood begins to boil. “I think they’re beyond ‘saving their own asses’, don’t you? What good would it bring them now?” He opens his mouth to speak but I continue. “Heonly knows the man’s name; he never met him, much like what Ace said. If you just gave them a chance to change—”

“Look, Liana,” he says, inching forward until his legs are blocking me from an escape. “Your brother made a mistake, and a big one at that. He and Ace or Savio, whatever you want to call him, crossed a line and there’s no going back. Now, they can either ensure they’ve told me everything they know or they can stay down there until they die. Either way, whatever happens is up to them.”

He exhales, leaning down over me. I lay back onto the mattress, counteracting his movements and keeping distance between us; though my body yearns for his touch. “There’s something they’re leaving out, I can feel it. It’s not as simple, nor as much of a dead end, as they’re making it out to be. There’s always something they’re leaving out—they just don’t remember it yet. But they will.”

Our faces are an inch apart; his warm, minty breath caresses my skin the way I wish his fingers would.

“Tell me, Liana, you claim you’re not a liar, but I’m sure you’ve told a few lies here and there, haven’t you?” I shake my head. “They can be white lies or full-fledged ones; either way, you have to have done it in your past.”

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