Page 100 of The Sound of Silence

I was no longer that girl who hated city living. Somewhere along the way, Queens, the underrated borough in the city that never sleeps, had become my home. It was a place for the culturally diverse and the working class—a place where I finally discovered who I really was. It would take me a lifetime to experience all the cuisines and cultures that resided in the borough, many of which Derek tried to show me when he was “old-fashioned courting” me. I’d fallen in love with Queens, just as I’d fallen in love with him. I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

When the cab pulled up in front of The Mill, I paid the driver and stepped out onto the pavement. My hands were clammy from anxious jitters, so I wiped them on my jeans. I was a nervous wreck about facing Derek. I hadn’t spoken to him since the night of Ethan’s death. When we spoke that night, police had been everywhere. There was no mistaking the questioning look in Derek’s eyes as I willingly climbed into the back of a police car. He’d been wondering if I had killed Ethan.

Technically, I didn’t—but I would have if it came down to it. Somewhere in my subconscious, I knew I’d been secretly planning to do exactly that. It would have been premeditated. Did Derek know that, too? When he saw me today, I worried if he’d still look at me the same.

Walking inside, I took stock of the gym, and my heart sank. Derek had reopened for business, but there were still large areas roped off where the damage had yet to be repaired. He hadn’t exaggerated when he called me the night of the break-in to describe everything Ethan had done. The place was literally an absolute mess.

I spotted Derek standing outside his office door, talking to an older man wearing a yellow hard hat. The man was pointing at one of the broken glass panels for the racquetball court, and I assumed he was a contractor here to repair the damages. Derek turned his head slightly and spotted me walking in his direction. His eyes widened in surprise, and he smiled a cheek-splitting grin. Quickly excusing himself, he closed the distance between us in three long, powerful strides.

He pulled me into his embrace, hugging me so tightly, I could barely breathe. I didn’t mind. The warm feel of his body against mine and the scent of his aquatic, woodsy cologne completed my homecoming. After a few moments, I pulled back and peered at him through lowered lashes.

“Hey,” I said quietly.

He touched the side of my face and my hair, almost as if he were testing to see if I was real.

“Sparky, where have you been? I was so…” He seemed at a loss for words before abruptly pulling me tight to his chest once more. Stroking my head, he whispered in my ear, “It doesn’t matter where you were. I’m just glad you’re back. God, I was so worried. When you didn’t answer my calls, and I didn’t know how to find you… The last time I saw you, you were being escorted to the police station.”

“I’m sorry about that. Really, I am. I went back to Cincinnati. I just needed time alone to work out some things on my own.”

“Such as?

“Derek, I…” I pulled back slightly to look at him. “When I’m with you, I feel too much. I had to eliminate that distraction—if that makes any sense.”

“Sort of, I think,” he said with a light chuckle. “But go on.”

“It’s over, Derek. I don’t have to worry about Ethan anymore.”

“I know that, but…” Raking a hand through his hair, worry lines marred his beautiful face. “Shit, Gianna. This past week has been the scariest in my life. Between me, Isabella, Christopher… we’ve all been freaking out, wondering what happened to you. The police wouldn’t give me a damn thing. Can you at least tell me a little about what the hell went down that day?”

“Your training happened. Your words.” I took a step back, held out my arm, and shifted my sleeve up. On the underside of my wrist, the words ‘I Am’ had been tattooed in a cursive font. The skin surrounding the ink was still shiny and pink, not yet completely healed.

“You got a tattoo.”

“I had it done a few days ago when I was in Cinci. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing, but I think it’s fitting. These were the words you made me say. I remembered them, and you saved me.”

“I saved you? Are you trying to say…”

“If you think I killed him, I didn’t. I want to be clear about that before it becomes an elephant in the room. But… I would have done it if I had to,” I added in a whisper.

“But you didn’t. Even if you had, nobody would blame you. That son of a bitch deserved to die. I wanted to kill him myself.” The venom in his voice caused me to shiver. “What else happened?”

I squeezed my eyes shut as I recalled the deafening crack of Ethan’s head connecting with the coffee table, the pool of blood, and my tears of relief.

“There was a fight. He said some things… He really was a complete stranger to me. His name wasn’t even Ethan Walker. For four years, my life was nothing but a lie. His name was Anthony Gallo.”

“You’re joking, right?”

I shook my head.

“I wish I was. He came after me, but I fought him off. He tripped, went down hard, and hit his head on the corner of a table. He died almost instantly. The police and the FBI easily deduced self-defense, and I’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing,” I assured. The clanking of weight machines in the background caused me to pause as I remembered where we were. I looked around at the people in the gym. Clients were busy with their workout as employees and contractors bustled about. Nobody seemed to be paying much attention to us, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t be overheard. “There’s more to the story, but that’s it in a nutshell. I don’t really want to get into it here. Okay?”

“Okay,” he agreed, nodding. “Why don’t we take a walk to La Biga, grab a coffee, and chat on the way.”

“That sounds like a perfect idea.”

Derek took my hand, and we began the short walk to the little coffee shop that had quickly become one of my favorite places in Queens.

“I like the tattoo. And you’re right—it is fitting. But I doubt you went all the way back to Cincinnati just for a tattoo. Are you going to tell me what else you were doing there?” he asked as we waited for the traffic light to turn, so we could cross the street.

---