Page 50 of Inside the Sun

"Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize Martin meant so much to you. Do you want me to come over? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Thanks, Dad. But I’ll manage somehow. I’ve got classes, I need to prep for them. But thank you for calling. I love you. Please… remember that."

Silence.

I’ve NEVER said that to him before. Never told my dad I love him. Honestly, most of the time, I acted like the opposite. No wonder Dad’s pushing, his voice is tight with worry.

"Sweetheart, please, let me come see you tomorrow. Just for a little while."

I glance at Anzo, and to my surprise, he nods.

What the hell? Is he actually thinking about letting me go to the dorm?

Anzo raises two fingers.

"Fine. Drop by around 2:00."

"Great, I’ll swing by the dorm then."

"Sure. Bye."

I hang up, still stunned, and lift my gaze to Anzo.

"Why did you agree to that? What are you planning? You can’t hurt him! I did as you told me!" I blurt out.

Anzo tilts his head slightly.

"You think I’m an idiot, Sun?"

He leans in and lifts my chin with two fingers.

"You think that conversation sounded normal? Because I’m absolutely sure you don’t talk to him like that on a regular basis, you sneaky little fox. Telling him you love him, thanking him for calling? You were waving a giant red flag. That something’s wrong. Something’s off. Something extraordinary. I know that even if you had told him not to come, he still would’ve. So now I’m taking the bull by the horns…"

"Sir, please! It’s because you forced me to bring up Martin! I never talk about stuff like that! I always brush off breakups, so of course that got his attention… Please!"

Anzo tilts his head and rubs his chin. Then he says, "Well, okay. Your dad will come to the dorm, and this time you’ll play it smarter. You’ll meet in your room, but my guys will be in the neighboring ones, listening in. And if you do anything, and I mean anything, that might give away where you really are, they’ll come in and slit his throat right in front of you."

I’m shaking. Dammit. What the hell was I thinking, saying all that to Dad? Of course Anzo saw through it. Am I ever going to be one step ahead of him? Doesn’t seem like it.

I stare at him for a moment, thinking about what kind of person he must’ve been to beat two alpha brothers, to take over most of the business from his uncle and wipe out two other mob families in the city.

Maybe that’s just who Anzo is. Always one step ahead? Does he have slip-ups?

Oh, I read so many books about so-called ‘Gary Stu’ characters. So young yet so bright, and beats everything andeverybody. Smarter than the most genius villains! At just sixteen, saves the world. Yep, not here.

I just keep fooling myself, thinking I have a chance, and every time I lose.

Reset, reload the same dumb optimism, and boom, reality smacks me right in the face.

I swallow hard and speak quietly. "I’ll talk to him. I’ll smooth everything over. I swear, I won’t let him suspect anything. I just want him safe, sir!"

"No secret notes written on your palm. No whispering in his ear. No typing out messages on his phone. If you really love him, if you want him and the rest of your precious little family to live, you’ll calm him down and give him zero reason to come back here anytime in the next few weeks."

"Few weeks?"

The way he says it sounds like a deadline. Like that’s how long I have to stay alive. What happens after that, I have no clue.

College starts mid-September. There’s no way I’ll be able to keep pretending I’m living in the dorm once classes begin. If I don’t show up, my parents will find out sooner or later.

---