Page 77 of My Neighbor's Secret

Carlo asks what the guy looked like, and Auggie and I furiously describe him.

“Paolo,” Carlo mutters, running a large palm across his dark beard. “FuckingPaolo.”

Auggie is panting, same as me. He sucks in a huge inhale, probably trying to calm himself down, and blurts, “You seriously didn’t send him? If you’re pranking us, then tell us now.Please.”

“I didn’t send him.”

“Fuck,” I choke out, as the full horrendousness of the situation dawns on me. “We gave him everything, Carlo. Every dime we owed.Plus interest.”

“Interest?” Carlo booms. “What?” A vein pulses in his neck. “Charlotte, we had a plan! You know I’d never change a plan without telling you myself.Never.”

“Fuck,” Auggie murmurs under his breath. He’s pacing, gingerly, in little circles, like a duck with a broken wing. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Carlo grabs my arm. Not roughly. He’s just feeling a surge of adrenaline, I think, and he wants my full attention. But Auggie leaps to my defense and grits out, “Let go of her.”

I’m impressed and flattered. But he’s misread the situation. Carlo wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, I mean, I’m sure he’s killed people. But he wouldn’t hurt me.

To his credit, Carlo lets go of me and raises both palms, letting Auggie know he meant no harm or threat. When the moment is diffused, Carlo inhales deeply, like he’s searching forany drop of Zen he can muster, and says, “Tell me every fucking thing Paolo said and did, without leaving anything out. I want every detail, no matter how small it might seem.”

Our threesome heads into a corner of the bustling baggage claim area, so we can talk away from the all the crowds and hustle-bustle. As my heart crashes and my stomach churns and tears stream down my face, I ramble the whole story to Carlo, with occasional assists from Auggie. Throughout our telling, I keep hoping against hope Carlo will break into a crooked smile and say, “Gotcha! Haha! You should have seen your faces!” But no such luck. The more we talk, the more it’s clear Carlo is deeply distressed by our fuck-up. We’ve been hoodwinked. Conned. Bamboozled. Paolo somehow caught wind of Carlo’s plan—and our three-wayguilt—and he then used the juicy information to con himself into a cool and easy seventy-five grand.

“He said we’d see him at the party,” I gasp out hopefully. “So, maybe we’ve got this all wrong.”

“He won’t be there,” Carlo says flatly. “He’s gone rogue. I’m sure he said that so you wouldn’t be suspicious of him.”

Auggie’s chest heaves. “Unless . . . Could it be Paolo was sent to get the money from us at someone’selse’sdirection?”

Carlo runs a rough hand through his dark hair. Auggie’s meaning is clear enough. He’s wondering if maybe Mr. DiMarco himself caught wind of my thievery somehow—and Carlo’s simultaneous betrayal of him, too—so, the big boss sent Paolo to Seattle to see if the information he’d obtained was correct. If that’s the case, then, surely, we confirmed everything well enough, by handing the money over.

“What should we do?” I whisper-shout, wringing my hands. “We’re all out of money, Carlo. Maxed out on all our credit cards, so we can’t even offer a goodwill peace offering to the big boss to convince him to give us more time.”

“The big boss didn’t send Paolo to you,” Carlo says. “I’d bet anything on it. If my boss found out about me looking the other way when you took that money, I’d already be at the bottom of the Hudson. Trust me on that. Paolo was acting alone. Getting an easy payday. I’m sure of it.”

“Can you give us a short-term loan?” I beg. “We can get you the money in two weeks. We just need—"

“I can’t do that, sweetheart. I’ve got a wife now. A baby. My wife wouldn’t understand me doing that. She pays all the bills. Plus, I never lie to her.”

I look at Auggie. “Don’t panic, okay? I’ll call Tessa now and beg her to—”

“There’s no time for that,” Carlo interrupts. “We’re already late for the party and it’s after banking hours. Even if she agrees to send you the full amount, you wouldn’t get it till tomorrow at the earliest. Probably several days later than that, given the amount we’re talking about. And even then, I’d have to convert to cash, stuff it into a black duffel bag, and ‘find’ it at the airport. There’s no time.”

“So, what now?” Auggie says.

Carlo shrugs. “Our only choice is go to Bella’s birthday party and convince my boss you’re the same happy, carefree, fun-loving flight attendant he’s always known and adored, except for the fact that you’re now even happier because you’re engaged to the best guy, ever. You have to convince him you’re light as a feather and not feeling guilty or scared about a damned thing. Make him believe that, and we’ll be okay.”

“I don’t know if I can pull that off,” I choke out. “I feel like I could barf at any moment. My knees are wobbly. I can hardly breathe.”

“You don’t have a choice.” Carlo glares at Auggie. “And neither do you, Captain America, so wipe that terrified expression off your face and try to look like you’re living thedream.” To my shock, Carlo’s scowl suddenly morphs into a wicked smile. “You know what? Come to think of it, I think maybe this thing with Paolo could be a blessing in disguise.” His smile broadens. “I think maybe Paolo could be our fall guy now. Maybe this is our lucky break.”

“What do you mean?” Auggie asks, taking the words right out of my mouth.

“Now that I know that motherfucker is a greedy traitor, I can blamehimfor swiping the money in the first place. As long as you both do a good job today at the party, my boss won’t doubt me for a second when I tell him I’ve discovered Paolo’s the thief.” Carlo’s jaw sets and that vein in his neck bulges again. “Convince the big guy you’re as carefree as ever today, and I give you my word Paolo will take the fall for everything.” His dark eyes glint with homicidal rage—which, in Carlo’s case, isn’t a figure of speech. “I can’t wait to put that bastard in the big man’s crosshairs.” His nostrils flare. “Trust me, my friends, that traitorous motherfucker’s gonna deserve every fucking thing that’s coming to him.”

28

AUGGIE

“Charlotte!” a dark-haired woman calls out gleefully. “You made it!”

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