Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

I t's strange having so many people around me. I'm used to working alone. Or at least having Mikhail's guys stay outside. Now, not only do I have Ivan inside my office, I also have Santo.

I could literally cut the tension in here with a knife. The two don't seem to like each other. And honestly, if I had to put money on it, I think Santo would come out the victor if they went at it. I don't know what it is, but he just seems the most unhinged.

"I'm getting coffee. You want something, Zoe?" Ivan asks, pushing up from the small office chair he's been occupying for the last two hours.

"No, I'm good. Thank you." I smile at him.

I'm really not good. I've been trying to pretend they're not here. I've been acting like I'm going through the motions of working, but it's really damn hard to concentrate with an audience. Like I said, I'm used to working alone. I like being alone.

When the door closes behind him, Santo clears his throat, causing me to look up at him.

"What?" I ask him.

"What's wrong with you?"

"You want the full list? I don't think there's enough time in the day for that."

"Why are you making us sit here while you pretend you're working when you're not actually doing anything?"

"I'm trying to work. It's hard with you both in here." I sigh.

"Why?"

"Because it's weird."

"Just pretend we're not here." He shrugs.

"That's not easy." I rub at my temples.

"Why don't we take a lunch break? You look stressed."

"I'm not stressed. I'm… I don't know what I am, but I'm not stressed," I tell him.

Ivan walks back in with a to-go cup of coffee in his hand. I glance in his direction before a sound at the window has me turning that way instead. I frown as my glare lands on the outside ledge. The bird's back.

"Fuck. We need to get out of here," Ivan says.

"Not you too," I groan while spinning back around in my chair.

"What?" Santo questions.

"It's just a bird, Ivan, not an omen," I tell him. "You guys need to cool it with all this superstitious shit."

"What's a bird an omen for?" Santo asks me.

"Mikhail claims it means death is coming. Like I said, it's just a superstition."

Santo looks from me to Ivan before pushing to his feet. "Bring the car around. We were just about to go for lunch anyway. Come on, Zoe."

"Be out front in two minutes. Do not let her out of your sight." Ivan points to Santo, who offers him a mock salute in return.

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"Come on, not you too."

"I'm hungry. Let's go eat," Santo tells me, taking my bag from my shoulder and putting it over his.

"You believe the bird thing, don't you?" I sigh.

"It's not that I believe it. It's just that I don't not believe it. Besides, if I ignore it and something happens to you, Marcel's heart will break and I don't want any of my brothers to experience what I have."

"You're right. Let's just play on the side of caution. Why don't we go back to my place for lunch? We can order something and have it delivered?" I suggest.

"Sounds good." As we're walking out of the office, Santo sticks really close to my side. He opens the back door of Ivan's car before climbing in after me.

"We're going to my place. Ordering in," I tell Ivan.

"Sure," he responds, already pulling the car out into traffic.

I smile when my phone rings and I see Marcel's name on the screen. "Hey."

"Hey yourself. Where are you going?" he asks.

"Are you tracking me?" I question him.

"Yes, now, where are you going?" he says as if tracking someone's movements is a completely normal thing to do.

"To my place. Your brother needs food," I tell him.

"He can fend for himself. You don't need to cater to him, Zoe."

"I know. What are you doing?"

"I'm heading to your place now. I'll be there in five," he tells me.

"How was Gabe?"

"Good. I'll see you in a few," Marcel says before disconnecting the call.

"Okay then," I say out loud. I stare at my phone for another second, then quickly pocket it.

"Don't take it personally. We've been trained not to say too much over the line. It's ingrained," Santo tells me.

That actually explains a lot. At the start, Marcel was hesitant to share too much. Now, though, he tells me as much as he can. I'm sure there's still a lot he doesn't say and that's okay. Because honestly, I don't need to know everything he and his brothers do.

"Marcel is meeting us at my place," I tell Santo.

"You okay?" His eyes seem to sear into me. It's as if he can see right through me. It's weird.

"I'm okay. Are you?" I ask him.

"I haven't been okay for months. But I'm dealing with it," he says.

"I haven't been okay for years," I whisper. "But I'm dealing with it too." I look at Santo before gesturing between the two of us. "Are we becoming friends? Is this what this is?"

"Friends? Family? I don't know." He shrugs. "Do the memories ever fade?"

I shake my head. "They don't. But they become easier to see."

"She would have liked you. Shelli, I mean. I think you guys would have been friends," he says.

"Maybe. I'm kinda hard to be friends with."

"I don't think you are. Besides, you won over Marcello's icy heart. That in itself is an achievement."

I smile. "I don't think you win people over. I think that when you fall in love, it just happens and there's nothing either person can do to avoid it. Like you just see someone. And before you know that it's love, you feel it."

"I don't believe in love at first sight."

"You didn't love Shelli at first sight?"

"We were teenagers when we met. It was lust for sure, but love? That developed over the years," he says.

I have a feeling that, although there's no doubt that Santo loved Shelli, she wasn't his real true love. The kind that changes your entire life. I think that is still coming for him. Of course, I'm not stupid and keep these thoughts to myself.

Ivan stops at the front of my building, where Marcel is leaning up against the wall waiting for us. "Thanks," I say, moving to open the door.

"Wait… I'll get it," Ivan says, cutting the ignition before jumping out on the driver's side.

Santo is next to me. He gets out on the other side of the car when Ivan opens my door. Just as I'm about to climb out, Ivan slams the door shut again and then blood splatters all across the window. His blood. His lifeless eyes meet mine right before his body falls.

I hear screaming. My own screaming. And then I remember Marcel is out there.

No, no, no. This is not happening.

I slide across the seat and push out Santo's door. I don't think of anything but getting to Marcel as I round the car. That's when I stop. He's on the ground too. Santo is holding a hand against his brother's chest. There's so much blood. I look to my right and see Ivan, and then my feet finally decide to move again.

I need Marcel. I need to get to Marcel. This isn't happening.

I take one step towards him when something hits the back of my head. Pain radiates through my skull, my vision blurs, and I feel arms wrap around my body. And then everything just fades out.