Silence fills the space for a moment, and I begin to wonder if he’s there. “Dane?”
“What’s going on with Cara?” he grunts. “And don’t fucking tell me everything is fine. She drunk dialed me last night in tears, but I couldn’t understand what the hell she was saying. Today I call her back and she says it was the alcohol talking. What the fuck is going on with her?” I can practically see him sitting there pulling at his hair. I can feel the tension and frustration and anger vibrating off of him through the phone.
“Dane she is an adult,” I say praying he doesn’t hear the worry in my own voice.
“Then she needs to fucking act like one. I’m coming home,” he tells me.
“No, Dane. You’re not coming home. You’re going to stay on tour.”
“Tori, my fucking head is not in this when I’m worried about you or Cara.”
“Then stop fucking worrying. I have everything under control.” All I can do is pray he doesn’t hear the lie.
More silence fills the line until I hear him release a breath. “In a month, we get a break. I’ll be home then to take care of this shit.”
I silently release my own breath. He may not have sacrificed his life for me, but he has for Cara. I am not letting this shit ruin it all. I will handle this mess, and, somehow, get Cara home safely.
I move to lean against the balcony railing, looking at a similar but somewhat different view from Zane’s of the river.
“In case you’re wondering, my place has the best view,” Bastian says coming to stand beside me. “I guess Zane’s does too. We get to see these tall buildings we’re in right now light up the evening sky and the connecting bridge.”
“Why do Rory and Jax live across the river from you guys?”
I look to him to see he’s really considering my words. He looks across the city, pointing nearly directly across at what looks like an old factory of sorts. “That’s my place. That’s Zane’s,” he points a little to the side which looks like only feet from here but is probably a few miles.“I don’t think it was intentional for us, but I think somewhere subconsciously we were trying to make sure each side of the river was watched after.”
“Mafia superheroes,” I say with a laugh.
“Che cazzo? No, no, no!” he exclaims with his unusual accent growing thicker. “Don’t mix us up with Batman or the Green Arrow. We are not the good guys. Everything you’ve ever assumed about the mafia, then it’s probably what we’ve done. But there are certain things we can’t stomach. And we protect our own.”
“Zane says that you’re getting out of the illegal activity without even realizing you’re doing it.”
“Huh,” he says with a disbelieving chuckle. “He may be right, but it is still in our blood. You know about Romano? Well, we did that, and you better believe I’d do it again.”
“See, vigilante justice,” I grin.
He shakes his head. A few lines form around his eyes as his smile grows wider. “You’re something else Tori. “Verity took off like lightning was after her when I told her, and she was raised in this. She just didn’t know it at the time.”
“Well, I was raised in foster care for a long time, remember? I’ve seen the real bad guys.”
“Something happen to you?” His voice takes on a menacing tone.
I shake my head. It’s the one thing I am soverygrateful for. “No, but I knew plenty of kids that it did happen to. I always took off when I thought they were coming for me too.”
“Why’d you end up there?”
“My mom was an addict. She just dumped me one day. Never knew my dad.”
“You see,” he says looking me dead in the eye. “That’s what I’m talking about. It’s guys like me that get the drugs to people like your mom. There may be a few others in between but it all comes from us.”
“You may supply the supplier but she’s the one who chose to put the needle in her arm, Bastian. She chose drugs over me.”
He gives a slight nod as his eyes move back over the river. “Give anymore thought to my offer?”
“That was just yesterday,” I snort.
“Seems to me a lot of things have worked themselves out since then too.”
“My brother is in New York.”
