“I put out a few more feelers so that people know to be looking forMatteoin addition toJoey,”Frankadded.
“I calledAxelandDiegoand have them working on some background forMatteonow, too,”Vincesaid.
“Wait…”Aceinterrupted and paused as if putting some pieces together in her mind. “Pagano…Thatname sounds…vaguely familiar.Isit….That’sthe case you were working on when we met?”
“Yes.”Myresponse was more like a mumble. “Hewas part of the mafia groupItestified against.Wehad evidence, but some of it, the defense argued, was circumstantial.Itwas ultimately my testimony andManny’sthat put him away.Heshould have gotten life in prison with no parole for the crimes he committed, but he got off on two of the four charges due to a technicality and only ended up serving just under five years for killing two men.Thoughhe’s probably killed way more than that—those were just the ones we knew about and had evidence of.”
“Manny…”Shepaused as recognition hit her. “Hewas your roommate when we met, yes?”
I just nodded in response.
She gasped and then looked straight at me. “Didhe threaten to killManny, too?”
I was dreading this topic.Alleyes moved to me, andAcewas smart enough to pick up on it.
“What?Whatare you all not telling me?” she asked, hesitation in her voice but also determination.
“Manny’s already dead,”Ireplied somberly.
Her sharp inhale filled the room.IsawVince’seyes narrow with concern.
“What happened?”Aceasked as she looked into my eyes and clearly saw something.
“ThePaganosgot to him?” she asked, her voice full of emotion—mostly sadness. “Wasthat beforeIstarted staying here with you or since then?”
I really did not want to answer this.
“When did he die,Archer?” she asked, her voice stronger now and more determined.
I closed my eyes, taking a breath before answering her, butVincebeat me to it. “Itwas years ago,Anna, not recently.”
She closed her eyes, her head dropping down a bit.Mereseconds later, her head popped back up and her eyes went straight to me. “OhmyGod,” she said, likely having just put the pieces together.
“Don’t worry aboutManny,Anna,”Vinceadded. “We’vegot you covered.”
Clearly,Vincethought she was fearful of it being recent, butIknew why she’d said that.Shewas puttingallthe pieces together now, not just the ones in the present.
“When?” she stressed, looking at me.
I knew this day would come, butIhad hopedIwould have had her alone for this conversation.
“When,Archer?” she demanded.
“The day beforeIfiled for divorce,”Itold her honestly and decided to give her everything. “Hewas shot in a drive-by.Witnessesdescribed the shooter as one of thePaganoFamily’swell-known lackeys.Thenext day, all the witnesses recanted their story and the case went cold.Weburied him the day you andIsigned all the paperwork.”
She paled and stared right at me.Icould see her breathing pick up as she connected the rest of the dots. “Youdivorced me on purpose.”
“I didn’t want ‘till death do us part’ to be a reality so soon,”Iresponded. “Iloved you, soIdivorced you to save your life."
10
ARCHER
FIVE YEARS AGO
Realization had set in as to what we’d done.
Married.
