The Arrangement Anthology (118 page)

“I have you, so you lose.”

“Mel will kill you if you hurt me.”

Sean laughs and backs away. The sound frightens me, because it’s so far removed from what he normally sounds like. It’s not a sound of joy, it’s a chime of something dark. “Don’t you get it? Everyone around you was a plant: cops, narcs, even assholes like me. Everyone around you wants to be first to get to your mom’s stashed documents. She made a fatal error, taking the documents with her. I’m sure she thought they’d be leverage, but in the end they just led to her early demise, and they will do the same to you. You can’t keep them. It’s not an option.”

“What are you saying?”

“Mel is playing you just like everyone else. There’s no one you can trust, Avery. There’s nowhere to go.”

Trystan’s name pops into my head. There’s no way he’s involved in all this. It’s as if Sean knows what I’m thinking and laughs that horrible sound again. “He can’t protect you, but I’m sure he’d give you what you want. A little house and a baby are right up Scott’s alley. He’ll get the family he never had. Go back to him. You’re perfect for each other. Just give me the documents first.”

His reaction to Trystan throws me off. My face scrunches together as I try to decipher his meaning. “
Go back to him?
You think I belong with Trystan? Is that why you’ve gone nuts?”

“You were already with him.” My body stiffens without meaning to and a chill runs over my skin. Sean glances at me out of the corner of his eye. “It’s fine.”

“No, it’s not fine. I don’t even know what happened that night, so how can you be so sure?” The memory of Trystan’s kisses lights up in my mind. I wanted him so badly, but I really just wanted him to be Sean. “Things didn’t progress very far.”

“Scott told me he’d steal you if I didn’t treat you better. Imagine, all it took was Mr. Big Shot dropping his pants and you fell at his knees like a cheap whore. Wait a second...” Sean smiles at me, as if he couldn’t care less.

My shoulders square off. “You told him to take care of me. He did.”

“I didn’t tell him to nail you.”

“He didn’t.”

“You two looked pretty cozy together.” The anger fades from his face. Sean runs his hand through his hair. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Just give me the documents and go back to Scott. It’ll ensure your survival and his.”

“Sean, I wanted you, you dumbass!” I’m so livid, so furious, and so afraid he’s going to walk out that door, ruining his life and mine. “I’ve always wanted you!”

The corner of his lip twitches up and then falls. He steps toward me. Gazing down into my face he breathes, “I want things that would make your skin crawl. What I want is so far past what you want, what you need, that you can’t even fathom it. The things I’d do to you,” he bites his lower lip and lowers his gaze to my chest and back to my eyes, “you’d never forgive me. That’s what I want. That’s what I need. We’re incompatible, so it’s time to stop pretending. You go on with your life and play the happy wife, while I do what I have to do.”

“Sean, it doesn’t have to be like this.”

“It does.” His jaw locks, as if he’s keeping himself from saying more. Sean walks out the door without another word.

Chapter 9

Peter stands next to his car, scanning the dunes for me. I have no idea what to tell him. Sean’s lost his mind. When Peter sees me, he runs over. “Are you hurt?”

I shake my head and tell him what Marty told me to say. “Sean’s fine. Marty took him because it was an easy way to get to me.” The lie tastes like acid in my mouth, burning my tongue as I speak it. Peter is a great guy and I don’t want him hurt because of me. Sean and Marty made sure that Sean’s brothers would be safe. Their plan provides safety for everyone if Sean is able to take over Campone’s criminal activities. Peter can’t know, and I won’t tell him. He’s been kind to me, and I don’t want him to get hurt.

“Where did he take you?” Peter opens the car door for me, waits for me to get in, then he shuts it gently behind me, ever the gentleman.

“I don’t know. He just wanted to talk to me.”

“About what?” Peter jumps into his seat and we shoot across the bridge like it’s on fire. He can’t get me away from here fast enough. I feel like I’m going to puke. This is the part where I have to decide who to trust and who to cut free. I trust Peter, but I like Sidney. I want to make sure Peter makes it to their wedding.
 

I stare at the water racing by my window, repeating the things I was told to say. Sean will be deposited at the Babylon train station at midnight and Marty will flee. But that’s not what will really happen. Instead, Marty will turn himself in and Sean will drop the charges. Marty will pay a few fines and everything will be like it was before, except now I know the truth. Up until now, I thought the person I needed to be afraid of was Miss Black. Now, she seems to be the least of my worries.

Peter’s voice reaches through my thoughts. “Avery?”

“Hmm?” I glance over at him. I’d been staring at the causeway, and mentally drifted from the conversation.

“So, no ransom?”

I shake my head. “No, it was personal. With Marty, it’s always been personal. He loves me.” He told me to say that. It’s the only excuse for his behavior that everyone will swallow without question. “He tried to get me to forgive him. I said I couldn’t, that I love Sean.” My voice cracks, because after all this time, after all these tales, I finally get to tell someone the truth. But it won’t matter because once Sean does this, there’s no going back.

I was full of it when I said I could take Campone’s place. I’d be dead in a day. That man was a lunatic, killing as he pleased. The part of Sean that feeds on fear and control will thrive in that life. I can’t let it happen, but I don’t know what to do. Glancing at Peter, I watch the side of his face, wondering if I should tell him everything. The Ferro family is full of devious people, but Peter isn’t a Ferro, not anymore.

I could go to Constance for help, but it’s possible she’s already one of the players in this game. Mel is a question mark, so is Gabe. Amber and Naked Guy are dead because of this, because of me. Bryan is dead too, and Sean is throwing away his cousin’s gift by doing this.
 

I can’t allow it. I won’t let him do this. Somewhere inside Sean is a man that’s protective and will sacrifice himself to save everyone else. He did it to save the memory of Amanda and now he’s doing it to save me. I need help. By the time I decide to say something to Peter, we’re passing Babylon Village and getting farther east. I didn’t even ask where we’re going. I just got into his car and let him drive.
 

“Peter, I need to ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

Once I say these words I can’t take them back. Peter has a life ahead of him. Peter escaped this life and all the crap that comes with it. But without him, Sean will die. He’ll fall deeper into Hell and become the demon he thinks he is. “Peter, I—”

Before I can tell him, his phone rings. SEAN FERRO lights up on the screen. “Oh, thank God.” Peter clicks the green button and answers on speaker. “You had us worried, bro. Avery said he didn’t want you. You ok?”

“I’m fine.” Sean sounds pissy, but doesn’t come across with the strength I know he has—he’s going to blindside them all. Every one of Campone’s men will think Sean is weak, recovering from a bullet wound. They won’t see what hit them until it’s too late. Sean is planning a lot more than he said, that much I’m sure. “That little shit was just trying to scare me. I’m in Babylon, at the train station. Any chance you could head this way.”

“No problem, we were just passing through. I’ll be there in ten.” The line goes dead. Peter lets out a sigh of relief. “I couldn’t stand to lose him, too. Not after everything we’ve been through. He doesn’t talk about it much, but Amanda’s death hit him really hard, and the trial nearly destroyed him. Sean wants to be a pillar of steel, but he’s not. No one can hold it together that long and not break. If I didn’t have Sidney,” he shakes his head and lets out a nervous laugh. Glancing at me, he tips his head. “What were you saying?”

Peter turns onto Montauk Highway, heading toward the station. My gut squeezes hard. He’s going to lose Sean. There’s no way to get out of this and keep Peter’s family intact. I stare at the dashboard, thinking.
 

“Avery?”

“I can’t tell you.” I look over at him, wishing that I could.
 

“Are you in trouble?” Peter’s worry lines crease deeper as he glances from me to the road. He slows his approach to the station. “Talk to me. Maybe I can help.”

“I know you can help, but it’s bad, Peter.” Staring at my hands I try to figure out a way to get his advice without involving him, but flounder. “I’m in some messed up stuff, up to my neck.”

“We’ve all been there. Talk to me, I can help.”

“You haven’t been here, Peter. I can promise you that. I don’t think anyone in your family has, and I want to keep it that way.” I look up at him and our eyes meet. He catches my meaning.

“Sean is trying to save you, isn’t he?” I nod. “But he won’t be able to save himself.”

“That.” The word sticks in my throat. “What do I do?”

“Tell me everything so I can help you.” Peter pulls the car over and stops. We’re still in town, not far from my parent’s old house. “Avery, that’s one thing Sean has never understood—he doesn’t have to do everything alone.”

“He won’t ask you for help, and I can’t steal your life. That’s what will happen if you help me. I’m going to get out and walk away. Take care of Sidney.” I push the door open and hop out onto the sidewalk.

“Avery, get back in here. Mel said to bring you back. I can’t let you walk around alone.”

“You need to save your brother. Don’t worry about me. Please, just believe me. I’ll do what I have to do. You keep Sean in your sight and don’t leave his side. He can’t do what he’s planning if you’re there. He won’t take you down with him. Promise me you’ll watch out for him.”

“Avery, I will, but—” Peter is about to say more, but I shut the door. Turning on my heel, I hurry down the street, losing myself in the crowd. I hear his voice calling me back, but I can’t do it. I need to get to the house before Sean, before he has a chance to save me and destroy himself.

Chapter 10

I go in the house through the back door and run into the kitchen, grabbing the coffee can. I remove most of its contents, leaving the envelopes and some of the other things inside. My cheap jacket has an inside pocket; I stuff the money and the papers inside it and zip them shut, clutch the coffee can under my arm and head for the back door.
 

As I pull it shut, Sean’s voice comes from behind me. “Hand it over, and walk away.”

Turning slowly, I hate myself for what I’m about to do, but I have to—there’s no other way. Shaking my head, I hold onto the can tighter. “Don’t do this, please. There has to be another way. Sean, you don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to martyr yourself to save me.”

He stares at me, those blue orbs unblinking. “This isn’t for you. It’s not even about you.” He steps closer, closing the space between us. “It’s about me and always has been. Get that through your head.”

“You’re a bad liar, especially when it comes to protecting someone you love.”

“I don’t love you.”

“You mean you don’t want to love me, but you do. You mean you can’t stand the thought of losing me, so you’re doing this. You’ve ensured that everyone is safe, everyone except you. This will destroy you, Sean. You can’t do this.” I tighten my grip on the coffee can and move it farther from him.

Sean reaches out and rips it from my hands. “Too bad, because I just did.” He opens the lid, sees the envelopes, and then seals the can again. “Stay out of sight for a few days.”

“I won’t let you do this.”

“You already have.” He smiles at me and shakes the can, before turning on his heel. Sean’s shoulders are squared and rigid. He doesn’t look back.

Chapter 11

Before Sean even gets to his car, I start fence hopping. Soon, I’m half a mile away with too many houses and streets between us to count. I run and catch a bus that’s just pulling away from the curb. The driver stops and lets me on. “Thanks,” I say.

The driver nods as I pay and head toward the back, out of sight. The driver closes the doors and moves on, winding up and down the streets until we’re on the highway. It’s not the best place to read, but it might be the only chance I have. I pull out a document and start reading, but it doesn’t make sense. I pull out another and another, scanning, reading as fast as I can. The bus rolls along, and I doubt Sean is far behind me.

The next time the bus stops, I look up and an old woman takes the seat next to me. She glances at my papers and chuckles to herself. “I haven’t seen that kind of shorthand in a long time.”

“Shorthand?”

She nods. “It was commonly used about fifty years ago. I used it when I was a secretary in my early twenties, but then I married the boss.” She nudges me with her shoulder and laughs.

“So you can read this?”
 

She nods. “Of course.”

“Can you show me how?”

“Sure, it’s not hard once you understand it.” She takes a page and smiles. “The woman who wrote this was Italian, or at least she knew enough that it poked out now and again. Like this word, it’s not English, so that probably makes it harder for you to translate. Do you know where these documents are from?”

I shake my head. “They were my mother’s. She died and I found them while going through her things.”

“I’m sorry for your loss, dear.” Her old eyes scan the papers with renewed interest. She begins to laugh, shaking her head. “Well, your mother was a pip. She interchanged things. See this word? Iron? It’s a name, not a piece of metal. This mark here means it’s an account, see?”

Shaking my head, I look at the papers. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t get it.”

She points, “This column lists names, and this one has notes about them. See, Iron means Ferro—oh, that’s odd. Did she know the Ferro family? This mark here means that a sum of money was received and added to this account. Here’s the total. She’s made a notation that those funds weren’t found when closing the store—she must have been a bookkeeper. She matched the slip tape with the customer number. Smart woman. It’s just an account record, dear. Boring reading materials for a pretty little thing like you to be reading on the bus.” She smiles again, and pushes up. “Well, this is my stop. I’ve got to go to CVS before heading home. Have a good night.”