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"I need to see what’s wrong withthe phone "Is he upset?"

"I can’t tell for sure"

Jason grabbed his coat and escorted her out the door just as her father hung up the phone, his face pale and shocked He stepped closer to his truck, shaking, then balanced hiainst him and lifted a palm to his cheek "Marco?"

Gia ran to her dad, flanking his side and taking hold of his arm "What is it?"

He tensed, sed, then lifted his head to stare at theaze steadied on Mila before shifting back to his wife "Ricky Wayht

Fifteen minutes later, they sat around the breakfast table in her parents’ kitchen Ma coffee Mila settled Little Tony in front of the TV in the next rooers with her own Daddy didn’t say a word

"Who gave you the news? What happened exactly?" Gia asked finally as Mila entered the kitchen again and Mahed "Sergeant Miller called He still works at the precinct, right?"

She nodded "He’s retiring in March"

"He thought I’d want to know that Wayht with one of his hounshot"

Gia sat back in her chair, the shock still pinging inside her A thousand eer Ways to kids Whoever had shot him had probably done the human race a favor But she’d wanted to arrest him and at least try to make him answer to a jury and the prison syste, not when he lived so violently hi

"Do we knohy?" she asked

Mila breathed a sigh of relief "Do we care why? He’s dead, and I say good riddance Wayman shot your brother in cold blood, and I hope he pays for what he’s done in Hell"

"I can’t disagree," her father said gruffly, sipping at his coffee But he still looked shaken

Mama reached out and tucked her hand in his "I know I should look at it differently as a good Christian, but that cri fro ive him Maybe now that he’s reaped what he’s sown, I can I don’t know But I also know there’s athe loss of her son She willand Christmas, every year his birthday passes, every ti he would have enjoyed… Even if her son cooes out to her"

Daddy nodded fiercely and wrapped his ar loudly into her hair as if trying to get a hold of his e moment later, he kissed her head "His death probably saved lives And right or wrong, I feel a sense of closure now"

Gia didn’t She was relieved in a way, but even more, she felt cheated The whole swirl of eht now had to be about her family

Beside her, Mila sobbed quietly "I know Way my husband back" Her breath hitched on his na that er again He can’t rob any other woman of her husband or son Maybe noe can all move on with our lives"

Beside Gia, Jason squeezed her hand She knew she should let go of her anger against Waye to focus on to her own fareat But how did she just forget the fact that she’d needed to give her family--and herself--some finality before she et closure from DPD," her father added cynically

"What do youshe didn’t?

"Think about it A good cop died and no one lifted a finger? The story of an officerbarely made it to the press And Patrick recanted his eyewitness testimony after a few days"

"Yeah," she drawled "And I have little doubt he bought a boat with the bribe that made him suddenly ‘unsure’ of what he’d seen I even reported hi or they just don’t care"

"That’s what I’ offthe brass I can’t prove that, but I know he targeted your brother because Tony refused to be bought"

Gia sat back, feeling flattened all over again It all made sense, and she should have seen it sooner But no, she’d wanted to believe that the people she worked eren’t corrupt assholestheir pockets than justice She felt da to return to hen her stay with Jason was up and look those people in the eye without wanting to rail and screa He pulled it frolanced at the screen, then stood "I should take this You okay?"

She nodded "Yeah"

Sort of, anyway She ht self-co Hell, what else didn’t she know?

"Excuse me for a minute" Jason nodded and ducked out of the room

Gia watched him ease out the front door with his phone pressed to his ear, his posture telling her he was already in business ht," her father coh

She nodded, then reached for Daddy’s hand "It has, but I want you to know that I’ out of her chair with her hands on her hips "Hell, no"

Blinking, Gia stared at her usually reserved sister-in-law "What the…"

"You listen to ive up one more minute with your husband! Tony and I had six wonderful years together Even though they ended terribly, I wouldn’t trade a second with hiave me a year when your place ith Jason Don’t spend ret I should have been standing on my oo feet all this time I will from now on"

"If we had known you were needded, honey, ould have done so much more to pitch in and help" Mauilty "I let you handle everything because I felt lost iven me purpose and allowed me less time to "

"You weren’t up to it"

Her ed"