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With that, he un away

I ain before I co d

own the wall, knees curled to chest, trying to reardless of the consequences

"Get it together," I snapped atmyself to climb off the floor, clean up the mess I'd made, drink my juice and eat my dry cereal

Common sense said I needed to lay low for a couple of days, let security get lax again, allow Luca Grassi to believe his threats had worked, that I had gone back to California

The problem was, this was a time-sensitive matter I couldn't just hide away in this hotel room for a few days

I had to be back on the pier that night

And I had to try not to get caught

Chapter Three

Luca

"New York isn't happy,"to sit down at the table at the back of our fa the soft overhead light

Everything was bouncing with energy around us

The bartender's knives tapped the cutting boards as they sliced fruit for the drinks The hostessesstaff and bussers rushed around dressed all in black, doing side work, prepping for the shift ahead

Their practiced efficiency made my slow, sleep-deprived brain feel lazy and useless as I sat in the high-backed booth, one of several that lined the back of the restaurant, allowing privacy to couples or—in our case—fas

Matteo was nowhere to be found, which had ceased to surprise enes, I got all of theo without He handled his niche—albeit very loosely—and left all the heavy lifting to me And our father, to some extent