Gone - Anna Brooks Page 0,70
be in touch.”
“I’ll walk you out.” I stand, but she waves me off.
“You don’t have to do that. Thank you for your time.”
I wait until she drives away and then turn to my girl in bed. “That was perfect.”
“What if she finds out about Danny? I don’t want to go to jail. I don’t want you to go to jail.”
“She’s not going to find out. Trust me.”
Another car sounds in my driveway, and I squint out the window to see Brody pull up. He just got back from a wedding and volunteered to help out. He grabs a bunch of stuff from his trunk and then locks his vehicle before coming inside where I meet him in the living room. “Your system.” Setting the box full of wires on the floor, he pushes it to the corner. “I’ll start tonight when you guys get back, but I won’t be able to finish until tomorrow. I need light to do all the exterior.”
“Cool. Thanks.” As an extra precaution, I’m having a system installed. Q and Brody are good as hell at that shit, and since Q is busy with other stuff, Brody’s doing it. He’s also staying here while a few of us go pay a visit to some of the suspects before the cops do.
“Thanks aren’t necessary. Go find the bastard who did this.”
“Let me go say goodbye to her before I leave.”
He nods and walks around the house, checking windows, exits, all the normal shit I’d do, too.
Izzy is sitting up, and I rush to her as she tries to stand. “What are you doing?”
“I need to pee.”
“Let me help you.”
She shakes her head. “I’m fine. It doesn’t hurt to put some weight on it. I need to stretch my legs anyway.”
“Iz—”
“Damien, I’m fine.”
I grit my teeth and then wait for her to get inside the bathroom before calling Judy to come with me so I can let her outside. Brody is finishing up a text on his phone, and I open the back door and let her out, glancing at the open space before she runs free. “I have Judy in a guarding command. She’s going to stay at Izzy’s side until I tell her otherwise. She’ll be cool with you, though.”
“Sounds good.”
Judy runs back in and heads straight for the bathroom, waiting for Izzy. I close the back door and lock it, and by the time I turn around, Iz is limping down the hall. “What the hell are you doing?” I rush to her and scoop her up.
“I’m hungry, and when I walked, my ankle wasn’t bad at all. I can’t sit in the room forever, Damien. I’m going to go crazy.” She lifts her head and looks over my shoulder. “Hi, Brody.” She knows him from some parties that I wasn’t at, I guess.
“Hey, Bella. Glad to see you’re doing better.”
“Thanks.”
I carry her to the kitchen and set her on a chair. “What do you want?”
“I want you to go do whatever you’re going to so you can come back. I’m freakin’ out that you or Gio are going to get hurt or in trouble, and I want all this shit to just be over.”
Brody slowly backs out of the room when she yells, and I pull her up and wrap my arms around her. “It’s all going to be okay. I’m gonna figure it out. We’ll get to the bottom of this and forget it ever happened.” Even though we really don’t have any leads other than our list of suspects. It’s gotta be one of them; textbook case of the victim knowing the assailant.
“Why did it happen in the first place? Who the hell would want me dead? I still don’t understand.”
I don’t know if she’s really upset or trying to stall me, but I need to leave. I just can’t, not when she’s this upset. “Listen to me. I’m going to figure it out. It seems a bit too coincidental that Mario is back and this happened. I’m sure he had something to do with it ’cause he’s a fuckin’ moron. Don’t worry.” I lie right to her and hate that I do, which is why we need to get on this now.
“How can I not? Even if it was him, he wanted me dead. How messed up is that? I saved his life, and that’s how he fucking repays me? After he already screwed me over with Danny.”
“Izzy baby, listen to me.” I push her away and hold her at arm’s