crime families in history. The Faustis. They were considered royalty in Italy and beyond, but Scott’s family saw them as nothing but low-down murderers who should all be sentenced to life without parole.
“Ms. Ryan,” Scott said, a serious look on his face, bringing my focus fully on him. “I regret to have to inform you that your roommate, Sierra Andruzzi, was found dead. We’ve been trying to get in touch with you, but this is the first time we’ve been able to.”
My legs moved without conscious thought. I didn’t realize I’d taken a seat on the sofa until I saw Mari move away from me after she and Harrison had helped me sit. “She…” I shook my head. “She told me she wouldn’t be back until later. Her ex-boyfriend. Armino. He was at our door earlier. Mad. She broke up with him. Did he…”
Armino Scarpone was Sierra’s latest conquest. He had money. Connections. His family was one of the five, meaning they were connected. He was a good-looking son of a bitch, but I had warned her about him more than once. Something about him rubbed me the wrong way. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who’d take no for an answer.
Sierra had told him no—she’d broken up with him.
He was at our door before Mari and I left for the fair, banging and shouting things at Sierra. She’d told us that he’d get sick of waiting around after a while and leave. Maybe she didn’t know him well enough, because he’d been sitting in his expensive car when we left, smoking a cigarette, watching our door.
“From what we’ve pieced together, Ms. Andruzzi ran to the store earlier, and that’s when she was assaulted and then murdered. It seems like she was headed back here. As of right now, we can’t say for sure. That’s why we’re here. To piece the time together.”
“I—” What was I even supposed to say?
“We hate to ask you to do this, Ms. Ryan, but would you mind coming with us to identify the body? We cannot find a next of kin for Ms. Andruzzi.”
“No,” I said, knowing they wouldn’t find anyone to claim her. “She was a foster kid.” She’d mentioned once, with a sharp, sarcastic twist of the tongue, that her mom was more concerned with eating pills than with feeding her food.
“My sister is not—”
“No,” I said, cutting Harrison off. “I’ll do it. It’s the least I can do for her. Let me grab my things.”
As I stood, Scott handed Harrison his card and told him the address to the place where Sierra was being held was on the back. Harrison told him we’d be there shortly.
Scott gave me a pointed look when he warned us that Armino might be lurking. We were the last people to see him before Sierra was murdered.
Before I went to grab my shoes, my eyes found Mari. She stood in the middle of the room, not sure what to do. She almost looked guilty. I knew it was because she didn’t like Sierra, but she felt bad that she had been murdered.
That made the two of us.
Even though their behavior was miles apart, I couldn’t separate their situations in my mind. If something ever happened to Mari?—hell no. I refused to even think about it. She was my sister. The only one I had left.
In that moment, she reminded me of a scared butterfly, not sure where to go to find safety. She had no place to go.
“Mari?” Harrison said before I could. “Come with us.”
I stood next to him, forming a unit.
“No,” she said. “I’d rather not.”
“You can’t disappear,” I said, and I made sure that she heard the pleading in it. “I need to know where you are. After what happened to you…and now tonight…” Without warning, I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her tight. It was what I wished I’d done to my sister before she left and I never saw her again.
“Can I stay here?” she asked, her voice breathy. She wanted to step out of my embrace—affection made her uneasy—but she didn’t move.
“Sierra’s old man.” Harrison shook his head. “It might not be—”
“He’s not coming back here.” Mari took a step back, and I released her. Our relationship was a lot of give and take. “He’s probably long gone.”
I nodded, eager to agree so she wouldn’t leave. “Yeah, he’s probably gone. Just make sure to lock the doors.”