Angelo was gone for more than forty-eight hours.

Andre said he’d heard word about Tobia and had to travel in order to see what he could find. Personally, I was pretty sure he was just avoiding me. Something had happened that night, I knew it had. He’d gone from touching and fucking me with more passion than I could ever remember feeling with anyone else, to an ice man. All within the space of a few hours.

I’d spent the past three hours at the gym downstairs in one of their private rooms getting reacquainted with the dance I was meant to be doing at the Fall Spectacular at school. If there was one thing Angelo was right about, it was the fact that I needed to remember exactly who I was.

Dance wasn’t just a part of my life, it was a part of me.

And when I was on that stage, I could spread my wings and soar.

It made me happy, it made me feel like I could do anything and conquer the world. My muscles ached. I’d probably pushed myself too far, but dance was the one thing I had control over. It was my body and my movements that created a perfect piece of artistry, and if I was going to start taking back my life and standing on my own two feet without relying on other people, this was where I needed to start.

I’d danced for as long as possible until Andre had demanded I stopped.

With my body not used to the amount of stress and movement I’d placed on it after such a long time of going without, I immediately asked Andre and Samuele to find me as much ice as possible and filled up the bath with icy cold water. I knew at this stage it was the only thing that was going to allow me to be able to move tomorrow.

After wrapping myself in warmth and lying down on the sofa, I cringed when my cell phone began to ring, dreading looking over to see who was calling. I’d been dodging calls from my parents for the last two days. I couldn’t handle speaking to my dad right now, and I knew there was no point trying to talk any sense into my mom. She always took his side.

When I saw Leah’s sparkling smile light up the screen, I quickly snatched it off the coffee table and held it to my ear.

“Leah,” I answered with a smile.

“Hey beautiful girl,” she replied happily. “How goes it?”

I sighed heavily. “I miss you so much.”

She giggled. “Good, because I’m standing outside your apartment door.”

I shot up off the sofa, my head flicking to Andre who was sitting at the kitchen counter with a smirk on his face. “No way,” I exclaimed, jumping up and running for the door.

Throwing it open, I had to hold back tears as I stared at the beautiful, refreshing face of my best friend. I dropped my phone and leaped forward, driving her backward into the hallway wall. The both of us laughed, her arms squeezing me like a vise.

When I pulled back, I couldn’t stop the tears that slipped down my cheeks. “What are you doing here?”

“A certain tall, dark, and handsome man may have called me yesterday and offered to fly me up here.” She raised her eyebrows, the question obvious. What the hell was going on? “I’ve only got a few hours. I have to catch a plane back to Florida tonight because I’ve got tests tomorrow. But I needed to see for myself how you were doing.”

I didn’t want to lay my problems on Leah. She was another person who I’d relied a lot on over the past few years. Leah and Ava had always accepted me for me, no strings attached, despite my family’s wealth and how famous they were. They knew the struggles I went through, though, and were always there to remind me to follow my dreams.

“How about we go get a late lunch?” I asked, looking over at Andre and pleading with my eyes for him to let me out of this prison. I knew it was safer here with the boys all surrounding me, but I needed something normal after being thrown into such chaos.

Andre nodded, his face softening as he saw my desperation. “We can go down the block to the café, then at least we’re still close.” He didn’t say the words I knew he was thinking. ‘In case something happens.’

I hadn’t realized, but Giovanni and his boys all lived close by, only streets away in fact, that’s why they’d been able to get to me so quickly when Angelo and Andre were across town. So staying close, meant it was safer for all of us.

“Let’s go!” Leah grinned, bouncing on her toes.

Leah and I entered the cafe with our arms linked together.

Andre and Samuele kept their distance, but their eyes moved through the store, scanning every single person or possible hazard.

I was pleased to have her here with me, and although things had been more than tense between Angelo and me, I really had to give it to him for putting in the call to her and flying her out here to be with me.

The boys took a table a few seats away from us, allowing us some semblance of privacy.

“Have you seen Ava?” I asked Leah with a slight catch in my voice after a waitress had come and taken our orders.

Leah sighed heavily and shook her head. “She’s not good, Emmy.”

My gut sank to the floor, and I felt my shoulders slump. Ava had been there with me, she’d seen everything I’d seen, and while Sophie wasn’t her sister, the images we’d had burned into our brains after that night were not ones which would be easily forgotten. After talking to her mom the other day, I got the impression that there was something that Ava hadn’t told us, and that’s why she was burying herself and refusing to speak to me.

“She’s like a zombie,” Leah continued, her body sagging and her fingernails tapping against the glass table. “Ava won’t answer my calls. She’s moved back in with her parents, and whenever I try to visit they turn me away at the door. I tried to catch her at school once, but she barely even said hi.”

My throat burned and guilt settled in my stomach. “I should have stuck around and tried to help her through this. Yet, I’m here acting like the fucking first daughter with armed bodyguards and a brooding man watching my every damn move.”

Leah reached across the table and placed her hand over mine. “This is not your fault. Don’t put what that asshole did on your shoulders and try to carry its weight. No, that’s not okay.”

Inhaling deeply through my nose, I tried to give Leah a smile. “I miss Sophie so much, Lee. It hurts to breathe sometimes because I wish so badly that it was me—”

“Don’t say that,” Andre said from behind me, startling me for a second. I turned to look at him, his brow was pulled in tightly, and his mouth was a thin line. “She’s gone, but you are here, and you need to make the most of that.”

My mouth fell open. The intensity coming from Andre was strong, and I was completely taken off guard. Andre always held this aura around him of strength and poise. He reminded me a lot of Angelo, intelligent and quiet, keeping to themselves but not afraid to stand up and speak when they needed to.

“It should have been me, Andre,” I told him, hanging my head. “Tobia said it… he told me he was there for me.”

“And how do you know he didn’t just say that. Knowing you’d feel guilty about it, and knowing it would drive you insane like this?” His question had my head tilting to the side, the thought not really coming to me before.

What if he was right, and Tobia knew Sophie was there, but he wanted to make it feel like it was my fault she was dead and not me.

I placed my palm against my forehead. “This is all one big mind fuck.”

“You’ll get through this, Emmy,” Leah reassured me with a soft smile. “I know how much Sophie meant to you, but we both know she would have wanted you to move forward and not back.”

Andre squeezed my shoulder before returning to his table with Samuele. It felt good to have him around, I felt like we were really kind of bonding, and with the tension between Angelo and I at the moment, it was good to feel like I had someone on my side.

Leah and I ate our food and talked a lot about what was happening at school.

“So you’re still going to dance in the show?” Leah said, in awe, as she stirred far too many sugars into her coffee.

I picked up my own cup, holding it in my hands and allowing the warmth to really heat my skin to the point of almost burning. “I’m not sure. I had my first practice today since everything went down, and the show’s in like a month. I’m not sure I’ll have the piece perfected by then.”

Leah opened her mouth to speak but was cut off by another voice, one I didn’t recognize.

“Emerson Rossi?”

I spun my body around at the sound of my name. Leah looked up from her coffee, narrowing her eyes.

“Or is it Emerson DePalma, I’m unsure.”

I looked over at Andre. He was already moving toward me, his cell phone pressed to his ear, whispering quietly.

I took in the man standing over our table with a tight almost smug smile, two police officers at his side. He wasn’t uniformed, and his badge was sitting on his belt.

“It’s Emerson Rossi, how can I help you?”

“My name is Detective Marcos. I’m going to need for you to come with me to the police station for questioning,” he requested, ignoring Andre as he came and stood at the side of my chair.

I frowned. “And what’s this in regards to?”

He grinned, and it sent a chill through my body. “There was a body found yesterday morning… if you could still call it a body. His DNA was linked to the assault on your sister.” The words were an ill reminder, sending flashes of her vacant eyes through my mind. “I have a few questions about whether you might know how that body got there.”

“She doesn’t have a lawyer, you’re going to have to wait,” Andre said sternly, his tone filled with disdain.

Detective Marcos ignored Andre and spoke directly to me. “I’m sure Miss Rossi understands the serious nature of what’s going on and would like to assist in finding Sophie’s killer. The quicker we do that, the better it is for everyone. Don’t you think?”

I pushed to my feet. The detective was trying to make me feel guilty by intimidating me. But I wouldn’t allow it. Benny hurt and disgraced my sister in one of the most disgusting and vile ways possible. The pain he caused her was probably the last thing she remembered as she died, and I wouldn’t allow this man and his smug smirk, acting like he’d already caught me in the act, and by making me feel like Benny’s death wasn’t justified.

“Emmy…” Leah warned, moving around the table to stand by my side, glaring at Detective Marcos the whole time. “You don’t have to go.”

I shrugged. “No, it’s fine. I have nothing to hide.”

Detective Marcos’ grin broadened. “Excellent. If you’ll just—”

“No. Andre will drive me to the police station. You’re welcome to follow us,” I told him, gathering my bag off the floor and hoisting it over my shoulder.

The detective’s face pulled together in frustration, but we both knew I didn’t actually have to go anywhere with him if I didn’t want to. I wasn’t under arrest, he was simply requesting time to question me. He had no valid argument, so he stepped aside as Andre pressed his hand to the small of my back and guided me to the door with Leah hot on our heels.

“Call Angelo, now,” he ordered as he opened the rear door for me. I slipped across the seat, allowing Leah to climb in behind me, and pulled my phone from my pocket, dialing Angelo’s number.

It only rang once before he picked up. “You don’t have to go. Go home. I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

“It’s okay, I know what I’m doing,” I assured him.

A low growl came down the line. “This isn’t a guy who fucks around. Marcos has been a pain in my fucking ass for years now, and he thinks you’re the weak link.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah, he’s taken it as his duty to try and bring down the DePalmas. I’ve lost a lot of men to jail ‘cause this prick has wiggled his way in.” I could hear the frustration in Angelo’s voice, I knew he wanted to be here, to protect me from whoever this guy was. But he couldn’t, and I needed to show him I could stand on my own two feet. I wasn’t a little girl anymore. If this shit was going to be with me now for the rest of my life, I had to learn how to handle myself.

I wanted to prove to myself and to Angelo, that I could handle whatever was thrown at me, and more.

“I’ll be fine,” I told him.

“Emerson…” he scolded.

“Listen, I’ve been studying to get into law school for four years. I know my rights. I know what I’m doing,” I told him, my voice smooth and low. “Please, just trust me.”

Silence met me, and I held my breath as I waited for his reply.

“Take Andre in with you,” he ordered. “The second he says something you don’t like, you get out.”

A smile tugged at the corner of my lips. “I’ll call you when we’re done.”

The line went dead, and after a minute of silence I heard Andre’s cell beep with a message. I knew it would be a warning from Angelo, probably a threat of serious pain if he let anything go too far.

We pulled up outside the 76th Precinct New York City Police Station, and I took a deep breath.

“Are you sure about this?” Leah asked warily, looking at me with eyes full of concern.

I nodded. “I need to.”

“Let’s do it,” Andre said, climbing out of the car and opening my door. He was a statue of confidence as we walked toward the front doors, his shoulders held back and a stony look on his face that told me this wasn’t the first time he’d walked through these doors and had to make out like the world he lived in was nothing out of the ordinary.

How many times had Angelo or his men come here and lied to the face of a police officer?

How many times had they walked back out the door and got away with murder?

Just like I was about to.