Page 89 of Filthy Little Lies

“Did you leave it at home?”

“No. I used it when I grabbed my coffee this morning.” I sink back onto my heels. “I must have left it there.”

“No problem, my treat.” He knocks on the counter with his knuckles like he does every time he leaves. It’s like some sort of ritual for him.

“Thanks, Billy. I’ll buy next time.”

He nods with a smile then heads out, leaving me alone in the store. I busy myself with restocking pens and bookmarks at the register counter. Then a few customers come in, and I help them with their purchases. It’s nearly an hour before Billy comes back with my sandwich.

“I’ll put your sandwich in back.” He disappears into the back.

The rest of the day drags. When my shift is over, I head back to my studio apartment over a pizzeria with throbbing feet and a rolling stomach.

As I cross an intersection, a thought hits me that stops me dead. A car horn blasts as it screeches to a stop.

“Get out of the road!” the driver bellows from his window.

I wave him off as I hurry across the crosswalk, counting calendar days in my head.

The rest of the way home is a blurred sprint. I run up the wobbly wooden stairs and shove through the door. After grabbing the spare cash I keep stashed in the book on my nightstand, I dash to the store.

My heart sits in my throat all the way home from the corner store. I’m near to hyperventilating as I buy what I need, hustle back, and pee on the stick. Whatever the normal blood pressure reading is, I’m sure mine is double as I stare at the tiny screen, waiting.

And then there’s calm.

My skin tingles.

The storm raging in my mind only a moment before settles into a rhythmic humming.

I pick up the stick and sit on the floor, staring at the single digital word.

Pregnant.

CHAPTER 27

Savvy

“You’ll come live here with me,” Cassie says matter-of-factly. Then she pushes on a small smile. “We’ll make great co-parents.”

I laugh a little. “Right. Me hiding from the mob and you itching to get on the next bus out of town.”

“I can stay put.” She sounds defensive, then softens her voice. “I’d stay put if you needed me; you know that.”

I nod, blowing out a breath. “I do. But you’d go crazy being stuck in one place for too long. You’re a nomad; I get that. Besides I can do this.”

She leans into her phone, making her eyes fill up the whole screen. “Are you going to tell him?”

I laugh. “Are you crazy?”

“I’m just saying; maybe he’s not as big a monster as you thought.”

“He was sending me away, Cassie. And he didn’t even have the balls to do it himself; he sent his brother to make me pack my bags.”

“There could be more you don’t know about.” She leans back, putting herself in full frame. “I mean, we thought he’d hurt Tony, and he didn’t.”

“Have you talked to Tony since you got his text?” When I’d gotten to St. Louis to stay with Cassie for a few days, she’d received a text from Tony.

Not dead.