Page 36 of Tristian (The Doherty Mafia)
They had followed me this whole time. I wasn’t imagining it.
Aldo’s eyes were trained on me, he completely ignored Libby’s presence in the room.
“You want to tell me what this is about?” Libby turned to me when she caught Aldo looking.
“Let her leave, she has nothing to do with this,” I said, keeping my chin up.
My knees shook while I stood there in that damned dress. Libby looked confused. I figured she wasn’t feeling so drunk anymore.
“What the fuck have you gotten yourself into, Elsie? Who are these people and what do they want?” she snarled at me.
“I’m sorry,” I said, as my eyes filled with tears. I turned to Aldo again, who’d been completely silent this whole time. It was like he enjoyed observing us in silence.
“Please, just let her go. Libby, leave now. Go somewhere and don’t talk to anybody.”
She shook her head in confusion, looking around the room at the men.
“Please, Aldo, she won’t say anything to anyone. You can trust her,” I begged.
“This is fuckin’ bullshit,” Libby screamed.
I saw the darkness on Aldo’s face. He was irritated by her. Maybe by how she screeched or he just didn’t like her voice. I didn’t know what it was.
“Please…” I sobbed as the tears flooded down my cheeks.
I’d spent enough time around these men to know what they were capable of.
Aldo raised his gun and pointed it at Libby.
“What? No!” she screamed, just as he pulled the trigger.
Her screech was cut short when the bullet hit her on the side of the head and she fell with a thud to the floor. The sound was horrifying. I felt the ground give way underneath me and I crumpled down, losing all control of my mind and body.
I didn’t hear my voice anymore. I couldn’t hear myself screaming. I knew she was dead. I knew Libby was dead and it was because of me.
I’d just killed a friend.
One of the men was ordered by Aldo to pull me back up off the floor. I couldn’t stand. I didn’t have the strength in my legs. My mind had gone completely blank.
I didn’t want to look over my shoulder and see Libby there. I knew where she was. On the floor, bleeding from the head. Already dead.
The man gripped my elbow tightly, forcing me to stay up. I couldn’t stop shaking. I wished they’d killed me instead of her. I wished I was already dead so I wouldn’t have to live through this anymore.
“Please…no…please…” I begged.
My mind hadn’t processed the facts fully. I hadn’t come to terms with the reality— Libby was dead. I couldn’t change it now. For some reason I thought I could still save her.
Aldo put his gun away before taking a few steps in my direction.
“You’ve made some pretty bad mistakes in the last few days, Elsie. I’d have thought you knew better than that,” he hissed.
I couldn’t meet his eyes. I couldn’t even catch my breath. All I thought about was Libby and what I’d done to her. If I never left Tristian’s apartment, or even if I did—if I had gone somewhere else, taken a train somewhere—Libby would still be alive.
“Haven’t you learned anything, little girl?” Aldo groaned. “From what happened to your mother and father?”
I raised my head up, my eyes were filled with tears, his face was almost hazy in front of me. I saw flashing images of my parents slumping to the ground with each bullet that was fired at them. I felt the pain. It seared my skin.
“You’re killing everybody in my life. Why don’t you just kill me too? Why have you kept me alive?” I screamed.
Aldo drew in a deep breath, shaking his head.
“Because I need something from you. Don’t worry, this will all be over soon. Just as soon as you fulfill your tasks, you’ll get what you want.”
I sobbed even harder, forcing myself to keep looking at him. It was over. I didn’t even want to live anymore. I could never go on living with the guilt of Libby’s death hanging over me.
“Did you really think you’d escape me? Steal a prisoner and go right into the arms of a Doherty? That I’d never find you?”
“You will never win this war,” I hissed.
Aldo’s slap was unexpected. He hadn’t touched me yet, but this time he slapped me right across the face. My body jerked to the side and I felt the sting on my face.
I swung my head around to look at him again. I didn’t give a shit anymore. He could slap me around as much as he wanted to. I couldn’t break any more than I was already broken.
“Take her away and lock her up,” he commanded his men.
I wasn’t surprised.
Twenty
Tristian
I was on my way back to my apartment where I expected to find Elsie.
Nolan was right—I should’ve seen and spoken to Christie a long time ago because now, I felt free. I felt free of her and free of my past.
