Butterface was dead.
She was Regina fucking Luca, successful businesswoman with friends, a home of her own, and a life that she loved.
Her heart hurt, and she had no idea if that was from missing her brothers already even though they drove her nuts, or from a bittersweet happiness that they were finally getting their dream. She folded the letter and handed it to Ford.
“Here you go.” She had no idea how she managed to keep the tremble out of her voice, but she did. “You have them dead to rights on threatening a police officer. Good luck finding them. They’re in the wind for good.”
Ford took the letter, opened it, and gave it a quick read. The sympathy in his eyes when he lowered it and looked at her was a punch in the gut. Good thing she could take a hit.
“And what the fuck were they talking about when they said not to blame you?” Fury and hurt swirled around inside her like a tornado of misery. “What did you do?” she asked, agony burning the inside of her throat.
He held his hands up, palms forward, as if he was trying to show he meant no harm. “I tried to help.”
Help? He thought getting rid of her brothers was helping? The need to lash out, hurt him as much as she ached, made her heart slam against her ribs hard enough that she was surprised they didn’t crack.
“Why does that sound familiar?” she practically screamed at him, no longer even able to pretend to be calm. “Oh yeah, I remember the last time you tried to help. Only in this case instead of me worrying you were steering my clients wrong, you forced my brothers to leave.”
“No.” He took a step closer. “I just told them that their line of work wasn’t good for their health.”
“Why, because you were going to throw them in jail? After all, you had signed up for hazard duty by pretending to like me.”
“You know that’s not true.”
“Why, because you said so? What kind of idiot am I to believe that?” She barely got the words out before she broke, the last words coming out as raw and pained as she felt inside.
“Are you okay?” He reached out for her, but she evaded his touch. “I know you were close to your brothers, that’s why I tried to help.”
And this is where it got them. Her screaming in the kitchen at the man she’d thought wasn’t like the others, who wanted her for her. But he hadn’t. He’d only come back to see what her brothers had left behind, not because he loved her the way she loved him. And that’s the thought that drained the last bit of emotion from her, leaving her cold and empty.
“I’ll be just fine as soon as you’re out of my house,” she said softly and got up and walked toward the stairs. “Your stuff’s in the box on the front table. Lock up on your way out.”
She didn’t wait to hear whatever bullshit would come out of Ford’s mouth next before going up the stairs to her room. It didn’t matter what he said. She had better things to do with her life.
Chapter Nineteen
Gina had wine, chocolate, and a sledgehammer. What could possibly go wrong?
“Let’s not find out. Give me the hammer, G.” Lucy held out her hand.
Shit. Did I say that out loud? Gina wobbled just a bit when she turned to face Lucy head-on. She didn’t weave because of the wine. It was because the fifteen-pound sledgehammer put her off balance. Really.
“I have it for therapeutic reasons. It’s DIY therapy. I should totally get my own show,” Gina said, only slurring a little, which was pretty good since she had a bottle head start on Lucy and Tess wasn’t a drinker. “You could be my sidekicks! Do you know how to use a circular saw?”
“Of course I can use a circular saw,” Lucy said, giving Gina a dubious look. “Why don’t you give me Mr. Sledge, and then you can tell me all about your show idea.”
That seemed like a solid plan. The stupid hammer was getting heavy, anyway. She handed it off and grabbed the almost-empty bottle of red on her way to the couch in the front room. She sat in the middle, relaxing against the Ice Knights blanket draped over the back. It was the blanket he had used when he came over to spy on her. The bastard. He’d defiled the Ice Knights.