“What was that?” Ugo was at my side.
“Proof that I was taken against my will by Nonna Greta.” I snarled, more pissed than anything as I thought of that moment.
Ugo looked over my head and then back at me. “All right, that’s enough attention on us. Let’s get moving.”
Wyatt looked over his shoulder to try to spot Elio as we headed outside to the waiting car.
“There’s no reason to look back, Wyatt.” I threaded my sunglasses through my hair, shading my eyes. “I know I’m not.”
Wyatt grabbed my elbow and stopped me. “Sienna, what’s going on?”
“I’m not the woman I was two weeks ago. I refuse to be.” My comment couldn’t be any closer to the truth. Something in me had changed, and I really liked it. I looked past him and saw a blacked-out car and someone’s silhouette. They appeared to be watching us. “I’ve got another chance to start over, and I’m taking it.”
“And you think this plan of yours is the way to do it?”
“I do.” I ducked down and disappeared into the cool breeze of the AC.
“Elio’s going to kill you.”
“And when that happens, I want a piñata at my funeral, filled with bees, so people are happy but not too happy. I read that on a meme somewhere.”
He rolled his eyes at my attempt to lighten the mood. “It’s not funny.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Will you fill me in on everything now?”
“It’s a lot, Wyatt. Are you sure you want to be involved in it all?”
“So, help me God, Sienna.”
“All right.” I twisted in the seat and started from when I was dropped off at Elio’s house and proceeded to share everything with him.
Wyatt stared straight ahead at the back of the seat. I could almost hear the wheels spinning in his head. He hadn’t moved for a long while.
“You wanted to know.” I shook my head and went back to my phone, studying what I needed to know. As we grew closer to the city, my heart crept into my throat and the toe of my shoe tapped the car floor. I would never admit I was terrified. If Ugo thought for a moment that I didn’t have myself together, he would have turned the car around so fast.
“This is stupid,” Wyatt suddenly muttered, as his eyes zeroed in on my fingers as they flexed and unflexed against the fabric of my dress.
“Maybe.” I looked away, not wanting my best friend to see he was right. “But I need to do this.”
A long stretch of silence fell over us before he rubbed his face and let out a long breath. “I know.”
The car wove through the streets, in and out of vendors, around children walking home from school, so serene, so normal. Then it stopped. We had reached our destination. I braced myself for part one of our plan.
“Ready?” Ugo glanced at me in the mirror, and when I nodded, I heard him curse. He wasn’t happy with me, but to my surprise, he was still going along with it. If I was to guess, my mother wasn’t far away, but I would deal with that heap of a disaster later. First was this.
“Wyatt, stay here.” I was proud that my voice sounded controlled.
“I have no problem with that.” He squeezed my hand but wouldn’t look at me.
“Hey,” I tugged at his arm, “I got this.” I waited for his timid smile then climbed out of the car, tugged my purse up tight under my arm, and straightened my back.
“This way.” Ugo pointed and looked at me over his shoulder. “Remember—”
“I know,” I reassured him and followed him around the corner.
Ugo gripped the top of my arm as I swayed in fear in front of a sign that read Dager’s Den.