“Shit,” I whisper, swallowing past the lump in my throat. Devlin’s two years older than me. Than us. He’s an adult who kidnapped a child.
Except… I know he’s not.
With all the media attention this got, someone’s going to have to pay this time. They can’t cover it up or bury it the way I’m sure they do, just like my family does when someone commits a crime. But my brothers do things like joining illegal fight clubs, shoplifting liquor, maybe stealing a car for a quick joyride. They don’t hurt people.
Kidnap is a serious crime. It’s bigger than the local police. It’s an FBI-worthy crime. A federal crime. It’s not going to just go away, be swept under the rug because they’re the Darlings and they can do no wrong in this town. This time, there will be serious consequences. There will be jail time in a federal prison.
I think of Devlin Darling doing hard time, and my chest tightens. He can’t do that. Not even for his father. Whatever reason he has for covering it up, for protecting his family, he shouldn’t be doing that. He shouldn’t have to take the fall for the whole family for something he didn’t even do. If it weren’t for him, I might not have found Royal in time.
“No offense, sis, but you look like shit,” Duke says, stretching his arms over his head. “Let me take you home for a while.”
I hate the thought of leaving Royal, but I know I can’t hover here forever. Besides, Daddy’s still here, and I know my brothers all want to see Royal. So, I relent and let Duke take me home.
At home, I’m swept up in the whirlwind of energy in the kitchen as mynonnimake food. Nonna pulls me into the kitchen and wants to hear all about Royal, though I didn’t get to talk to him enough to tell her much. She’s more interested in his welfare than what he said, anyway.
I’d like to slip away for a shower and a minute of quiet to brush my teeth, but those moments are few and far between when my whole family is around. Nonna enlists me to help set the long table in the dining room while she flits between helping cook, setting out candles on the table, and helping with the place settings. A few minutes later, the house is bursting with noise and the trod of heavy footsteps as my uncles, cousins, and brothers join us. There’s so much masculine energy in the room it could smother a girl if she wasn’t used to it.
“Pour Crystal a glass,” Daddy says when Nonna reaches my place with the vino. “She’s done her part, and done it beautifully. One more Darling behind bars.”
“Hear, hear,” Benny says, raising his glass and grinning at me. “Let justice be served.”
“Wow,” I say, scooting in at my place. “You’re giving me wine? I really am at the grown-up table now.”
“You’re doing a woman’s job,” Daddy says. “You don’t get treated like a kid anymore.”
I don’t know how to feel about that, and before I can respond, Uncle Donny changes the subject. “Your aunt Dottie’s real sorry she couldn’t make it to see her favorite niece,” he says, scooting in and tucking his napkin into his collar. “Maybe she can make it at Christmas.”
My other uncles check in with reports of their wives, kids, and friends who have heard about Royal and are so glad he’s okay. For the next hour, we talk and eat. Every time a course is done, another makes its way to the table. I’m so hungry that for once I don’t mind the excessiveness of my grandparents’ cooking—even when Mom lovingly reminds me what pasta will do to my thighs and sugar will do to my skin.
“Everything’s going our way now,” Daddy says. “The police have the Darlings in custody, and we’re well on our way to getting rid of the rest of them.”
I set down my fork, remembering the pale, bloodless face inside that black bag. Suddenly, I’m sorry I ate all my nonni’s food. “Who’s the guy? The one at the construction site.”
“One of the guys from the job,” Daddy says. “He was working the forklift, and someone must have come up behind him when he stopped for a cigarette break.”
“Smoking kills,” Duke says, tipping his glass before taking a drink.
“Wasn’t me,” Donny says, then laughs that big belly laugh I’ve always found so warm. Now… I don’t know. It sounds different when it comes after a statement like that.
“They were trying to frame me again,” Daddy says. “Since it was my construction site. But I was at the bar when it happened.”
“And so were we,” Vinny says. “Lots of witnesses.”
“Only Dad wasn’t with us,” Donny says, slapping Grandpa’s back.
“A doddering old man like me, I’m not capable of murder,” Grandpa says, making his voice all feeble and wavery. Then he gives a Cheshire grin, and everyone at the table laughs.
Oh god. I think I’ll be sick. “Can I be excused?” I ask, pushing back from the table. “I think I ate too much.”
They’re all laughing when I exit the dining room and start the cleanup in the kitchen. It’s dark out by the time I finish and have a chance to slip away to my room. It’s the first time I’ve been alone in days, and though I love my family, I’m also an introvert, so it feels good to sink into a bath and close my eyes and be quiet. When I finally get out, I slide into bed, plug in my phone, and power it on.
I have dozens of missed calls, and ten times as many texts. I check the calls, mostly from my brothers yesterday evening, when they couldn’t find me before the game. Dixie called three times, and Dolly called once, and a few random calls from unknown numbers.
I switch over to my messaging app.
The first one is from an unknown number. I scroll past to the next message.
Romeo(akaCaptainAmerica.Shh.Donttell): Hey, baby. I can fly in your window and rescue you any day. Just shoot me a text, and I’ll be there.