“As quickly as possible.” I motioned my hand over at a tarp in the corner and said, “We can cover him with that. Just until we get him into position.”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
Hawk grabbed the tarp, and together, we draped it over Miller and used it to hide his body as we carried him over to his car. As we positioned him behind the wheel, Hawk studied Miller’s wound and clothing, then asked, “You think anyone is gonna buy this shit?”
“That’s the thing. The cops don’t actually have to buy any of it. Just need to keep the heat away from you boys and Stilettos. As long as we do that, we’re golden.”
“I like the way you think, brother.”
After a few minor adjustments, Miller’s stage had been set. We did a final wipe down, making sure there were no possible prints left behind, and then we got back in the van, and I drove Hawk back to Stilettos.
I dropped him off, then wasted no time getting back home.
I hadn’t been driving long when I remembered the papers Viper had given me. I turned on the overhead light, then grabbed them from my visor and quickly scanned what was written inside.
Everleigh had been open with me about her father and his connection to Antonio, but she hadn’t had a chance to go into her past. I had no idea that she’d graduated from Knoxville or that she’d had her own house and worked as a financial advisor. She had the world at her fingertips, and Antonio ripped it away from her.
Damn.
Everleigh had lost so much, and yet she kept fighting.
She was still fighting.
And I’d only made that fight harder by leaving her when she was still fighting to get back on her feet—just like I’d left Grace all those years ago.
A newfound guilt washed over me as I realized I’d fucked up yet again. When I pulled into the drive, I saw that the bedroom lights were still out, and I hoped that meant she was asleep.
Even though I was eager to see how she was doing, I had to deal with the van first, so I parked in the garage and started removing the plastic sheeting. I tossed it and all the disposable equipment into the incinerator, then locked everything up.
Once I’d made it back upstairs, I went over and unlocked the guest bedroom door, and when I opened it, I was pleased to see that Everleigh was in the bed and sleeping, completely unaware that I was standing there looking at her—or so I thought.
I was about to slip out of the room when I heard her ask, “How was your game?”
“My what?”
“Your game.”
“It was fine.”
“Fine? That’s all?” I could hear the anger in her voice as she sassed, “So, you’re saying I spent four hours locked away in here for a game that was just fine?That’s great, Billy. Just great.”
“I didn’t have a choice.”
She reached over to the bedside table and turned on the light. “There’s always a choice, Billy. You chose to not only leave me here, but you locked me in this room like I was your prisoner. You’re no better than Antonio DeLuca.”
“I didn’t...” I was already feeling bad about leaving her, and now I felt even worse. Unfortunately, there was nothing else I could do. I couldn’t let down Viper, and I didn’t need her lurking about. But by no means did I consider her my prisoner.“You’re not...”
“I’m not what? Your prisoner? Cause it sure as hell feels that way.”
“I did what I had to.” Her eyes narrowed as I said, “I was protecting you.”
“From what? Myself?” She pushed the covers back and eased up into a sitting position. “Because, as far as I can tell, no one else is here.”
“It’s late. You should get some sleep.”
“So, you’re not going to tell me?”
“There’s nothing to tell, Everleigh.” She wanted an explanation that I simply couldn’t give, so I told her what I could. “You needed help, and I gave it. Simple as that.”