Goodbye

EMMA

I wake up, stretching out my limbs. For the first time in a while, I had a good night’s sleep. I thought I’d be up all night, my mind spinning with thoughts of Diablo, but I slept soundly.

Just the thought of him now brings fresh tears to my eyes. I miss him so much. I hate myself for what I did, but it was necessary. I have a long-term plan, and yesterday’s events were a crucial part of it.

Levi is the only other person who knows what I’m planning. He doesn’t agree with it, of course, but he’ll do what I need him to do.

I get up and head to the bathroom. Might as well shower and get ready for the day. If everything goes as planned, we should be flying out tonight to start the meetings.

I pull on black skinny jeans, black Vans, and a black V-neck T-shirt. Walking into the living room, I notice the empty couch where Dean had slept last night.

As I expected, Dean is gone. I find Levi and Alex in the kitchen, sipping coffee.

“Where’s Dean, Vi?”

He turns away, avoiding my gaze, and reaches for a mug to make me a cup of coffee.

“Vi, where is he?” I ask again, even though I already know the answer. I know he’s gone. I just need someone to say it out loud.

“He left, Emma,” Alex whispers.

“He left an envelope on the kitchen counter for you,” Vi finally says.

He hands me the cup of coffee and the envelope. I take both to the living room and sit down on the couch that Dean had occupied just a few hours ago. I tear open the envelope.

~Emma,~

~By the time you read this, I’ll be long gone. I know you knew last night when I hugged and kissed you that it was my way of saying goodbye. I love you, baby. I always have and always will.~

~We’ve been through a lot, good and bad, even before we made love for the first time. I know you’re the one for me. You’re my beginning and my end. You always will be.~

~I just have to accept that I’m not “the one” for you. I know you love Diablo, for reasons none of us can understand. Only you know what’s in your heart.~

~I know you love me, but your love for me doesn’t compare to your love for Diablo or to the love I have for you.~

~You’re the best person with the biggest heart, don’t ever lose that.~

~I want you to know that no matter what happens, I’ll always be there for you. If you need me, just call. I’ll come for you every time.~

~I know your birthday isn’t for a few months, but I bought something for you. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s next to your bed lamp. I hope when you wear it, you’ll always think of me.~

~You’re the love of my life. I know I might love someone else in the future, but it won’t be the same as my love for you. You’re everything to me… You’re irreplaceable.~

~Until we meet again, I have to say goodbye to my heart and soul. You hold them in your hands.~

~Goodbye, love of my life.~

~Be safe.~

The paper is wet. I realize I’ve been crying the whole time I was reading his letter. No wonder some of the words were blurry. I jump up and run to my bedroom to look for the gift he left.

I find it exactly where he said it would be, next to the lamp. It’s a black velvet box. Inside is the most beautiful ring I’ve ever seen. It’s a gold band with diamonds forming the letter “E.”

It’s stunning. I slip it onto the middle finger of my left hand. It fits perfectly. I sit on my bed, sobbing.

I cry because I’ve lost Diablo.

I cry because of Dean and the pain I caused him.

But most of all, I cry because I know what’s coming and what I have to do.

After about an hour, there’s a soft knock on my door. Levi peeks in.

“Ems, are you okay?”

“No, Vi. I’m not.”

He walks in, handing me the letter I dropped when I rushed to my room. I show him the ring Dean gave me, and fresh tears start rolling down my cheeks.

“Ems, when we started this, you knew there would be consequences. Dean wasn’t part of the plan. I’ve known for a long time that he has feelings for you—even before he introduced me to you.

“I knew then that if he loved you, you must be someone special, and you’ve proven that you are. Everyone who gets close to you loves you in their own way.

“Those who admire you from afar either want you for themselves, or they want to be you. Honestly, I had a bit of a crush on you for a while,” he chuckles.

“Alex feels the same, but he’ll get over it. Dean and Diablo are different. They love you with everything they have. You’re like an obsession to them, as if they can’t breathe without you.

“I love you as a friend, a friend I’d do anything for. I also respect you as my boss, even though we’re more than just boss and employee.”

“Oh, Vi.” I hug him, but I start crying again. He pulls me onto his lap to comfort me, holding me in his strong arms. He’s a good friend. He rubs my back while I cry and let out all my pent-up emotions.

When I finally stop crying, there’s another knock on the door. Alex walks in.

“Well, if I knew this job came with these kinds of perks, I would’ve applied a long time ago,” he jokes.

“Oh, fuck off, Alex. You know exactly what this is,” Levi snaps at him.

I chuckle at their banter while getting off Levi’s lap to wash my face. Crying is definitely not something I should do.

I look like a hot mess. My eyes are all puffy and swollen, with dark circles underneath them. I swear, I look like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. I make a mental note to myself: this is the last time I’m going to cry until I sort out this whole mess.

When I finally step out of the bathroom, both guys have left my bedroom. As I make my way to the living room, I can hear them arguing.

“What the hell is going on? Why are you two fighting?”

“You and Levi are hiding something from me, and I want to know what it is,” Alex snaps at me. “You both have been acting strange since yesterday, and I want to know why.”

“If I’m supposed to be your bodyguard, I need to know what I’m dealing with. It’s not fair for you two to keep me in the dark.”

“Alex, I can’t just let you into my circle of trust like that. You just started working for me, and you’re already making demands and asking questions that would take most people weeks to figure out.”

“I need to be able to trust you completely first. Given that you used to work for Anthony Gambino, I have to handle this situation very carefully.”

“The fact that you already know so much is a big deal. Please, let me trust you at my own pace.”

“I promise you, once you’re fully in my circle, you won’t want to leave. But until then, tread lightly. I won’t hesitate to end this arrangement right now.”

Alex, usually the fun one, always cracking jokes to lighten the mood, is looking at me like I just ran over his favorite puppy. He looks… hurt.

“Emma, I told you when we first met that I wanted to work for you even before we met. I’m not here as a spy or for anyone else. I’m here because I want to be here with you. I want to learn from you and grow.

“Call me selfish, call me whatever you want, but never question my loyalty. I’ll earn your complete trust, faster than you think—and that, Emma, is a promise.”

“I’m going to pack. Looks like we have a flight to catch in four hours.” Alex turns to leave, a pained expression still on his face.

“Alex, I promise I’ll work on the trust. But let me make one thing very clear. If you betray me, there won’t be a corner of the world where you can hide. I will find you and I will kill you.”

I turn to Levi as Alex leaves the room without another word.

“Vi, are you ready?”

“Yeah, Ems, everything’s packed and ready to go. Just waiting for your bag and for Alex to finish, then we can head out. You’re looking a lot better, by the way,” he says, smirking.

“Well, thank you, Vi. I didn’t realize I looked that bad,” I reply, smiling.

“Oh, you did. You looked like the walking dead,” he chuckles.

“Screw you, Vi.”

“Screw you too, Ems.”

I love our easygoing relationship. Without him, I’d probably be a total wreck.

After I pack my clothes and other essentials, the three of us head downstairs to the waiting black SUV. The drive to the airport is quiet and tense. We’re all lost in our own thoughts.

My mind keeps bouncing between Diablo and Dean, but as usual, it ends up filled with thoughts of Diablo and how he’s handling everything.

I told Travis that we’d be leaving on a business trip for a few weeks and that I’d be keeping a close eye on him.

He’s still blissfully unaware of all the cameras we installed, and I had Levi hack his phone so we can track and listen to all his calls.

This is part of Alex’s job. If anything happens, he’s supposed to alert either Levi or me immediately. I also had a tracker installed in Diablo’s phone, just in case.

With everything that’s going on, I wouldn’t be surprised if a tough guy like Diablo loses it. If that happens, I need to be able to find him and get him back on track.

We finally arrive at the airport and head for the private jet waiting for us. The pilot gives us a warm welcome while Levi and Alex load the bags on board. I have a ton of work to catch up on.

I pull out my laptop and get to work.

I send various instructions and details to both Alex and Levi about the itinerary for the next few weeks, the strategies for each meeting, and all my requirements.

I can tell Alex is starting to relax a bit, because every time his phone pings with a message from me, he smiles.

He still doesn’t know the long-term plan, but letting him in on the plans for the next few weeks should help with my trust issues and put him at ease.

I need both of them to pull off this plan and to make sure it sticks.

I’m not looking forward to my meeting with Mason Magaddino. Not only is he ranked as the number one Mafia boss, but he’s also a pretty intimidating guy, or so I’ve heard.

I wish I could do some research on him, but unfortunately, in this line of work, you can’t just Google someone; you won’t find anything. I don’t even know what he looks like.

I did a search on myself just for kicks. The only thing I found was an article about my degrees, but there wasn’t even a picture of me.

I find it kind of funny. Levi must have taken down the pictures of me like I asked a few months ago.

Deciding I need some rest, I shut off the laptop and head to the back of the plane to the only bedroom on board. It’s beautifully decorated in black and white. I love it.

With all the crying I’ve been doing, I could use some sleep. I strip down to my bra and panties, crawl under the covers, and fall into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.