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“What’s going on?” I asked. “I hope you’re not getting cold feet for your wedding night. I know you’re not a virgin.”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you mind if we call Nessa? I want to tell her and I want you to be here for it.”
I laughed and gestured at her. “Go ahead, let’s call.” I didn’t know why she wanted me around, but I guessed it was for moral support.
She took her phone from her small white clutch and tapped the screen. It rang and rang, and I was about to give up and say we should head back inside when Nessa answered.
“Sam,” she said, sounding surprised. “Hey, uh, how are you?”
“I’m fine,” Sam said and glanced at me. “You doing okay?”
A short pause. Sam began to pace back and forth under the shade and I could see the agitation rolling off her in waves.
I could only imagine how she felt.
Her own best friend betrayed her like that. Maybe the girl had good intentions, but it didn’t matter. She still turned Sam in to her father, and that was bad enough. From what I could understand, Sam and Nessa were extremely close, like long-time besties or whatever. I had trouble really understanding that, since all my relationships ended in death and gore, and I was a natural loner, all things considered.
But for Sam, it must’ve been a struggle.
“Everyone’s worried about you,” Nessa said finally. “Listen, Sam—”
“I got married,” Sam said.
“Oh.” Nessa sounded surprised, then: “Oh, wow, holy crap. Are you being serious?”
“His name’s Matteo,” Sam said, glancing at me. “He’s in the Valentino family. And he’s the father of my baby.”
“Holy shit,” Nessa said.
“I know,” Sam said. “Colm knows about it. I mean, maybe not the wedding part, but he knows that I’m with a Valentino guy and I’m pregnant with his baby.”
“Slow down,” Nessa said. “I feel like my head’s spinning here. So that guy we saw, he’s seriously in the Valentino family? I thought he was just some guy that hung around the Healys.”
“He’s really Valentino, Nessa. I know this seems crazy, but we’re doing it for a reason. We want to end the war.”
Another pause. “End the war?”
“Listen, like I said, we met with Colm, and—”
“Sam, what the hell did you get involved with?”
“I know it’s crazy, but please, Nessa, listen. Colm refuses to negotiate—”
“I’m sorry,” Nessa said. “I’m having a lot of trouble dealing with this right now. You just married a Valentino guy? What the hell is happening?”
Sam took a deep breath and I could tell she was in pain. I wanted to step in and do something, but this was her battle to fight. Even if I wanted to help, I didn’t know how. Nessa was her friend, her family, and I was the outsider. From her perspective, I was the problem and the enemy.
“I know how it sounds,” Sam said. “But I’m doing it to help the family. I want to save lives, Nessa. No more dead friends and family.”
“Your dad is going to flip out,” Nessa said.
Sam laughed. It sounded like rain during a drought and I felt a strange pull in my chest watching her tug at a strand of hair over and over. “I’m not too concerned with him right now. The whole family’s going to think I’m some traitor, but I need you to understand that I’m not.”
“Look, Sam, I love you, you know that, but you married a Valentino. It’s really hard to see you as anything but a traitor.”
Sam stopped pacing and her posture tensed. “Come here and meet him.”
“Excuse me?”
“Come to the Valentino mansion and meet him. I swear, they won’t hurt you. We’ll sit by the pool and talk.”
“Sam,” she said. “I don’t know.”
“Please, Nessa. You owe me this much at least, you know? If anyone’s a traitor, it’s you.”
Nessa let out a pained sigh. “I guess I deserve that.”
“You really do. Now please, come out here and we can all talk.”
“How?” she asked. “I don’t even have a car.”
“We’ll send you an Uber.” She glanced at me and I nodded. “Tomorrow, can you get away tomorrow?”
“Yeah, I can come tomorrow.” She laughed nervously. “I can’t believe I’m going to the Valentino mansion.”
“I know, you’re going to love it.”
“I hope not. Then I might want to nab me a Valentino mafia guy myself and become a traitor with you.”
“Not the worst thing in the world, honestly.” Sam glanced at me and grinned. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay. Sam, I hope you know what you’re doing.”
“I don’t, but I’m working on it anyway.” Then she hung up and slipped her phone back into her clutch. She rubbed at her face and shook her head. “I’m afraid I’m making a mistake.”
“What’s your plan for having her over here?” I asked.
She shrugged slightly and turned away from me. She started down toward the woods and I followed. We talked along a simple path that curved through the yard, down to the edge of the tree line.
