Page 24 of Resolve
Tinsley offers me a kind smile. “She told me she learned their plans for you, and it changed everything. At least when it came to you. She still hated the rest of us,” she adds with a soft laugh.
Reid grunts and goes back to reading the hovering text.
A knock on his apartment door interrupts our conversation. Fabian calls through it, “Pizza's here.”
“I'll get it,” I volunteer, pushing to my feet. I need to move. To shake out the grief that’s trying to latch on again by distracting myself with a new—even if temporary—purpose. Fabian’s alreadyshoveled half a slice into his mouth while he holds a stack of boxes in his other hand. “Are these all for us?” Aiden probably ordered them since I haven’t come back yet.
“All but one,” he answers once his mouth is clear. “The bottom one I'm bringing to the girl in Harvey’s apartment.”
He doesn’t bother asking me who she is or why she’s there. Aiden could have filled him in already—he is one of the Guild’s most trusted members—but he’s also the kind of guy to trust us enough that he’ll wait for us to tell him when we’re ready.
The mention of Alice while Vera’s still fresh on my mind makes my heart squeeze. I’ll be saying goodbye to Vera at the funeral tomorrow, but what about her?
“I’ll take it to her,” I offer before the idea is fully formed, taking the stack.
Fabian nods, finishing off his slice. “Thanks, man. Let me know if you need anything.”
I set the boxes on the kitchen island and pull out my phone to text Aiden my idea. Or... more like my request. He’s usually quick to respond since his phone is practically glued to his hand, so the fact that I wait for almost a minute means he’s taking more time to consider it first.
Finally, his reply comes through.
“I’ll be back,” I tell Reid and Tinsley as I slide the bottom box out. “Call me if Cibrina gets here before me.”
Once the elevator doors open, I call Aiden and wait for it to connect, unlock Harvey’s apartment door with the app, then slip the phone into my pocket. He’ll be muting it on his end and keeping an ear on us to make sure she doesn’t try anything stupid with me.
I quickly slip inside and shut the door behind me, locking it so shedoesn’t try to escape while I’m here.
“Alice?” I call out from the dark hallway. “It’s Dane. I’ve got dinner.”
I give her a minute to respond before I stride to the kitchen. She’s sitting in one of the sofa chairs in the living room with her knees pulled up to her chest and her chin resting on her arms while she stares at the TV. The broken table is gone, cleaned up by the others probably while Raegan was comforting Alice, and the bloodied furniture has also been removed. A rug covers most of the living room carpet.
At least Aiden made the effort to better tidy up the reminders of Harvey’s death here while he prepares another equally locked-down apartment for her.
The volume is barely a whisper, so I know she heard me.
“I’ve got pizza.” I flip open the top. “It’s cheese and pepperoni. Is that what you like?”
She whips her head around to glare at me. “Is that what Ilike? What the hell would you care? I’m your prisoner. Or are you looking for me to thank you for bothering to feed me? Because if you are, you’re wasting your time.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter, dropping the cardboard top. I lean against the kitchen counter and cross my arms over my chest. “I’ll just get to the fucking point, then. We’re having a funeral for Harvey tomorrow.”
All the vitriol melts from her expression, and her eyes widen.
“If you want to say goodbye... I can make that happen.”
Her gaze hardens. “And what will I have to do for you tomake it happen?”
I hold her stare. “Nothing. This isn’t a tit for tat.”
Alice’s brows knit with confusion, the anger once again leeching from her to something I recognize. Something vulnerable. “Why? Why would you let me—” Her lip quivers, and she bites it.
My own grief aches and echoes hers.
“Because I know some of what you’re going through. I lost my sister the same day you lost your brother. There’s going to be a smaller funeral for her first with just a few people because she didn’t have friends. She was obsessed with her work for GE and that’s all she knew.” I swallow the knot in my throat, dropping my hands to grip the counter behind me on either side instead. “No matter what you’re here for or which side you’re on, I don’t think you should miss your brother’s funeral. You deserve to say goodbye to him and see how much he meant to the friends and people who were around him.”
Her eyes water and her lip wobbles before she turns away from me.
“We’ll send someone up to escort you to the funeral. You can talk about him to the others if you want or not. But if you ever need to talk to someone... if you don’t want to be alone when you’re having a rough time... I can be here.”
