Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
The thought had me feeling restless, so I decided to take a little walk. I left the dock and was making my way around to the back of the house when I spotted a concealed door to the basement—the exact spot where I’d seen Billy the night before. I don’t know what I was hoping to find, but I wandered over and started looking around.
I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, so I turned and started back to the house. I’d only taken a couple of steps when I noticed something shimmering in the grass. I knelt down, and my heart sank when I picked the gold necklace up and found that it had St. Christopher pendant—just like the one Matteo wore.
A smile swept across my face as I remember the day I spotted it tucked beneath the collar of his shirt.
The second he noticed me looking at it, he reached inside his button-down and pulled out the pendant, holding it up for me to get a better view. “It’s Saint Christopher.”
I leaned in for a better look. “It’s beautiful.”
“You heard of him?”
“Yeah, back when I was a kid.” I thought for a moment, then added, “He’s supposed to protect you when you’re traveling or something, right?”
“That’s right.” Matteo smiled as he told me, “My grandfather gave it to me when he found out I was moving to America. He believed Christopher would protect me while I’m away from home.”
“That’s such a sweet thought.”
“Yeah, it meant a lot to me.” He flipped it over, showing me the initials MWE, as he said, “He even had it engraved for me.”
“That’s so nice. Your grandfather must’ve been a...”
The sound of footsteps cut me off before I could finish my sentence. Matteo’s back stiffened as he quickly tucked the necklace back inside his shirt. And just like that, our brief conversation was over.
I looked down at the gold pendant in my hand, and as I ran my finger over the image of Saint Christopher, I wondered how such a beautiful necklace had ended up in Billy’s backyard. At first, I thought Billy must’ve lost it, but then I turned it over.
My blood ran cold the second I saw the initials MWE engraved on the back. I knew without a doubt that it was Matteo’s necklace, but I had no idea how it had gotten here. I couldn’t help but wonder if something bad had happened to the handsome, happy-go-lucky guy who whispered secrets when no one was looking. I was trying to make sense of it when I heard Billy say, “Everleigh? What are you doing out here?”
"I was just out taking a walk.” I stepped over to him and extended my hand, revealing the necklace. “I was about to head back inside when I found this.”
He took it from my hand and studied it for a moment, then said, “Where did it come from?”
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
“I have no idea.”
“I think you do.” I reached for the necklace and turned it over in his hands. “You see these initials?”
His eyes narrowed with uncertainty as he replied, “Yeah, what about them?”
“Well, those initials belong to Matteo. He works for DeLuca, and he was my only friend. This is his necklace. He wore it every day.”
“It’s just a necklace, Everleigh. It could be anybody’s, and those initials could belong to anyone.”
“Yeah, they could, but they don’t. It belongs to Matteo. I know it,” I pushed. “What I don’t know is how did it end up here in your yard.”
“I don’t know what to tell you.”
“Oh, come on, Billy. You know something. Just tell me.” When he didn’t immediately answer, I started hammering him with more questions. “Did you know him? Did you do something to him? Hurt him? Did it have something to do with DeLuca?”
“Everleigh.”
“Just tell me!”
“You shouldn’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to.”
“Oh, God,” I gasped. “You did! You hurt him!”
I didn’t give him a chance to answer. I just ran. I ran as fast as I could, and I didn’t look back—not even when Billy called out to me over and over again. “Everleigh!”
I just kept running.
Even when my wounds started to ache, I kept running.
I was too distraught to stop. I had no idea where I was going or what I was going to do when I got there, but I had to get away from him. I needed a minute to think and clear my head, but that didn’t happen. Before I could even reach the front steps, Billy had caught up to me and had a hold of my arm, pulling me back. “Hold on a damn minute.”
“Why? So, you can kill me, too?”
“You got it all wrong.”
“Does that mean you didn’t kill Matteo?”
“No, as a matter of fact, I didn’t.”