Chapter 2

I peered out through a gap in the break room window.

At the end of the hall, two men with guns were kicking open one office door after another. "If you find anyone alive, shoot them on sight!"

They were less than 30 feet away from me.

I shoved the couch against the door, pried the steel column out of an office chair, and crouched in the corner, gripping it.

My heart was pounding out of my chest.

Without thinking, I called Leo.

He spoke in a rush before I could get a word out. "Chiara, hang on, I'm a little busy right now..."

I pulled myself together and kept my voice down. "Leo, they're inside the building. They're right outside my door. I..."

It took him a moment to answer. "Outside what door? You're home, aren't you? Then stay put. I'll come by tomorrow."

I could hear drinks being poured on his end, then the clink of glasses.

Then Lena's voice, teasing. "Leo, this cocktail is way too strong. You've gotten me drunk."

Leo sounded exasperated but fond. "My fault. I'll make you a weaker one next time."

"Not next time. Later tonight!"

Leo laughed. "What am I supposed to do with you?"

Everything I'd been about to say died in my throat.

That was when I finally understood.

After five years together, I still came second to his coworker.

"Chiara, Lena's drunk. Whatever it is, it can wait until tomorrow."

He hung up on me.

The footsteps in the hall kept coming. I tightened my grip on the steel post and edged behind the door.

The instant the handle started to turn, a shot went off outside.

Then came the dull thud of two bodies hitting the floor.

I looked through the crack in the door to make sure they were both dead. Only then did I let myself lie down on the couch.

All at once, the tension drained out of me, and I began to feel drowsy.

Half asleep, I thought about the first time Leo had mentioned Lena, three years earlier. He'd sounded so fed up with her.

He said she was his new assistant. When she first started, she got the numbers wrong on a contract and cost him five percent of the profit.

He said she'd accidentally spilled coffee on him, ruining the coat I'd given him.

For a long time, he sighed every time her name came up.

Then he took me to the company's end-of-year party, and I met her for the first time.

She was a year younger than us.

Leo walked me over, introduced me as his girlfriend, and told her, "Say hello."

She greeted me sweetly by name, just as he'd told her to.

The way he looked at her that night made me uneasy. Looking back, maybe that was when things between them started to change.

Two months later, I asked Leo to come with me to an art exhibit.

He said Lena's laptop had stopped working and he needed to fix it because all the important contracts were on it.

Three months later, a nice indoor golf center opened near his office. I asked if he wanted to go.

He said he'd already been with Lena.

After that, he started driving her home. He knew when her period was due. He remembered to tell the staff about her peanut allergy in advance.

There had been so many signs that something was wrong.

At some point I drifted off, into a long dream that left me exhausted.

When I woke up, it was light out. The shooting had stopped, and the street was noisy with people again.

I went home, took a shower, and changed.

I was coming out of the bathroom when Leo let himself in.

He looked relieved to see me. "Nothing happened to you yesterday, right?"

"No," I said calmly.

He nodded and moved in to hug me. I stepped out of the way.

I kept my voice low. "I have things to do."

He stopped me, hesitating. "Chiara, about dinner with your parents next Wednesday... could we push it back a little?"

I looked at him, my face blank. "Why?"

"Next Wednesday is the anniversary of Lena's mother's death. She's in a bad place. She wants me to go into town with her and take her mind off it."

I fought to stay calm. "This is the fourth time you've canceled on them. My parents' flights were booked ages ago."

He cut me off, impatient. "So I'm supposed to do nothing? We work together!"

But I was his girlfriend.

I didn't say it out loud.

All the tension from yesterday had left my temples throbbing. I rubbed them. "Go, then."

He brightened. "I knew you'd understand. Don't worry, next time I'll go see your parents myself."

His phone rang with a ringtone I knew all too well, and he answered right away. "Chiara said yes. Wednesday, I'm all yours."

Meanwhile, I texted my mom. "Mom, you know that arranged marriage you keep bringing up? Let's meet him next Wednesday."