Little Black Book (24 page)

Next to the gun was a medium-
sized, black box. I pulled it from the safe, opening the lid. There were pictures of Sebastian and Vick when they were younger, an old match box, and tiny trinkets that I’m sure meant something to Sebastian, but didn’t stand out to me at all.

Shifting through the pictures
, I smiled at each one. My eyes landed on the next item and all the happiness was sucked out of me. Lifting it, I looked down at the locket in the palm of my hand. It looked just like…but that was impossible. My mother’s locket was stolen that night.

The chain was broken and slipped through the tiny
clasp of the locket, making a tiny clinking noise when it hit the floor. Pressing on the side of the locket, it popped open and my heart shattered into a million pieces. My eyes took in the tiny picture of the infant I knew was Kyle before landing on my picture. I was nine in the picture and I was the happiest person in the world.

My tears blurred the picture, making the locket look as if it was floating in my palm. I was having a nightmare. No way was this happening. I was still sleeping and I needed to wake up.

I closed my eyes and tried to envision the boy from that night—the way he stood, the way he held his shoulders straight, and his walk… it all felt so familiar to me now.

Closing the locket, I clutched it tightly in my fist, the latch on the side digging into my palm.
And then I remembered the gun.

I felt like I couldn’t breath
e as the realization of what that gun was, what it was used for, came to me. The truth of it was choking me and I couldn’t do anything to stop it.

The newspaper clippings
covered the gun, and I reached for them. A tear fell down my cheeks as I shifted through them, reading story after story about the death of my parents. The date caught my attention, February 12, 2001... 021201. Sebastian’s safe code was the date my parents were killed.

“What are you doing?” Sebastian asked from
behind me.

I turned on him with angry tear-filled eyes.

“What is this Sebastian?”

T
he color drained from his face. I watched as sadness and regret filled his features and I knew—I just knew.

Sebastian was a murderer.

Twenty-Seven

Sebastian

“Did you have a nice little vacation?” Vick sneered from behind me.

I was looking down over my club. The place I once thought was the only thing I could love
…until Rosslyn. I was in love with a women who trusted me when she had no right to.

I wasn’t in the mood to fight with Vick. “We did.”

Her stunned silence followed. She expected me to be harsh and rough with her, but I wasn’t playing any games with her tonight.

“
We?
Now you’re a couple?”

I sighed and dropped my head, pinching the bridge of my nose between two fingers. Obviously she was in the mood to push my buttons.

Turning around, I picked up my drink from corner of my desk and tossed back the remains. The glass made a deep sound when I set it back down. I’d lost count of how many drinks I’d had since I left Rosslyn sleeping, but the slight buzz was numbing the constant guilt I felt since I found out who she was.

“Yes, Vick, we’re a couple. I told you she was different. I’m in love with her. I’ve never been in love with anyone the way I love her.”

“You’re in love with her. Are you insane Sebastian? We killed…”

I cut her off. “We?
We
didn’t kill anyone.
You
did.”

It was something
that haunted my mind for years.

“Come the fuck on, Sebastian,” Vick whispered as she disappeared over the side of the fence.

She was faster than me now that she was
older, but still clumsy, which was why I never let her do jobs by herself. She wasn’t ready, even if she thought she was.

I lifted myself up over the fence and fell to my feet beside her.

“You’re getting slow,” she grinned over at me.

“Fuck you,” I said, standing
up and dusting off the knees of my pants. “Let’s get this shit over with. I told Anthony we’d be back in two hours.

We moved across the perfectly manicured bac
kyard toward the house Vick had her eyes on for the last year. She said it was the house of her dreams. She wanted a home and family like the one inside.

We all had our dreams and envisioned the kind of life we’d have if we hadn’t been given away, so I understood her obsession with the house. Even though I’d told her
, over and over again, I picked the houses, I knew her birthday was coming. So like a dumbass, I promised her we’d do the house she wanted.

“Okay, are you sure the people are out of town? I asked.

“Yes. Now quit worrying. We’ll be in and out before you know it.”

I trusted Vick with my life. I had no reason to believe she would lie to me about anything.

“Fine, but still no lights. The neighbors around neighborhoods like this, watch each other’s backs. Let’s just get in, get the shit, and get the fuck out.”

“I’m not an idiot, Sebastian. I’ve done this more than you.”

The stolen credit card I used on the back door, bent as I pressed it into the lock. Pulling on the knob, the door popped open.

“
Like a pro,” Vick whispered with a smile.

She bumped her shoulder into mine playfully. That was the problem. She played too much in serious situations like the one we were in.

I gave her the evil eye, telling her to shut the fuck up, and then moved stealthily through the house. Vick was on my heels as we moved through the place, looking for valuables. The bottom floor was spotless and we didn’t find much of anything.

“Come on,” Vick whispered, taking the stairs to the second floor.

I followed behind her and into the master bedroom.

“Jackpot,” Vick whispered, tugging on my arm. “Help me get the TV.”

Nodding my head, I moved toward the wall with the TV and we both lifted it from the stand and onto the floor. It was at that moment, the bathroom door flew open and a man in a pair of silk pajama pants stepped out. He was yawning with his eyes closed and scratching his head. Once his eyes opened, they landed on us. Vick and I both froze in the light coming from the bathroom.

“What are you doing in my house?”

He moved toward the side of the bed toward the phone. It was then I saw a lady sleeping on the other side.

I held up my hands. “No need for that. We’ll just leave.”

I moved toward the door hoping Vick would follow. Neither of us needed to be arrested.

I was standing in the doorway when I looked back. Vick wasn’t there. Instead, she was standing in front of the man and she was holding a gun up at him.

“What are you doing?” I said, making my way back toward her. “No. This is not how this is going down.”

I broke into houses to survive, but carrying a gun around and pulling it on people was not okay with me.

“He’s going to call the cops, Sebastian,” she said in a hushed tone. “Fuck, now he knows your name. I’m sorry. Shit, I’m so sorry.”

Her eyes were wild. She was freaking out.

“Vick, just give me the gun. We’ll get the hell out of here, and no one will know anything. Let’s just go.” I said calmly as I reached out for the gun.

Her hand was shaking, which meant her trigger finger was shaking, too.

And then everything moved in slow motion. The husband stood there with his hands up, fear in his eyes, while the wife started to stir. And then she sat straight up in bed and screamed.

The gunshots rang out, deafening
me as I watched the man fall to the floor. Blood oozed from his neck and he choked as he tried to breathe. I moved quickly toward Vick, but it was too late. The wife was running toward the door and Vick was shooting over and over again.

E
verything went silent, except for the sounds of the husband taking his last breath, and the wife beginning to choke and gasp for life. And then, the screams of a baby in the room next door.

Vick dropped the gun, and took off running as if I wasn’t even in the room with her. Her loud footsteps on the wooden stairs echoed throughout the house. I stood there in shock, sure that I was dream
ing, but the woman started moaning. I should have ran, but I didn’t. Instead, I dropped to my knees next to the woman dying on the floor and I grabbed her hand.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her. “I’m so sorry.”

Her wide eyes were trained on me as her body started to shake. Blood splattered from her mouth and landed on her lips. She was trying to say something, but I couldn’t understand. Leaning down closer to her, I turned my head so that she could speak in my ear.

“Please,” she struggled to say.

And then I felt her shaking fingers on mine as she placed something hard and cold in my palm. She closed my hand around the object and pleaded to me with her eyes. I didn’t know what she was asking me for, but I couldn’t help her.

I should have called the police or the ambulance, but I wasn’t thinking str
aight and I was scared. I’d never seen anyone die before and my stomach was twisting with fear. All I did was lean over her and watch as a tiny tear fell from her eye and she took her last breath.

I opened my hand and looked down at the locket in my palm. What was she trying to tell me?

And then a sound at my left made me jump and I looked up to see a young girl standing in the doorway looking back at me. She was no more than ten. Her tiny feet peeked out from under her nightgown as her fear-filled eyes took in the scene around her.

The woman obviously wanted me to have the locket. I didn’t know what else to do, so I popped the chain from around her neck.
I stood holding her locket in my hand. My eyes clashed with the little girl’s once more, and then I took off, running past her and down the stairs. Once I lifted myself over the fence, I puked all over the ground, before running off into the darkness.

As badly as I wanted to turn myself in, it meant turning Vick in, too
, and that was something I wasn’t willing to do. She was the only family I had—my baby sister. What she had done was wrong, but I couldn’t let her go to jail. I couldn’t.

That night
, I changed. I lay in bed and blocked out all the memories of the night, cutting off my emotions completely, so that I didn’t feel the guilt or the hurt tearing me apart.

Popping open the locket the woman had given me, I saw two pictures inside. One of the little girl, and another of the baby I’d heard screaming. I’d witnessed
two people die—parents. I’d left two children, mother and fatherless. I’d sentenced them to a life like mine. It was something I’d never get over for the rest of my life… never.

“What the hell are you talking about, Sebastian? We were both there.”

Her words pulled me from my
memories. “You’re right. I never should have let you…” I didn’t finish.

“Are you thinking of ratting me out? The least you can do is tell me before you do.”

My gaze snapped in her direction. “You know me better than that. I’m not a fucking rat. I’d never do that to you and I’d never do that to Rosslyn. She can never find out what happened that night.”

“Oh, screw
the bitch, Sebastian.
I’m
the one you should be loyal to. Me, not her.”

“I
said, I wasn’t going to tell her. I can’t lose her, and if she finds out, she’ll leave me. I need her, Vick. She’s
it
for me.”

Vick’s face crumbled and she fell back a step. “But I thought…”

Even through my drunken haze, I didn’t miss the total devastation on her face. I’d suspected Vick’s feelings for me a couple of weeks ago, but tonight confirmed it. It was like a punch in the gut. She was in love with me.

How could I have not seen it all these years? She was like a sister to me
, so it never occurred to me her feelings ran deeper than mine. She watched me screw anyone and everyone, and never batted an eyelash. But with Rosslyn things were different, and now all of Vick’s issues over the past few weeks made sense.

“Vick…” I raised my hands in the air feeling helpless. How was I supposed to tell her I didn’t feel the same for her?

Tears fell down her cheeks and she swiped at them angrily and then wrapped her arms around her middle. I hadn’t seen this side of her in a very long time, and I was reminded of the girl she used to be. She was vulnerable and I was watching it in slow motion as I was breaking her heart.

As much as things had changed between me and Vick in the past weeks, a part of
me clung to the old her. I couldn’t just turn away from her pain. Holding my arms out toward her, I waited, hoping she’d accept my comfort. Within a second, she was across the room and throwing her arms around my waist.

Her tears soaked
the front of my suit, but I didn’t care. She needed comfort. Guilt thickened in my gut as I realized things were going to be different from that point on. The moment felt like it was marking the end of our friendship.

“I love you, Sebastian.
I’ve been with you since the beginning. No one else.”

“Sh
hh,” I whispered, smoothing the side of her head.

“She’
ll never be good enough for you. She’ll never know you like I do. I accept you for who you are and what you’ve done. Would she say the same if she found out about your, our, past?”

“Vick…
” I started to explain to her, but she cut me off.

“Tell me you don’t love me, Sebastian. Tell me you’ve never loved me.” She begged, lookin
g up at me with tear-filled eyes.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t feel the same way. You’
ve always been like a sister to me.”

“That’s not true.
” She shook her head furiously. “Kiss me.”

Before I could stop her, her fingers were gripping my jack
et and she was pulling me forward. She caught me by surprise and was able to press her lips against mine.

Desperation was a bitter taste
. I felt her tongue move along my lips and I wrapped my fingers around her elbows roughly, and tried to pull her from me.

“I love it w
hen you’re rough,” she growled. “I know how you like to fuck. Fuck me, Sebastian. Fuck me hard.” She bit my lip, freeing her arms and started attacking the buttons on her shirt.

“Stop it, Vick.
” I pushed her away and she fell back a few steps.

She blinked at me and then glared. “She’s goin
g to break your heart. She’s not like us. She’ll never be like us. You and I are the same. We don’t get happily ever after.”

“Maybe I won’t get a happy ending, but even after all the shit I’v
e done, you and I are nothing alike.”

She smirked, fixed her shirt
, and turned around. Without another word, she left the room, slamming my door behind her. If I had been smart, I would have followed her to make sure she left the club, but I wasn’t smart.