Dark Vengeance by Kristi Belcamino (libby ebook reader .txt) 📗

I hated that. But he was right.

He continued. “You do have a home. Your home is wherever the people who love you are. Wayne and I are here in San Diego and always have room for you. Eva would be thrilled to death if you went to see her in Italy. And there’s still a lot of people who love you in San Francisco.”

He was right. I dried my tears and sniffled.

“Thanks.”

“Call me later, okay?”

I didn’t answer.

“Gia? Call me and let me know what you decide.”

“I will.”

I hung up.

34

I paced the sand outside my hut as the sky grew lighter, filling the east and west skies with a pink orange glow lighting up the clouds.

I couldn’t go see Eva or Dante. The look in their eyes would break me. They’d try to hide it and be cheerful, but they would be full of sorrow and grief the same as me. They loved me and knew Nico, too. It would kill me.

There was a low sound that took me a few seconds to recognize: one of the surfers was blowing through the conch shell.

It was time for Matteo’s memorial ceremony.

I ran and put on the wetsuit Makeda had dropped off last night, picked up Rose’s surfboard, and headed for the beach.

When I got there, Makeda passed out flowers, beautiful blossoms in white, purple and red. The surfers stuck the ends of the stems in their mouth. I waited a second and then did the same. As soon as the flowers were distributed everyone headed to the water. That’s when I realized why we had the flowers in our mouths.

The others took off, ducking waves and paddling out past the break.

I was soon left behind, eating salt water as the waves crashed over me. After a few minutes, I got the hang of it and caught up to where the other surfers were resting, chest down on their boards.

Once I got there, the circle opened up by Makeda, who reached out to grab my hand. I looked to my left and was surprised to see Keiki there, extending her arm for me to hold her hand. Her eyes were bright with tears.

Then, one by one, each person shared a small memory of Matteo. When it was my turn, I said how I had immediately liked him when I saw him stick up for the older man collecting shells on the beach that one day. Keiki gave me a solemn nod when I was done.

After everyone had said something, Makeda lifted her flower. The others followed suit and then the flowers were tossed in the water in the middle of the circle. Then they started to splash the water and cheer and smile and laugh.

It was beautiful.

After the ceremony, when I had changed and returned Makeda’s wetsuit back to her hut, I wheeled my bike toward the road. I paused at the last hut and looked down at the beach.

Everyone was huddled around the bonfire, laughing and sharing stories about Matteo.

I watched them from afar as I dialed a number I hadn’t used in a very long time.

The voice that answered, a silky purr that glided over my soul like a soothing balm, made me smile and cry at the same time. I could almost see her:

Darling was like a queen—a powerful, strong, beautiful member of the royal family of humanity. She had a lioness mane of dark curls, golden cat eyes lined thickly with kohl like an Egyptian goddess and those ridiculously long black eyelashes.

And that woman gave the warmest, best hugs in the universe. When she gave you a squeeze, she made everything right in the world.

“Good Lordie, girl, I wondered when you were going to call me. This city misses you something else. We need someone like you to make sure the riffraff stay in check.”

I almost laughed at her words, but gave a loud sob instead.

“I’m so lost, Darling. I have nothing. Nico is dead. Rose is gone.” My voice was stuffy from crying. I knew she knew.

“Hush, honey child, you still got what you need. You got your heart. You’re breathing, your heart is beating, you have people who would die for you. Mmmhhhmm. Why don’t you come on home? I got just what you need. Plus, I need your help. My hips aren’t what they used to be and I’m working on a new project I need someone like you for.

“So, it’s settled, I need you to come home to San Francisco and help me. Got it? I’ll expect a call from you when you’ve landed.”

Then she hung up.

I stood there with my mouth wide open. The nerve. But then I burst into laughter.

Darling was a force of nature.

I wasn’t about to stand up to her.

I wiped away the last of my tears. I realized with a start that I was done crying. I was done.

I was going home and I was done crying.

I walked toward my bike and straddled it. I’d said my goodbyes down at the beach. Just to Makeda. She’d promised to get in touch if she heard from or saw Rose.

Now, as I gave one last glance to the surfers around the bonfire, Makeda must have sensed me because she turned around to look. I lifted my hand partway. She gave me a slight nod.

With the sun warming my face, I pointed the bike toward the road and gunned the motor, feeling the wind at my back.

As the miles passed, it felt like the grief that had been a dark shadow following me for so long, began to fall away. Each mile stripped more of the heaviness away from me until I felt something I barely recognized; light and free and hopeful. Then to my surprise, I felt something else: a strange excitement about the future. It had been a very long time since I’d looked forward to the future. For so long, the future had been bleak—just a step closer to Nico’s inevitable passing. After that, I couldn’t