Page 61 of Pretty Lies

Problem was, his attitude came from one thing.

One person.

Della.

Because he still couldn’t get her comments out of his goddamn head. Maybe … just maybe, because Cory was who he was and he was proud of it, he didn’t want to admit that a passing comment from a woman he wasn’t even trying to chase had him feeling like a bit of a prick. Or like the last thing he wanted was for her to think he was exactly that.

Stupid.

That’s what it was.

Cory didn’t want to be doing this shit at all right now—not because Della wasn’t interesting enough to be worth it—because it put him off his game. Instead of focusing on keeping an eye on her place a block down from where he’d parked after the sun went down, he kept getting lost in his thoughts about all the other shit that had nothing to do with his job.

That had to be the most important thing right now.

“Listen,” Cory said out of the side of his mouth to his brother, “tonight’s just not the night for anything else but business, bro. All right?”

Joe took a second.

“Yeah, all right,” he finally replied, adding, “and shit, I would have got here earlier but since you’re busy and some people—Ma and Monica, you know—need extra attention from me, so they’ll relax for a damn minute.”

That had Cory grinning.

“Ah, Dad got onto you to distract Ma, then?”

Joe shrugged. “Yeah, but Mon missed you last week, really. I had to listen to her tell me all the details about her group of friends, and whose messing with who, or which chick is trying to get lead on the squad and why she ain’t shit … Cory, I just—”

“It’s a lot to keep up with.”

But he did that with Mon—Joe, spent his time with their little sister in other valuable ways—because she trusted her brother. Enough to tell him anything. So much so that she counted him as her best friend. Fuck anyone if they thought to use or hurt Monica Rossi because the first people she would come to was Cory and Joe.

They would rage.

Blood would spill.

Joe grunted under his breath. “Man, that’s why I didn’t fuck with chicks more than once in high school. Too much nonsense.”

“Fucking hell.”

Cory’s laughter followed Joe’s; it colored the car, taking his mind away from the shit that hadn’t left him alone all day. For that split second, he allowed himself to have that clean slate because soon enough, he’d be right back to business as usual.

“What do you need?” Joe asked, bringing them back to task.

He let out a steady stream of air, gaze cutting back to Della’s place. Earlier, when he’d brought her home after a full day, she’d not asked him in. He didn’t suggest that he wanted to, either.

“Luis Ruiz,” Cory said. “He’s who Frankie Costello is having the issue with. The attack on Della—why I’m watching her right now.”

That had Joe’s brow lifting.

Cory nodded in response. “Yeah.”

“So … yeah? Really.”

“Yep.”

“Shit. That’s been … how many years ago?”

Clearing his throat, Cory said, “A few. Wouldn’t have hurt to be a few more. Certainly didn’t expect to run into him like that. Might have handled it slightly better had I gone into it knowing everything from the start but what the fuck does that matter, you know?”