Page 10 of Rafael

Women. Right. As if Amelia is some sort of panicky, lying damsel. This man is full of shit.

It's not even a good lie. I don't respond. Just keep staring at him until it was uncomfortable for both of us.

"Have you seen her? You talk to Angelo?" The bruiser presses.

"Do you have a name?" I need to know who I'm dealing with.Â

He scowls. "Jimmy DeLuca. Amy's cousin. Like I said."

DeLuca. Just like the guy who killed O'Shea. Not great. Not what I want to hear. But he's not sure that Amelia is here. And I'm a good liar.

"I haven't talked to Angelo in a couple weeks. I think he's out of town. And I don't remember the last time I saw his little sister. You want to give me your number and I'll call you if I see her?" I keep my tone disinterested, like I don't want any part of this family spat.

And Jimmy seems to believe me. He hands me a card with a number scrawled on the back. I slip into my pocket.

"I'll give you a call if I need to." I want him gone.

He nods, satisfied. "See that you do. We wouldn't want anything to happen to her."

There's no way he knows I'm a cop. He must be one of the stupider DeLuca's. Most of the family knows who I am, what I am.

I close the door and lock it for good measure. Jimmy is already walking away. Maybe we made it out of this.

I head back to the bedroom and Amelia is pacing back and forth, her hair is a mess and she's trying to make it tame.

"Who was it? What if they want?" She looks ready to jump off the roof.Â

I want to hold her close but I don't know if she'll welcome it after our argument. "Jimmy DeLuca. That Vinnie's brother?"Â

She nods and her face loses what little color is left.

"We need to get out of here." We might have been arguing about witness protection earlier, but were not arguing anymore. The DeLucas know this spot. She won't be safe for long.

"Do you think Jimmy has friends in the parking lot?" He probably doesn't know which one is my car. But if he were smart he would wait to see what I do next after receiving his morning.

She looks toward the window but doesn't approach, as if she's afraid to give away her presence. "He's in tight with Vinnie. But Vinnie has to be stuck at home right now. I can imagine grandpa would let him roam the streets after what he did."

"So you don't think he's going to call in the cavalry and storm the house?" That's the other option.

Amelia doesn't have an answer.

We quickly pack up some things but I won't run out blindly into the parking lot where anyone could be waiting.

I look out the window and I don't see anyone suspicious, but it's dark and anyone could be out there. I'm tempted to call a cruiser to do a drive-by, but that will invite more questions that I'm willing to answer.Â

We have to chance it.

"You stick close to me and you do whatever I say. If I say hit the ground you drop. Got it?" I try and put on a drill instructor tone. I need Amelia to trust me right now.

She nods grimly.

We take off. We even make it to the car. But as I'm pulling out of the parking lot another pair of headlights flares to life.

It could be a coincidence. Or it could be a tail.

I head out and keep my eyes half on the road in front of me and half looking in the rearview mirror pure. The car follows.

"Fuck." My grip tightens on the steering wheel, but I keep moving straight ahead.

"What?" Amelia sits up a little higher in her seat.

My hand flashes out to gesture for her to slouch down. "Stay low. We might have a tail."

She slouches down so it's not so obvious she's sitting there.

I keep driving, and keep watching. The car doesn't turn away. When I turn down the street, it follows. When I slow, it slows.

There's only one good place to lose a tail around here. I keep driving as if I don't realize I'm being followed even though whoever's behind me has to know that I know that they're there. It's a dark night and there are many cars on the road. I head towards the highway. The entrance ramp two miles away is notoriously poorly designed. And I'm hoping my tail doesn't know that.

Once we're there I don't give him a second to react. I turned sharply and accelerate, switching lanes at the last moment and nearly hitting the barrier as I speed onto the freeway and into the dark night.

The car doesn't follow.

But I still don't believe we're safe.Â

Amelia is an even more danger that I realized.