Page 25 of Bad Husband

Chiara found herself for the rest of the day attempting to watch him, to see if she could tell if he was looking her way or not. She didn’t notice him giving her any kind of special attention. In the end, she figured Rosemary was just trying to play matchmaker, and rather than read too much into it, she got back to work.

The day flew by, nonstop busy with customers, and before too long, it was time to close. She helped Heather clean up, and this made her worried about the other woman, because Heather never stayed long enough to clean up. The last few days she noticed Heather got here early, stayed as late as possible, and even refused the attentions of a couple of customers. She didn’t like what she saw.

There were plenty of women in the Bove Mafia who reacted the way she did, and she also happened to see the change of clothes Heather wore. Long sleeves, high-neck tops, even with the sun being the pain in the ass it was. It wasn’t as bad, and they did have somewhat of a reprieve, but that didn’t justify wearing sweltering clothes.

After cleaning up then grabbing her bags, she shouted a quick goodbye to Rosemary and made her way toward the door, only to find Marco standing there, ready to leave.

“Can I offer you a lift?” he asked.

It was on the tip of her tongue to tell him no, but then Heather and Rosemary appeared, as she’d locked the main door after closing. She was aware of both women staring at her. If she said no, they were going to ask questions. He was being polite, and although if it had been anyone else, she’d have turned them down, something felt different this time. Rosemary and Heather actually liked him, and she got it, what wasn’t to like? He was lying to them, just as she was.

“Uh, yeah, sure, that would be nice, thank you.” She had to try and remember her manners and not tell him to fuck off. Although that was on the tip of her tongue to do exactly that. It wasn’t like she owed him anything.

Instead, she forced a smile to her lips, and followed him to his car. Rosemary called out for them to have a good night, and across the street, Chiara caught sight of one of the men she noticed Heather hanging around with. She looked toward Heather, who had paled as if she didn’t like who she saw.

“Heather, are you okay?” she asked.

At first the other woman didn’t answer, and Chiara was about to extend the option of a lift to her, but then Heather suddenly forced a smile to her lips. “I’m good. You have a good night.”

There was no joking, no banter, no giggles, just Heather looking scared as she crossed the road.

“Are you okay?” Marco asked.

It was strange because Chiara wondered if she would ever feel safe with Marco again. Yet, in that moment, hearing his voice, knowing he was close, she felt ... comfort.

“I think he’s the one hurting Heather,” she said.

“Do you want me to take care of it?” he asked.

“I don’t know. Not yet.” She turned to look at him. “Do you think there’s something wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. She’s different now. She doesn’t flirt, but that could be because I shot her down. I wasn’t interested,” Marco said.

“What if he’s hurting her?” Chiara asked. “I know she’s ... different, and she flirts and everything, but she took me under her wing, and yes, she’s a bad waitress, but she’s nice. You know.” She frowned.

“I’ll keep an eye on it, and if you want, I’ll have a look into it?” he asked.

She turned to look at him, because that would mean she was asking him and his connections for a favor. She wanted to tell him no, but at the same time, she was a little afraid not to. If Heather was being hurt, then there was only one person she could trust.

“Yes, please, I’d like that. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her.”

“Consider it done.”

Chapter Nine

Marco was not in the mood today. Angelo had called him three nights ago, as his presence was needed with regard to the Andante problem, and it pissed him off. For the last few weeks, seeing as he’d now just been plain “Marco the waiter” for several weeks now, and it was working.

Chiara was talking to him. She’d gone from ignoring him, refusing his help, to actually asking for his help, and he drove her home every night. They hung out and ate food together. She cooked their meals, while on the nights he needed to provide food, he ordered takeout. He knew his limitations, and he didn’t have the inclination to learn. Of course, Chiara chose that point to tell him she didn’t have the funds to just go and order takeout. She had to consider what she could afford whenever she spent her money. Again, he felt that guilt at what he did. He couldn’t take it back. He fucked up big time.

Of course, with Andante still on the loose, he had to consider that if Andante caught the rumor of what he was doing, Chiara and No Point could become a battleground. He wasn’t willing to let that happen.

So, he talked to Rosemary, took the three days to handle the problem, which was handling the cleanup of an Andante attack. He also had busted-up knuckles as one of the men was planted to try and gather information on the Bove operation. He made it a personal project to know every fucking face, from soldiers to associates.

He was never sloppy in his work, and he had to beat the information out of the spy. It didn’t take long, as he’d not been capable of withstanding too much pain. He’d squealed after a few hits. It was rather disappointing. He’d hoped for someone to have a bit more of a backbone, and it pissed him off that the son of a bitch didn’t.

He fucking hated Andante. It was why he was in this mess with his wife.

Getting back, it had been close to midnight, and his dogs were nowhere in sight, and he just knew they were with Chiara. He’d missed her.