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“Well, did Dickie have any criminal record? Violent history?”
“Squeaky clean,” Rowena grumbled. “Look, Jimmy, Roddy and I went through all of this, trying to find a way to sell it. I didn’t want Roddy to clean up my mess, but he did. Like he always does.”
“He really loves you.” Jimmy offered Rowena some tissues from the desk.
“I know.” Rowena sniffed and gratefully accepted the tissues. She loudly blew her nose a few times and tried to clean herself up. “Ugh. It’s all such a mess. All of this? This shit? It’s my fault. It’s why the Luchesis came back.”
“Why? Because they thought Rod was going to get arrested?”
“Yup.” Rowena rolled her eyes. “Have you met the Gentlemen? They’re all good guys, strong, whatever. But Roddy is the one who keeps them in line, keeps them going. Without him, they’d fall apart. So, if he went to jail…”
“The Luchesis could make a move to take Strassen Springs back,” Jimmy finished with a frown.
“Roddy is always so careful, but the cops still found Dickie’s body. Everything keeps pointing back to him. All of this shit keeps going wrong, and it’s all because of me.”
“Is that why you’ve been… um…”
“Trying to pickle myself?” Rowena patted the bottle. “Mm, definitely. Not feeling real super about my first kill, okay. Even if the prick fuckin’ deserved it.”
“Do the other Gentlemen know?”
“That I killed Dickie? Jules for sure, Tamerlane is suspicious. The others, meh. They just figure Roddy did it.” Rowena’s lower lip quivered. “Even Dario… God, he means so much to me.”
“What about Dario?”
“He thinks Roddy killed him too, and he’s so sweet, and so kind. Fuck. If he ever found out it was me…”
Jimmy almost wanted to laugh. “You’re afraid that Dario wouldn’t like you if he found out you, uh, killed someone?”
“Would you?” Rowena bawled miserably.
“I mean. I know Rod has killed people. And I’m sort of, um, you know, still with him, and my moral compass has been a tad hazy, and I might be falling for him, which is super crazy, and, God,” Jimmy babbled away, trying to aim for comforting. More confidently, he said, “I think love is blind. Okay? And I think when you love someone, you look over stuff. No matter how bad it is. And I know for a fact that Dario is freakin’ crazy about you.”
“Really?” Rowena’s big blue eyes were wide and hopeful.
“Really,” Jimmy confirmed with a warm smile.
“Thank you, Jimmy,” Rowena sobbed, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tight. “You’re such a good friend.”
“Sure.” Jimmy wondered if it was possible for his life to get any crazier. “You know, anytime. So, just to make sure we’re on the same page, this actually does qualify as super-secret mob stuff?”
Rowena chuckled. “Yes, sweetie. This is super-secret mob stuff. Keep your lips zipped or it’s the fishes for you.”
“Got it.”
Rowena took a deep breath, straightening herself up and wiping off her face with the tissues. She smiled weakly, teasing, “You know you totally admitted that you’re falling in love with my brother.”
Jimmy’s face spontaneously caught on fire. “I-I did? I guess… I guess I did.”
“You guys doing okay?”
“Uh…” Jimmy thought about their little tiff this morning that had been preceded by some incredibly passionate sex. “Two steps forward, half a step back?”
“Progress.”
“What about you? Are you gonna be okay?”
“Oh, sure, sweetie.” Rowena smiled, her usual swagger trying to crawl back into place. “I’ll make it.”
