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“And I will. At home. And not with someone who’s lying to me.” She shook her head. “Good job, by the way. You made it almost twenty-four hours before pulling another stunt that makes me unable to trust you.”
Explaining why we’d avoided DeLuca meant I would have to divulge the connection between him, Caruso, and ultimately, Nick. Sloane would think I’d lied because I had some kind of involvement with her. I’d have no chance to explain the situation between Nick and her husband or what role I’d played in their lives.
“Please reconsider at least eating.”
Sloane rested her forearms on the table and leaned forward. “You have three choices. Either you take me home, Cowboy takes me home, or I call a car service.”
I stood and pulled her chair out.
“Good decision,” she muttered.
Neither of us spoke on our way from the restaurant back to her place. Anything I might chance saying would only make the lie worse.
“Don’t get out,” she said when I pulled into the driveway.
“I’m coming in with you.”
“No. I don’t want you to.”
“You passed out less than thirty minutes ago. I’m not leaving you alone.”
“Take me to my parents’ house instead.”
I eyed the outfit she was wearing; it didn’t do a thing to hide her tummy. “How do you plan to explain that?” I pointed to her midsection.
“That isn’t your concern.”
“Can we please go inside for a minute?”
“I’m going inside; you aren’t.”
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, hoping I wasn’t making an already bad decision worse.
“Cadillac DeLuca is the head of the Sabatino Crime Syndicate, who Dan Caruso, Claudette Caruso’s husband, works for.”
She looked at me with scrunched eyes.
“Nick.”
Sloane didn’t hesitate. She got out of the car and slammed the door behind her. She raced to her front door, but I got there ahead of her.
“Let me explain.”
“Too late.” She took her keys out of her purse. “Get out of my way.”
I didn’t want to have this conversation out in the open, but she was giving me no choice.
“He beat her up. That’s what the deal was when she came into Max & Millie’s the day you, Halo, and I were there for lunch. She asked for my help.”
“Your help. There was no one else she could go to? The police, for example?”
“Sloane, please, I don’t want to talk about this out on the front stoop.”
She hesitated, but opened the door, and I followed her inside.
“Caruso is a bad dude, and Sabatino is worse.” I walked into the kitchen and opened the refrigerator.
“What are you doing?”
