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Chapter Three
Jack
He tapped on Stella’s contact information and brought the phone to his ear.
“It’s about time,” she answered after the first ring, not even bothering to say hello. “What about my hairy details?”
“I know, I know.” It had been less than a week since his good friend Stella had given him the final encouragement he’d needed to agree to Eva’s unconventional arrangement, but it seemed like a lifetime ago. He vaguely recalled telling her that he would keep her posted on the outcome, but things had changed. Suddenly it felt wrong to talk about sleeping with Eva Fiorini.
“But I can’t really get into details right now.” Or ever, he added silently. “I need to ask you a favor.”
A pause. “Okay. You all right, Jack?”
A few inquisitive neighbors in pajamas were peeking their heads out of nearby apartments. Jack strode past them, stopping at the end of the hall at the elevator bank, where there was a picture window overlooking the city. He took a deep breath and leaned his forehead against the cool glass. “Remember when you were having trouble with those vandals targeting your food trucks a couple of years back? You had to hire private security, right?”
“Right…” she began cautiously, as if wary where this was leading. “What about it?”
“What was the name of the outfit you used? You were pleased with them?”
“Max Coby and Associates? Oh, yes, they were great. Former NYPD. They caught the vandals, and we’ve never had any trouble since then.”
Jack made a mental note of the name. “Great. Thanks. I’ll call you later.”
“Jack, wait,” she said before he could end the call. “What gives?”
He pulled away from the window and spied his reflection in the glass. No wonder Valentine had told him to move along at first glance. With his five o’clock shadow and wrinkled shirt, he looked like he’d just woken up on the street. “Nothing. I’ll explain later.”
“It sure sounds like something,” Stella pressed. “I didn?
??t hear from you all week. I figured you were having the time of your life educating Eva, and were too busy to come up for air. Now you’re asking about private investigators? Is everything okay?”
He exhaled. “I’m sure it is, but I don’t know… I feel like someone needs to keep an eye on Eva.”
“Keep an eye on Eva,” she repeated. “Are you going to tell me why?”
“Someone tried to break into her apartment tonight. And I don’t know…call it intuition, but after what happened to Antonio and Pietro, I don’t feel right leaving her unprotected.”
“Those were accidents, Jack,” Stella said. “Terrible, tragic accidents.”
He gritted his teeth. “I know. But that doesn’t change the way I feel about this.”
“You sound like Antonio. He was so paranoid about everything.”
“Yeah, well.” Jack sighed. “Maybe I need to be paranoid right now. I promised Antonio I would look out for Eva, and so far I’ve been doing a shit job of it.”
“Stop it, Jack,” Stella said gently. “You’re too hard on yourself. Nobody can prepare enough to prevent random acts of criminal behavior. And you and I always thought Antonio was a little off his rocker when it came to protecting his family. Why are you suddenly changing your mind?”
“I don’t know.” Jack shifted, glancing over his shoulder to make sure the hallway was still deserted. “I guess I’ve got an ugly feeling that maybe their bad luck wasn’t luck, after all.”
Stella huffed in disbelief, as he’d suspected she would. “That’s crazy, Jack.”
“Maybe not,” he snapped. “Antonio’s dead, isn’t he?”
“Yeah. He is.” Stella’s voice was soft, wounded. “Okay. I get it You should do what you feel is right. Call Coby. Do what you need to do. Don’t let me interfere.”
“You’re not interfering.” He checked his Rolex with a heavy sigh. Shit, it was after one a.m. “I’m sorry, Stella. I’m just tired.”
“It’s fine.” A long pause followed. “But I can’t believe you really think Antonio’s death might not have been an accident. That would change everything, Jack. Everything we thought was true.”
