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“Yes, please” Tony replied. “I’m up to eyeballs in both work and hunting this information down. I’ve been going through the bylaws, too, trying to match up the finances with measures proposed by Harvey.”
“Give me whatever you want me to look for and I’m on it,” I offered.
The four of us pored over documents until Nicky was finished work. I gave Hana a good luck kiss and sent her off with a playful smack on the ass. I wasn’t sure if she was going to need any luck, but it certainly couldn’t hurt.
34
NICKY
“You’resureyoudon’tmind stopping at my apartment first?” I asked.
“Comfortable shoes are important,” Hana replied. “And far be it for me to deny a cat their breakfast.”
“Spud thanks you for your patience.”
Hana grilled me, gently, about my dating history on the short drive back to my place, and I told her about the whole stupid mess with Alphonse. I parked in my usual spot when we arrived. Bravery pushed me on, and I hooked my arm through Hana's as we walked towards the door.
“So not only are youcheatingon me, but you don’t even have the decency to be discreet about itorto be there for me when a family member dies?”
I froze on the spot, my head whipping around to see Alphonse in the front seat of his car, the window rolled down. Three stripes of angry red decorated his cheek. What on earth?
“I never took you for a slut,” Alphonse snapped, his voice dripping with disdain.
Hana pushed me immediately behind her. “She's not cheating on you because she's not dating you, you delusional fuckwit,” Hana spat back.
Panic and nausea clashed together so fiercely I almost threw up right there on the pavement. Alphonse knew where I lived. Oh God. How did he find out?
“Nicky, get inside,” Hana ordered as she marched over to Alphonse. “If you don’t leave her alone then I amveryready to introduce you to my uncles upstate that own a hog farm.”
I wanted to retreat, but my feet wouldn’t move. I was pretty sure that Alphonse was more bark than bite, as sure as I was that Hana was deadly serious in her statement.
He drove off, tires squealing. Hana turned back to me with narrowed eyes. “I told you to get inside.”
I opened my mouth to reply, but all that came out was a sob. It cracked open the dam, unleashing a torrent of tears and panicked gasps that I couldn’t stem. Hana wrapped her arms around me, and her purr filled my ear.
“It's okay. I’m here. I’m not going to let him touch you.” She pried my keys out of my clenched fingers and maneuvered me inside the building with a firm hand around my waist.
When we arrived at my apartment, the door was ajar. I shoved out of her grip and pushed my way inside.
“Spud!” I screamed. “Spuddy, where are you?!”
I dashed through the space, ignoring the chaotic mess that Alphonse had left behind, every thought focused on finding my baby. He was nowhere visible, and I checked under each piece of furniture, growing increasingly desperate.
If Alphonse did something to him, I would never forgive myself. He hated my poor kitty. I choked on another sob and dropped to my knees, dry heaving in the middle of my living room.
“Nicky,” Hana clapped her hand on the back of my neck. “I need you to breathe.”
“I can’t—I—Spud's, he's…”
“We’ll keep looking for him. Maybe he's still in the building. I’ve called the police. They said they already had an officer en route, so someone else probably called earlier.”
Hana kneeled down next to me and wrapped her arms around me in a comforting embrace. Her warmth was an anchor, but I couldn’t be calm, not when my baby was in danger.
A knock at the door drew my attention; the uniformed officer, a brunette omega, greeted me from the doorway. “Are you the occupant? Nicola Marino?”
I nodded my head and hiccuped, stumbling to my feet with Hana's assistance.
“And you are?” the officer asked my companion.
