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“I’m sick of this,” I say softly and release Blair. I step forward, toward Heiko, which makes him grin bigger.
“What are you doing? Marie, come on, I don’t like the way he’s looking at you.”
“It’s okay. I know him. That’s the Crawford family hitman.”
Blair gags as I stride forward to meet him.
Chapter 19
Marie
Heiko slows and stops at the base of the steps on the far side. I stand midway between him and Blair, hands on my hips, chin tilted up. I know he’s here for me, but I feel protective of my friend and I’m going to get in his way if he decides to do something stupid—like use her against me. He can come over here and drag me away if he wants, but Blair’s watching, and there are at least ten other people around.
I’m not letting him intimidate me for the rest of my life. I learned a long time ago that I have to stand up to bullies, especially men that want to hurt me, throw me around, and cause me pain for their sick amusement.
“Why hello there, Ms. Pearce,” Heiko says and puts a hand over his heart. “It’s been much too long. I didn’t expect to see you.”
“Heiko. What are you doing here?”
“I was in the neighborhood and noticed you out here with your friend. I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You mean you were waiting outside my building for me to come out and got lucky.”
“That too. This is a really boring job most of the time. I spend days and days standing around and waiting, and mostly nothing happens. But oh, the exciting stuff, that’s worth all the boredom. If it helps at all, I’m not supposed to approach you right now, but this seemed like such a good opportunity. Why don’t we skip all the whining and bullshit, and you just come with me right now?”
“Marie, honey, are you okay?” Blair moves closer and I feel a surge of pride in my stomach. She’s a good friend. I know she’s scared right now and I can’t blame her, but she’s not abandoning me to this psychopath.
“I’m fine,” I say, waving her off. “I promise. I’ll just be a second.” Even if she wants to help, this is my fight, and I’m not about to let her get pulled into this mess like Ansell.
I turn back to Heiko and move closer. His eyes widen in surprise but his smile doesn’t falter. “Listen to me. I’m sick of you hanging around and making my life miserable.”
“But I get so much pleasure out of it.”
“Go tell William that if he wants to talk, he can meet me at Luigi’s Pizza on Fairmount Avenue tonight at seven.”
Heiko’s eyebrows raise all the way up and he stares at me. “Are you joking?”
“He wants to talk to me, doesn’t he? Your employer wants to give him the opportunity to make me repent my wicked ways or whatever, isn’t that it? Let’s skip all this annoying back and forth and hash it out, me and him.”
“I don’t think he’ll go for it.”
“He will. He’s stupid and he hates me. He’ll be there.” I turn and head back toward the building, heart racing. I don’t know if he’s going to fall for this or if he’s about to rush out and drag me away, but it’s a gamble I’m willing to take.
Heiko calls my name and I pause. “I can’t guarantee he’ll show. And I can’t promise he’ll be alone if he does.”
“Tell him to come and to leave his guard dogs behind. Just me and him. Tell him not to be a coward.”
Heiko laughs as I stomp back toward the front doors and head inside. I can’t believe that worked. I expected Heiko to tell me to shut my mouth but he’s clearly intrigued. I don’t know what’s going on with that family behind closed doors but I’m guessing there’s a fair bit of confusion. I wonder if Heiko’s loyalties are somewhat split between William and his father.
Blair catches up with me in the lobby. “What the hell was that?”
“I’m going to have a conversation with my former fiancé about boundaries and proper behavior.”
“Are you sure this is a good idea?”
I look at her and take her hand between mine. “You’re a really good friend. A really, really good friend, and you’ve done enough already. But can I ask for one more favor?”
She groans but nods. “What do you need?”
“A ride. That’s all. You have a car, right? I’d ask Ansell but there’s no way in hell he’d ever let me go to this meeting without a dozen guards and a bulletproof vest.”
“I have a car, but I’ll lose a choice parking spot if we do this. And I’m not sure I want to piss off my boss.”
