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“Are we here to collect on rent or something, boss?” Elio asks me, frowning. “A little outside our territory, isn’t it?”
“This one isn’t ours,” I tell him.
“But itwillbe? I’ve got the tire iron and baseball bat in the trunk—”
“No. We’re not making a move.”
“Then what are we doing here, Dom?” Elio grins at me in the reflection of the rearview mirror. “Are you gonna buy me a pretty dress? If you must know, I prefer pink frills over blue ones.”
I snort. “Would you shut up? I’m trying to—”
Inside the shop, movement. The front door swings open, the tiny brass bell affixed just above it jangling as a woman and a little girl walk out. There’s a third person just behind them, and although her face is blocked from view, I instantly recognize her silky raven hair. I roll down the tinted window an inch so I can listen.
“Thanks so much for the quote,” the older woman says. “We’re still doing a bit of shopping around, but I adore your work.”
“Thank you very much,” is Arin’s soft reply. She sounds a bit run down.
“Ugh,Mom,” the teen beside her says with a dramatic eye roll. Her hair’s dyed blue, pink and green. Very much anI’m-not-like-other-girlsvibe. “I already told you. I can just buy a cheap dress online. You’re going overboard with all this prom crap. It’s not evenyourprom.”
The mother shushes her daughter. “No, sweetie. I already told you that shopping online isn’t a good idea. You never know if what you buy is going to fit you, and then you end up looking like a sack of potatoes. Mark my words, my daughter’s going to be prom queen just like I was.”
“There, ordered it,” the girl says, her thumbs swiping over her phone. “It’ll be here in three to five business days.”
“Now, young lady—”
“Comeon, Mom, I’m starving.”
“What am I going to do with you?” the woman grumbles as she rushes after her angsty teen.
Arin remains at the doorway, her gaze far off and distant. Her expression is blank. Defeated. I watch as she takes a deep breath, chewing on the inside of her cheek before slowly flipping theCome In, We’re Opensign on her front door. She retreats inside and locks up, the lights inside flickering off.
I can’t describe the feeling twisting in the pit of my stomach. Whatever it is, I don’t like it.
“Dom?” Elio calls to me from the front seat. “What do you want to do?”
I roll up the window and settle in my seat, mulling the question over.
What Iwantis to go in there and ask her for one more amazing night together. What Iwant, for reasons unknown to me, is to take all her troubles and worries away. What Iwantis to ask her what she’s been up to in the five years since and to ask if she’s free tomorrow night and the night after that so I can spoil her rotten.
But a man like me means trouble. I don’t mean that in a hyper-inflated bravado kind of way. My line of work is dangerous, as are the people I am surrounded by. A beautiful, sweet, passionate young woman like Arin isn’t built for my world. No matter how interested I may be, bringing her into my life will only complicate her life.
And yet…
“Tell Johnny he’s on sentry duty. Place him across the street and have him keep an eye on the shop. It’s under our protection now.”
Elio arches a brow. “But we’re not collecting? I don’t think Lorenzo —”
“This isn’t Lorenzo’s order. It’s mine.”
I glance towards the shop as Arin is leaving. She walks to the nearest subway station and descends the steps, disappearing from sight. Elio notices. He gives me a cocky smile.
“I read you loud and clear, boss.”
“Good. Now, take me home.”
Chapter 9
Arin
