AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Such a damn old fogey,” he replied with a shit-eating grin.
“Alright,” I said. “The girl. Tell me what’s going on.”
Kellan ran his hand through his hair, his telltale sign for when he had something to say but knew I wouldn’t be happy with it.
“Eddie’s talking about what to do with her.”
I gripped the steering wheel hard, anger running through me.
“Shit’s not right,” I shot back. “Poor girl was a victim of circumstance, happened to be around some loudmouth shitehead at the wrong time. And now she’s got to pay for it with her life?”
Kellan raised his hands in mock defense. “Hey, don’t jump up my arse about it, I’m right there with you, brother. No doubt in my mind she had zero intention of getting wrapped up in Mob shite. All the same, that’s what happened.”
I took a slow, deep breath, trying to compose myself.
“Tell me what Eddie said about her.”
“Just said that we can’t keep her around forever, and that if she’s not going to talk, we need to take care of her. That’s all he said, and that’s what he told me to tell you.”
“Alright. We need to figure something out then.”
“I know. And you might be thinking that we could just sneak her out, tell her to leave town for a year or so until this all blows over.”
“Not that simple. She’s already seen our faces and knows that we’re affiliated with Pussycats. Even if we told her the terms of us letting her go included not going to the police, there’s a damn good chance she will.”
“Hell, I couldn’t blame her one bit. Who wouldn’t want to make the men who locked them in a room for nearly a week pay for what they did?” A wry smile formed on his lips, as if something had suddenly occurred to him.
“What is it?”
“This woman you saw the other day… she’s a lawyer, yeah?”
“That right. Big law type.”
“And she does defense, you said?”
“Yep.”
“Well, I know it might sound daft, but I was thinking about how useful it’d be to have someone like her on our side—a smart, killer defense attorney who could help us out of whatever jam. I know Eddie’s got his boys he likes, but you ask me, they’re getting a little long in the tooth. We need someone young and fresh.”
“If you’re looking for someone who’s going to go to the mat for us if this Kiki girl wants to talk to the police, I can’t think of a worse person than her best friend.”
“Ha, fair enough.” After he spoke, Kellan regarded me with a strange expression.
“Come on now, what’s on your mind?”
“Nothing, nothing.”
“Don’t you even try to sell me that shite. You look even more suspicious than you normally do, brother. Out with it.”
He laughed. “You’rethe one who needs to be out with it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Come on, now. This Claire woman. You’re mad about her.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Now it’s my turn to tellyounot to sellmeany of that shite. I could tell by the way your damn face lit up when you were filling me in on the lunch and what you’d learned about her that you’re mad about the woman.”
