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Shit.
I wanted to be open and honest with Kat, let her know about everything that had happened over the course of my trying to track her down. At that moment, however, I didn’t feel comfortable sharing that I’d been so close with one of the top members of the Irish mob. For all I knew, he was the guy responsible for what had happened to her.
“Irish toast,” I said. “Heard it out and about the other day.”
She pursed her lips. “Anything Irish is the last thing I want to hear right now.”
“Sorry.”
Kat shook her head. “It’s fine. Just still shaken up.”
“Listen, I really want you to consider going to the police.”
She shook her head. “Don’t want to hear it.”
That was Kat; stubborn as they came when she wanted to be.
“Then… what about leaving?”
She sipped her wine, a curious expression on her face.
“Leaving?”
“Yeah, as in leaving town. Go someplace safe for a while until this all blows over.”
Kat looked down, as if considering the idea.
“No. I can’t. My whole life is here in Boston. Where would I go? Move to LA and be a waitress?”
“It’s not the craziest thing in the world. At least you’d be safe.”
She shook her head. “No way. Not going to run.”
My first instinct was to go into lawyer mode and poke holes in her argument. I wanted to tell her that staying was the most dangerous thing she could do, especially if she didn’t want to go to the cops and seek out their protection.
She smiled as she watched me sip my wine.
“What is it?” I asked.
“You’re building a case, aren’t you?”
“Huh?”
“You don’t think that I know by now when that mind of yours is working, putting together an argument for why I’m wrong and you’re right? Wedidlive together, after all. Do you know how many times over the years I’d want to do something like sneak out of the house only for you to try to stop me with a neatly organized list of pros and cons? It wasa lot.”
I let out a laugh of relief, feeling very close to Kat in that moment. After all, she was the only person on the planet who could read my mind like that.
“OK, you’re right. But this time I’m keeping it to myself. That’s growing up, right?”
She laughed. “Something like that. Listen, Claire… thanks for everything. I don’t know where I’d be right now without you.”
We hugged and I felt the same love that I always did for my best friend—that desire to look out for her no matter what.
But how to keep her safe? It wasn’t going to be easy.
Chapter 20
Claire
