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She doesn’t know it yet but she will.
“Wait! She saw the guy?” My head jerks up and my laser focus shifts to Xavier and Tally.
“Yes. That’s why we went to the police station.”
“Waste of time.”
“I think so too. All they did was ask about us. Our work and our home and our bank. Just all kinds of shit and they didn’t ask a damn thing about the guy that killed Vincenzo.”
Fury surges in me and I meet Xavier’s eyes. The look in them tells me that he knows exactly what I’m thinking.
They can’t go home. Because those cops were most likely sources for the Vitrillo’s. And now they know exactly where they live and work.
“Why exactly did you go to the cops? Because you were there last night? I’m pretty sure that most of the people that were there aren’t going to the cops to notify them.”
Next to me, I see Petal trying to mouth something at her friend but luckily she just jumps right in there and says, “Petal saw the shooter.”
Fuck. My head whips towards Xavier and his eyes are narrowed, his mouth firmed. He looks mad as hell and I hope that he doesn’t do something stupid right now.
“Yousawhim?” He asks. I growl and he fucking barks at me.
“Enough! I think that you need to come back with us. Take a look at some pictures that we have and hopefully you’ll be able to tell us who you saw.”
What neither of us says is that whoever the guy is, he’s going to want to get rid of loose ends. Doesn’t matter if he’s one of the Vitrillo’s or a contract killer that they hired. He’s still going to want to make sure that there are no damn witnesses because that’s the only way to ensure that you’re never convicted of a crime. Make sure there’s no witnesses and no evidence.
“I assume that he doesn’t know that you saw him,” I grunt, watching Petal with a wary eye.
“Ummm. Yeah, he did see me. I think part of the time when he was shooting, he was shooting at me. So those other people just got in the way.”
My brow lifts but my mind is already whirling, thinking. I saw the other people that were shot. They weren’t in the family. Just innocent bystanders. So what if he was aiming at Petal and he just missed?
Xavier grimaces. “I don’t know what to think about most of what you said, except for one thing. Those cops? They were likely on the Vitrillo’s payroll.”
“How do you know that?” Petal’s blue eyes are wide and scared. She should be afraid. She’s got herself tied up with both sides of a mob war through no fault of her own but I’d bet money that whoever the hitman is, he was either part of the rival mob family or hired by them.
“Because we have our own guys on the inside too.”
Both women stare at us like we’ve grown second heads. “I can’t fathom what kind of world we’re in right now but it feels like an alternative universe. I’m a teacher for heaven’s sake. I don’t know a damn thing about the seedy underbelly of this city.”
My lips quirk and I can’t help the rough chuckle that slips out. She glares at me like a little angry kitten.
I lift my hands, palms out, when she stares at me like she could happily shank me. “Hey, no judgement here, little one. I’ve just never been called the seedy underbelly before.”
Xavier snorts and I glare at him.
“We’ll show you some pictures of the possible culprits at my estate. Then I’ll have Victor take you home.”
His hooded eyes meet mine and even though he’s smiling, I know it’s just for show. They’re not going home. If I know Xavier, he’s going to have Tally wearing his ring and round with his babies in less than six months.
I turn to Petal and the panicked look in her eyes makes me swallow roughly. I don’t like that she’s afraid. I get the feeling that she thinks that she’s going to end up dead.
I stroke her hand absently and she’s so far gone with fear that she doesn’t even notice me. But I can promise you one thing. This woman is safe with me. Nobody is going to touch one hair on her head.
Not even me.
CHAPTER4
Petal
