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“Alright, well, I met with those people you set me up with last night. I have a couple more meetings later this week and then I should be starting to bring out some of the capos and soldiers as well.”
Brennan nods and heads into the kitchen to lean against the counter. “Look, I know it’s a lot, but I need to ask you for a favor.”
“What is it?”
I owe a lot to Brennan but not once over the years that we’ve been friends has he ever called to collect. Now that he finally is, I’m willing to do just about anything for him.
I hate owing people things.
“Well, there’s some shit going on in Brielle’s life. Has been for a long time. Normally, I try not to be out of town long but I know that I’m going to be out for a few months this time. I was wondering if you would be willing to watch over her.”
I’m willing to do just about anything other than that.
“I’m not going to be her babysitter, Brennan, she’s a grown woman.”
Brennan sighs and crosses his arms. “Look, I wouldn’t ask you to do this if it wasn’t serious, but it is. She is in trouble. She’s hiding things from me about it too.”
I perch myself on the arm of the couch. “I don’t know what you’re expecting me to do about this. She can come over if she needs help with something, but I’m not going to be with her every waking minute of every day.”
“I don’t need you to be with her every minute, but it would be nice if you spent some time with her. She doesn’t have many friends due to all the shit that’s going on in her life.”
Brennan gives me a pleading look. It’s the first time that I’ve seen a crack in the armor he wears constantly. Brielle is his soft spot.
“Sofia just flew out yesterday. I finally get my home to myself and now you’re asking me to have another woman invade my life?”
“There are people after her. Dangerous people. It’s not my story to tell, but let’s just say that these people want her dead, so I am begging you to keep an eye out for her since I won’t be here to do that.”
I groan and run a hand down my face. “I wouldn’t do this for anyone else. I just want you to know that.”
Brennan smiles and guilt flows through me. Would he still be excited about me keeping an eye out for Brielle if he knew what the two of us had been up to last night?
I doubt it.
Hell, if he knew what happened last night, I would be the last person he would ask to watch Brielle.
“Thank you, Salvatore. I know that this is asking a lot of you and I appreciate it. Brielle is usually pretty easy to deal with. She knows that she’s got to lay low and avoid drawing too much attention to herself.”
“Then why the hell does she post pictures all over the internet?”
Brennan shrugs. “It’s all anonymous and she uses shit to hide her location. If that’s the one thing in her life that’s making her happy when so many other things have been ripped away from her, then I’m not going to ruin it.”
The more he says, the more curious I am.
I hate to admit it, but the mystery surrounding Brielle is just one more thing to draw me to her. I love a good mystery.
“This is going to be a big arms deal. I may be able to replace my current supplier with one who is more reliable.”
“And these are guns you will continue supplying to my family, correct?” I ask, subtly reminding him of all that hangs in the balance between us.
“Yes. I wouldn’t be able to make this trip if I didn’t know that you were going to be watching over Brielle. The people who want her dead like to become bold when I’m out of town. In the first year after I found her, I moved her to three different cities.”
A thousand other questions are on the tip of my tongue. I want to ask him everything about Brielle that I can, but I know that he won’t answer any of the questions.
If I want to get to know the woman next door, then I’m going to have to actually spend time with her.
Outside of the realm of what he’s asking me to do, I don’t plan on spending much time with her at all.
“You’re going to have to talk to her about whether or not she wants to give you more details. Personally, I think it will help you to know more about what could be happening, but she’s not the most forthcoming with details. I still don’t have the whole story and I’ve protected her since she was fourteen.”
