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It’slate at night when Brielle walks into my kitchen with a box of pizza in one hand and a box of cupcakes in the other. She smiles as she sets the food down on the kitchen counter and looks at me.
Confusion crosses her face as she takes in the leather jacket I have on.
“I thought we were going to watch a movie and pig out tonight?” She opens the box of pizza and pulls out a slice. “If you’re going out, that means more for me.”
“I agreed to pizza,” I say as I grab a slice. “I have things to do tonight. You should go back to your house and lock up. I’m not going to be back for several hours.”
She nods and grabs another slice of pizza, one in each hand as she heads for the front door. I grab my phone and keys from the table, stopping when Brielle freezes in her tracks. Brielle moves to look out the window before ducking down.
“What the hell is going on?” I ask, looking at her.
She glances up at me with wide eyes. “There’s someone outside my house.”
“Stay here.”
I pull my gun out of my waistband and flick off the safety. Brielle looks like she’s going to be sick as she gets up and puts the uneaten slice of pizza back in the box. She steps away from the windows, heading into the laundry room just off the kitchen.
“There’s a gun in the cabinet above the sink in there. Get it and stay in there until I get back,” I say before heading to the front door.
I make my way slowly around her property, looking for whoever she saw.
There is a crouched figure by her back door, dressed in all black and trying to open the door. I creep up behind them, careful to move as quietly as possible.
“Who the fuck are you?” I ask as I press the barrel of the gun against the back of their head.
“Don’t shoot,” a boy says, his voice cracking as he raises his hands above his head. “Please. Don’t shoot.”
“Stand up and turn around. Keep your hands over your head. If you move, I will shoot.”
The boy stands up and turns. When he looks at me, I lower the gun slightly, though it is still trained on him. He can’t be more than fifteen or sixteen. His eyes are watery as he looks at me.
“What the hell are you trying to do?”
“I just wanted to see if I could get in there. I need money, man.”
I sigh and shake my head. “Get out of here. If I ever see you again, I will call the cops. Understood?”
The kid nods and takes off running. I flick the safety back on and tuck the gun in my pants before heading back to my house. When I enter the kitchen, Brielle comes out of the laundry room with the gun aimed at my head.
“It’s just me,” I say, stepping forward and taking the gun from her shaking hands. “It was just a kid trying to break in. He’s gone now.”
She nods and crosses her arms like she’s trying to hold herself together.
There’s no way that I can leave her here alone after this.
“Alright, well, you know what? I did promise a pizza night,” I say as I look at the gun before handing it back to her. “Let’s eat the pizza in the truck while I drive to the meeting. You’re going to have to stay in the truck while I deal with what I need to deal with.”
“You can say guns or drugs,” she says a little shakily, but having gained some color on her cheeks, as she grabs the pizza box and follows me out to the truck. “I know what you do for a living, in case you forgot. Hell, I’ve gone on runs with Brennan.”
“Fine, I’m meeting with another smuggler who can get me some of the things that Brennan doesn’t deal.”
We get into the truck and Brielle sings along with the radio as I drive to the warehouse district just outside of town. The drive is just long enough to finish off the pizza before I head to the warehouse the meeting is supposed to be held in.
Brielle looks at the warehouse before glancing over at me. “There are too many lights on. It’s the middle of the night and the place is lit up like a Christmas tree.”
“This smuggler is one of the guys that Brennan knows. I’m sure that everything is going to be fine. Just stay here, alright?”
Brielle closes the empty box and tosses it into the backseat. “Salvatore, something doesn’t feel right about this.”
