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I nod my head in agreement, staying silent as she continues to analyze the possibilities. We stay just like that, weapons drawn, slightly crouched, completely silent for several more minutes before she finally relents. “Let’s take a look around.”
She lets me lead for once but stays a half step behind me as we take the pathway to the front of what was once our restaurant. As soon as we clear the first debris pile, the reason for our discomfort is obvious.
I curse to myself, knowing Scar is going to feel this one hard.
There in front of us, right where the doors used to be for The Black Rose, lies the dead body of Fire Inspector Daines. He was the one who had been assigned to this case and helped rule it an accident. He’s worked with us on several other instances and while we weren’t especially close, we had a good relationship with him.
Another good one dead at the hands of Romano.
Scar stops in her tracks as she spots Daines. I don’t have to look at her to feel her rage spilling over. Romano continues to get bolder. Continues to make it more and more personal. Scar’s tolerance for the bullshit is being whittled away with every passing day.
I quickly call the contractor and cancel our meeting for today. The last thing we need is to involve another person. My next call is to Mikey and Ronan for a cleanup. We won’t be able to just dispose of the body, not only does he deserve better than that, he’s too much of a notable figure to disappear without a trace.
Mikey and Ronan will be able to work with the officers in our pocket to keep this as far away from us as we can. The last thing we need is the added media attention surrounding us. It’s probably exactly what Romano wants. Too bad we have a lot of practice moving in the shadows. It isn’t a challenge for us to go undetected.
Scar continues to march forward and I catch her at the elbow. “There’s nothing you can do.”
She wrenches her arm out of my grip. She vibrates like a live wire, just waiting for the right opportunity to unleash that powerful energy. Right now is not the time though.
“Leave it to Mikey and Ronan,” I tell her. There’s a reason we use them as our middle men. A reason we try to keep our legitimate businesses separated from everything else. It’s safer that way.
She knows it, but her anger is getting the best of her. Her need to do something. Anything.
“Come on,” I urge her. There’s nothing more for us to do here. This distraction was a total and complete flop. We only succeeded in fueling her ire. “Let me take you home.”
It almost sounds as if I don’t think she can handle the situation. It’s the exact opposite though. I’m more worried about her reacting in her anger at this moment. We’ve lost a lot these last few months, but this is the closest hit to us that Romano has landed. Scar is going to want to make him pay for this, and right the fuck now.
We can’t afford to be rushing into any of our plans though. She has been pouring meticulously over them so we can remove some bigger players from the board. It would be a waste to ruin all of her effort now.
Scar is not one to let her emotions get the best of her, she just needs a moment to cool down and remember that. I grab her elbow again and this time she doesn’t shake away my touch.
I can feel the energy coursing through her. She’s going to need some type of release, sooner rather than later.
I check my phone as we walk back to the car. Mikey and Ronan aren’t too far from here now, so we are safe to leave the body behind. It’s rare for people to come out this way anyways. The chances are incredibly low of someone else stumbling across the body before they get here.
I back the car out and head back down the long road we came from. We pass Mikey and Ronan in their jeep as they head towards the site. I give them a brief nod in passing, but Scar stays utterly silent and still the whole drive home.
We were supposed to stop at Steel Roses after Poison to pick up some of the files that have been left in my office there. We haven’t even stopped by there in weeks now, not wanting to give Romano any reason to attack there. I’m positive the only reason he hasn’t already, is because of how hard it would be to pull off. I’m sure he would put more energy into figuring it out though if it meant a chance at killing one of us.
I don’t think she has it in her to stop there right now. I glance at her out of the corner of my eye. Yeah, going to Steel Roses will only serve as a reminder of everything else he’s fucking up for us.
I don’t say anything as I take the exit for home. I sneak another glance at her but she’s lost in her own world. She hasn’t even noticed that I changed the plan, if she even remembers that we were planning on going there after.
The set of her lips and the tapping of her fingers against her thigh tell me everything I need to know about the thoughts running through her mind. She’s mentally dismembering Romano. I’d be shocked if it were anything else.
It’s only a few minutes later when we pull up to the house and she finally snaps out of it. She looks back and forth between the front door and me. “Are you not coming in?”
I roll my lips as I debate reminding her. Before I have a chance to, she remembers on her own. “Steel Roses, right. Need me to come with?”
I hate how much this is all affecting her. Usually, she wouldn’t miss out on the chance to be going to the club, but I can tell just how much she doesn’t want to after today. I can’t even blame her. If there was a way to speed this whole thing up and end it with Romano, I would. We just haven’t been able to figure that out yet. Much to all of our dissatisfaction.
“I’ll meet you in the gym when I get back?” I say instead, changing the subject.
She hums distractedly before hopping out of the car and heading inside. I stay idling in the drive until the front door shuts behind her. Even then I debate with myself if I should put this errand off and follow her in.
No, she didn’t seem to need the company. Hopefully she will go work out some of that aggression, maybe even dance for a bit. Find some small sense of normalcy amidst all the chaos.
I get backto thehouse as fast as I can. I haven’t been able to stop worrying about Scar, especially after I realized no one else was home. I had figured that at least someone would be around.
