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“Yeah, and the State got involved, then the Feds. It was a mess. See, Danny had already moved in with his uncle the Rhino, so he was supposed to be safe. The State could’ve fucked up the Rhino, too. I’m surprised they managed to keep it out of the news, but Tommasino Michaelson was a smart dude who had a lotta people in his pocket. But this was the last straw, they couldn’t let Sal run around in public. The Rhino threw his weight around and managed to get Sal booked on something else and dude got charged with like eight lifetimes in prison.” He let out a rough laugh. “Reaper had a hell of a rap sheet. Tommasino was real smart in that way. Civilians would’ve lost their shit if they hadfound out a kid-killer was in the mob. So, he threw his brother under the bus.”
I shook my head, not sure if I was following the convolutions of Slinky’s storytelling, but it was enough to know that I had to get Sal’s help.
“Thanks, Slinky.”
“I’ll be in touch,” he said and gripped my shoulder. “You’re doing Hens a real solid by going after Demon Baby Daniel. He’s got a present for ya, too.” Slinky winked. “Come by theCathousethis weekend.”
“Thanks, man,” I said, and Slinky headed out the door, sneakers squeaking on the linoleum.
“By the way,” Slinky said with a grin. “You’ve got good taste. That Asian chick is fine as hell.” He grinned. “Let me know if you need help fucking with her head or anything. I liked how freaked out she was when she saw me.”
I jolted. “She saw you?”
“Yeah,” he said and suddenly his face went cold, his eyes empty, and his hand twitched toward his waist. “You got a problem with that? Gonna tell me how to do my fucking job?”
I swallowed hard and shook my head, causing Slinky to laugh and shove me into the doorframe. “Ah, don’t worry, dumbass.I was messing with you.” He ruffled my hair and took off, whistling as he went down the dim hallway.
Breathing hard, I fixed my hair and went back into my apartment, staring at the envelope. I rushed to get dressed, throwing clothes on, and going back out into the night. First, I’d hit a UPS store, and then I’d got to theCathouseto take the edge off.
Daniel
Sara had not said a word since we’d stepped inside Lia’s apartment.
It was a tiny, cramped studio with big windows overlooking a dingy gray street, and uncertain light moved through the limp curtains. The walls were covered with art, but it only seemed to heighten the fact that this place was barely livable. From the sagging floorboards, the cracked drywall, and the wind whistling through windows.
I shook my head, knowing that if Ty had seen this place in person, he would’ve lost his shit. He’d been upset from the few photos I’d shown him, so I’d purposefully kept him away, convincing him that it would be better to have me, Sara, and the guys pack it all up. Any free time that my cousin had should be spent with Lia or setting up her surprise studio.
My chest ached as I looked around the space, hating that Lia had lived here, had tried to eke out some kind of existence as an artist here, only to have her father fuck things over even more. As I’d gotten to know Lia more over the past few weeks, had seen my cousin fall more and more head over heels for her, I’d started to understand Sara’s fierce loyalty and love for her friend. I’d felt the same urge to protect her as I might the sister I’d never had, to make Lia feel safe and seen, and to safeguard the relationship Lia had developed with Ty.
Ty had never been so happy, even as he tried to hide it, and I wanted it to stay that way. I wanted him to be happy. He deserved that. He more than deserved that.
I observed Sara out of the corner of my eye now, standing in the center of her friend’s tiny, cramped living room, with a faded green futon shoved against one wall, and bookshelves overflowing with well-used art supplies and battered books. Sara’s elegant fingers traced over the fake wood of the chair of the futon, while her eyes roved over the walls, and then a small smile crossed her face as she walked over to a rickety old easel in the corner.
I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to ask what was going through her head.
“She should’ve just moved in with me after her mom died,” Sara volunteered out of nowhere. “Lia’s so fuckin’ stubborn, though. I’m sure you’ve noticed.” I couldn’t help but snort and Sara tossed me a tiny smile that made my goddamn heart glow in my chest. “Yeah, she’s a real pain in the ass. I bet Ty is the same.”
“Yeah,” I said in a rough voice. “That’s why they’re so ridiculous about each other.”
Sara cast me an amused look as she sat down on the couch and reached for her coffee, which she’d earlier placed on the table, as it had been too hot to drink. I stood still with difficulty as she pursed her pretty lips, blowing at it, and trying not to remember what it had looked like when she she’d been on her knees, her red lipstick smeared as she’d deepthroated me. Her lips parted and my entire body tensed as I fought a groan, then she took a long sip, and asked, her tone a shade too casual, “So, that’s official now? Ty and Lia. Last time you implied they were… just interested.”
I nodded. “Yeah. Ty also feels really bad that’s it taken so long to have you visit. But we had a lot of shit going on.”
Sara gave me a curious look and I gave her a bland smile, even as my heart raced uncomfortably fast. I still wasn’t over what had gone down less than two weeks ago. Hendrix had almost successfully executed a hit on Ty’s goddamn house. Even now, all I remembered was the dark highway, the way I’d gone over a hundred in my Range Rover, panic screaming through me. I’d had to race from the south of Boston out to West Carlisle, none of my calls going through, none of the tech responding, and certain I was about to find everyone dead at the house. An hour and change of pure hell.
In the back of my head I’d also felt a terror about having to tell Sara that her friend was dead—that I’d lied to her, that I’d broken my promise.
I still wasn’t sure when or even if I should tell Sara that it had been Lia who’d saved my cousin and the rest of the Family’s asses. Lia had taken down Jock Hendrix and the rest of them who’d come to kidnap her and kill everyone else.
It had been way too close a call. I’d been so focused on thinking Hendrix was playing it smart and subtle. I’d been so goddamn sure that he’d use Ryan White again, so I’d been chasing down wild goose trails with some pals from theSons of Celtand the Bratva. I’d also been trying not to think about Sara, even as I tried to accelerate when she and Lia could be together again.
When I could see her again.
I’d forgotten the one simple rule with Caleb Hendrix—he was a raging, violent, and impatient prick. He’d gotten bored with the idea of simply taking Ty down and sending him to jail, it appeared. So, he’d gone on the offensive, which Ty had been anticipating, and I’d tried to convince him otherwise.
I dragged a hand over my face, staring out the window, certain I could never pay back Lia Goldin. More than once, I’d woken up from a nightmare over the past week, shaking and sweating, where my cousin was dead, where everyone was dead, and Caleb had Lia. Where Caleb tortured and hurt Lia before violently killing her—and sometimes Sara was there, tied up and pleading for it to be her, begging for Caleb to hurt and kill her in Lia’s place.
All while I was somehow trapped, unable to move, only able to watch, until Lia was killed and Sara screamed and wept, sometimes crying out for Lia—sometimes for me.
