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“Shh. Stay quiet.” She pushed against my chest. “I’ll get rid of them.”
I stumbled back when she shut the door in my face. As it was, I tripped over the boxes on the floor, and I shot out a hand to catch a mop handle before it fell. I breathed through my mouth. The closet reeked of Windex, and it took everything I had not to sneeze.
This was absurd. My eyes still hadn’t adjusted, and I blinked in the total darkness. I wanted to ease open the door so I could hear what was going on, but I didn’t want to risk the hinges creaking.I settled for pressing my ear against the door, listening in as the girl went to intercept the three men.
“Ciao, boys. I didn’t know you were stopping by.”
“We were in the neighborhood.” That was Marco talking. “Where were you? You always leave your shop unattended?”
“It was a slow day. I was in the back going through today’s shipments.”
“Lock the door if you’re going to do that, next time. This isn’t the best neighborhood.”
“It’s all right.”
“Lock the door. You never know who’s going to show up, and you’re not—”
“You mean I’m a puny little female incapable of defending myself?” Her voice raised. “Ha. Besides, I thought this was your turf—”
Footsteps closed in on the register. “You will do as your told, Emilia.”
I didn’t know who the new speaker was, but I bristled at the threat in his voice. I imagined him getting in the girl’s face.
Emilia…where had I heard that name before?
“Go away, Dominic. Go peddle yourmaschillismoto someone who gives a shit.”
I couldn’t help but smile. The girl had balls.
“Dom didn’t mean anything by it,carina.” The third guy sounded like a sleazeball. “It’s just that you’re here all alone, and we’ve got a bit of a turf war going on with the Irish. It would be better if you worked closer to home.”
“I’m not leaving my bookstore, Angel.”
“We can find you a new one. Closer to the compound,” Angel said. His voice lowered. “Dom and I, we worry about you, Emilia. So does Lorenzo. We’d never forgive ourselves if anything happened to you.”
“I’ll be fine here. You don’t need to be worrying me, and neither does Lorenzo.”
“He’s your father. Of course, he worries.”
My stomach hit the floor. I wrenched back from the door so fast I didn’t hear what else was said over the rush of blood in my ears. Holy shit. Dominic and Angelo Moretti were standing a dozen feet away from me. Lorenzo Moretti’s only sons. Dom was the underboss for the Moretti Crime Family, and notoriously ruthless. Angel was a capo for the Family, but he had quite a nasty reputation of his own.
Which made my little bookish savior none other than Emilia Moretti, Lorenzo Moretti’s stepdaughter.
If any of them found out who I was to the McTiernans, I was a dead man.
“Enough!” Dom barked. “You two are giving me a headache. Emilia, did you see a guy with red hair and tattoos come by here? Out of breath, like he’s running from something?”
“Why, were you chasing him?”
“Answer the question,” Angel said. “He’s Irish, Emilia. McTiernan Clan. Real bad character. Offed a few of our guys—we caught him shadowing Marco.”
“We’re not going to hurt him; we just want to ask him some questions.” Dominic’s voice sounded like he’d be anything but gentle once he got his hands on me.
This was bad.
This was very, very bad. I eased into a crouch, pulling my knife and cursing myself for not bringing my gun today. I like to think of myself as more of a lover than a fighter, but it was this exact situation that Tommy was always warning me about. I just hoped fate wasn’t going to prove him right.
“No. I didn’t see anyone. Certainly not a tattooed redhead,” Emilia said. “I’d have noticed him.”
