I could only nod. What else could I do? I knew I should text Davien right then and there and call the whole thing off, but I didn’t. I did nothing but wait while she locked up the diner and followed me down the street.
My long list of bad judgment calls continued when I let her into Davien’s Mustang and shut her in. The ribbon I’d slipped between Ernie’s door and the handle remained in place, a sure sign he hadn’t escaped. The complex had two main doors. The other one was in the back, but over the years, the yard was loaded with abandoned garbage that now blocked anyone from actually using the escape. The windows on the first two floors were barred up. So, unless Ernie had jumped down from an upper floor window and made a run for it, he hadn’t used the front.
I got in behind the wheel and waited.
“What are we doing?” Mia asked from the next seat.
“Waiting,” I mumbled, never taking my eyes off the building.
She followed my gaze and squinted at the grimy building through the windshield. “Who are we waiting for?”
“Ernie Russo. He owes Eduardo money,” I added, knowing what her next question would be.
“So, this is a stake out?”
I shrugged. “Kinda.”
“Should I go? I don’t want to distract you.”
Her skin was warm and soft under the wrapped hand I recklessly placed on her knee. “Stay.” I glanced at the clock. “He should be crawling out of his hole any minute.”
Like most parasites, Ernie lurked in the shadows, waiting for his next victim. I’d visited him before, roughed him up a bit to pass along the message, and the guy still stuck to his schedule as if Christ himself had passed it on to him. Most people got smart. They thought they could shake me by rerouting their day. Not Ernie. I almost appreciated that. Made my job easier.
“Are you going to kill him?”
The question had my attention redirecting to the figure tucked into the shadows pooling across the passenger’s side seat. Even in the darkness, I could just make out the glint of her eyes watching me.
“Maybe.” It all depended on whether or not Ernie had the money. I didn’t tell her that. “Want me to take you home first?”
Her head tilted. “Won’t you miss him if you leave?”
I would absolutely miss Ernie, but I didn’t want her watching me cap a guy, either.
“I can get him later,” I answered.
“Won’t Eduardo be mad?”
I glanced away, preferring not to look at her when I told another lie. “I’ll handle it.”
Her hand settled gently over mine. “I’ll stay, but can you just let me know if you’re going to kill him?”
I opened my mouth to tell her there was no way in hell I was going to let her watch a guy get blown away, especially by me, when my phone chirped. It took some maneuvering to unearth the thing from my back pocket with a bandaged hand, but I dug it free and skimmed the text from Alejandro, Eduardo’s consigliere.
“Dinner’s cancelled. Ernie can’t make it.”
The halt on the hit could only mean two things, either Ernie paid up or, come morning, they’d find his body in the bay. I put my money on the latter.
“What is it?” Mia asked when I tossed my phone into the cup holder and started the car. “Why are we leaving?”
“Going to take you home,” I murmured, pulling into the street.
“But what about Ernie?”
I glanced at her for what felt like the first time and really wondered about the woman in my — well, Davien’s — car. I didn’t know a damn thing about her. Not really. I knew her parents were in the same protection deal as most of the people in her neighborhood. I knew she loved her family but had zero regards for her own safety. I knew she had a sex drive that could outmatch me and Davien and was open in a way I hadn’t experienced with anyone, unless they were being paid. I knew she was too kind, too sweet and trusting, which made her a perfect target for people like me.
But could we trust her? I just told her my mark’s name, a rookie mistake. I told her why we were there. I gave her Eduardo’s name in association with Ernie’s, which meant, if he turned up dead in the morning, she knew everything. She was a witness, a threat. It was my job to eliminate threats. It was my job to keep my boss — and myself — out of prison. My freedom and Davien’s depended on me handling this situation. There was no other option.
I had to kill her.
Chapter Seven — Mia
Nero pulled up at the end of my block and parked. The night whispered around us, soft and with a secret that never failed to make me shiver. Outside the windows, everything glittered with beneath the streetlights. Droplets of rain pinged off the roof but nowhere near hard enough for me to pull my umbrella free of my purse. Instead, I faced the man at my side. He’d been oddly quiet throughout the drive. I wondered if he was upset he’d missed his chance catching that Ernie guy. Part of me felt bad that I’d interrupted his work. The other part reminded me that he was the one who had asked me to stay.
“Are you going home?” I asked him, turning to study his intense outline half hidden in shadows.
The palm wrapped in gauze rubbed lightly along his thigh. “Yeah.”
I dropped my gaze to my own lap, to the fingers I’d twisted in the strap of my bag. “Did you want to come in for a little bit? My parents won’t be back until late. I could warm us up something if you’re hungry?”
I don’t know why I felt so unsure asking him to come home with me. I wanted to spend time with him the way I had Davien, but he’d been so tense the whole time, I couldn’t be sure he even wanted to.
“I have things to do.”
It was hard not to feel a stab of disappointment at the rebuff but I forced a small smile and nodded. “Okay, thanks for the ride.”
Not waiting for a response, I pushed open my door and rolled out. The sticky, muggy air clung to my skin, weighing down my hair and making my uniform rub uncomfortable against me. I adjusted the strap of my bag, closed the car door and sprinted towards the opposite side of the street without glancing back.
At my house, I let myself in. My coat and purse were snagged on the pegs. I kicked out of my shoes and padded to the kitchen through a thick wall of darkness. I didn’t bother with lights until the carpet under my feet turned to linoleum and my hand drifted to the switch on the inside wall.
Dull light flooded the cramped space, highlighting the clean counters, the empty sink, the old appliances. Its familiar neatness brought a sense of comfort to me as I moved to the fridge and pulled out a container of leftover pasta, tomato, and meat. I didn’t bother with a bowl when tossing it into the microwave and hitting heat. I ate standing over the sink, watching my tired reflection in the dark pane of glass overlooking the backyard.
I thought of Davien sneaking into my room the night before without prompting but leaving before I even had a chance to catch my breath. Then Nero who had refused entirely to come in at all. I was probably reading too much into it. I had to remind myself that we weren’t dating. This wasn’t a relationship. I agreed to fuck them, that’s it. That was all we could ever have. I had to remember that. Catching even more feelings would only end badly for me when they grew bored and decided they weren’t getting enough from me. I couldn’t expect them to want one woman between them forever. That was crazy.