CHAPTER FORTY-THREE MOLLY
CHAPTER FORTY-THREE
MOLLY
I tried fifty different pizza places in New York.
Course, they didn’t know I tried them because we ordered delivery to a place that wasn’t even remotely near here, and there was a whole elaborate system for security guards who picked up the food and transferred it.
But I tried them, and I was now an expert.
I was considering creating an app just about New York pizza places. Though, there probably already was one, and so ... maybe I’d look into that.
I asked about Jess and Trace, but Ashton said they were in a separate place.
“We want to keep you separate, just to be safe. Less exposure.”
That was three weeks ago, and we were still going.
Ashton left at all hours of the day. Sometimes he’d crawl into bed for a few hours, then leave for three days. It was insane, but they were in a war. The news was reporting a huge uptick of criminal shootings, all places with mob ties.
I wondered if those were either Ashton’s or Trace’s places because I didn’t know much about the Worthing family, what base they had in the city or not.
I was going crazy. Ashton left me one of two bodyguards.
Eze and Matt. I think there were others in the building or downstairs, but when Ashton left, one of them was always here.
Today was Eze, and I went about my new routine.
I made coffee, took one for me and one for him.
Eze always gave me a look, but I’d worn him down. He took the coffee but would place it on the counter where he was standing.
I went over on the other side of the counter and had my coffee with him. I don’t know if Ashton frowned on them relaxing with me, but I knew my ways around that too. Like sitting on the same counter, sipping my drink, and every now and then Eze would relent and drink his coffee with me.
Matt was different. He was less stoic than Eze, and he’d drink his coffee almost right away, almost before I even had time to sit, so I started setting my coffee down first before handing Matt his. I’d race back to my seat and then start sipping away.
When he was done, if he finished before me, he’d give me a crooked grin, placing the cup back down and saying thanks.
After coffee, I’d head to the gym area and either work out or do yoga.
Late breakfast or early lunch was next, whichever worked out.
And no matter who was with me, I’d make food for them as well.
It was the same deal as the coffee except the guys would sit at the table with me to eat.
The afternoons were spent on educating myself.
I didn’t know how long this would take, and I couldn’t relax enough to read for enjoyment, so I started watching business lectures on YouTube and videos about group roles.
I was convinced I had enough education in me to be a group therapist, or an assistant to a group therapist. Yeah.
More like the assistant to the assistant of the group therapist. I could be the note taker.
Then, early dinner and a movie.
After the movie was the real treat I started to enjoy.
Spying on Octavia customers, or more specifically the line waiting to get into Octavia.
I started to notice the regulars. The newbies. The people who’d stay out there all night, and the people who would get in right away. They had a whole system. I was able to see the front door from one side of Ashton’s floor, and if I snuck out to a patio, I had an even better view.
I went out there again, my usual time, because people really started showing up around eleven.
There were blankets out there, a snack pile, and I never had to worry about being quiet because the music from the nightclub was somewhat loud, especially when the doors opened, but it was mostly the people or the traffic.
Where I sat on the patio, I was half-hidden by a post and who’d be looking where I was?
The windows behind me were all dark. The only time any light shone out was when I’d open the door to go in and out, but tonight, I was having a drink, my snacks next to me, when I saw a vehicle pull up.
The bouncers approached, their radios in hand. One went to the front passenger door. The window rolled down. They were talking.
This didn’t happen. People rolled up in their cars and got out, then went to the bouncers to get let in. There was none of this where the bouncers went to the vehicle. I expected it to be a quick convo of yes, they can come in or no, keep moving. That didn’t happen.
The main bouncer guy was having a whole conversation, speaking into his radio. Then, a guy from inside the club came out. He looked all official, and he joined the conversation.
The back window was lowered. The official guy went to have a conversation.
I was riveted.
I wrote down the license plate. Then the official guy and bouncer began backing away from the vehicle, shaking their heads. Their hands were out. They were yelling.
A shot rang out, and the vehicle sped off.
I gasped.
The official guy was down.
The bouncer dropped to his side, his radio in hand, and more security people rushed from the nightclub.
People were screaming. Half the line ran off. The other half—I was fairly certain most were regulars—stayed put to watch the newest action.
Within a few minutes, two cop cars pulled up.
The whole neighborhood was lit up red and blue. An ambulance arrived a bit later.
My phone started ringing. Ashton calling.
I went inside and answered. “Hello?”
“Tell me you are not outside, watching Octavia.”
There were loud sounds from his end. “Where are you?”
“I’m coming to you, but you’re inside. Right? Right, Molly?”
I glanced back. The door was shutting. “Yep. Totally inside.”
He groaned. “You just came inside, didn’t you?”
“I refuse to answer that question on the basis that I might incriminate oneself.”
“You’re not—this isn’t a joke. Octavia’s people called. It’s the night manager who was shot, and they’re saying it’s from our end. I have to know—” His end suddenly got a lot clearer. “Are you inside or not?”
“I am.”
“Where’s Eze? Elijah is trying him, and he can’t find him.”
My stomach dropped down to my feet, and I turned, slowly, as if that would ward anything off—but he wasn’t there. “I don’t know.”
“Get out of there! Now!”
“Ahhh.” I was running, not sure where I was running, but I was running. This was supposed to be a safe place. Had my pizza orders tipped them off? Had someone decoded the stool pigeon encryption? What was happening? But I heard the toilet flush, and I stopped, my heart pounding.
The door opened.
I began easing backward.
Eze came out, grimacing. He saw me in the hallway, plastered against one wall, the phone glued to my face. “What is it?”
“Is that Eze?”
I held the phone out. “For you.”
He frowned, hurrying and grabbing the phone.
I began easing backward all at the same time.
“Hell—” He reached into his pocket, pulling his own phone out.
“It’s dead. I have no signal.” A whole different awareness came over him.
“What?” He raced to the patio door, peering out.
“Cops. Ambulance. Crowds. I’ll lock down here, but I think we’re good.
Her phone has a signal.” He moved to find me.
I was all the way in the back, as far away from him as possible.
He spoke into the phone, wincing at me. “She’s here. I’ll lock down. We’ll move locations.”
A thought came to me. “Wait.”
“What?”
I hurried back. “Give me the phone.”
He did, leaving right after, and I heard him engage all the locks on the door.
“What is it?” From Ashton.
“I was outside.”
He cursed on his end. “I didn’t want you to be out there.”
“I saw it.”
“Saw what?”
“The shooting. The car. I saw it. Why do the Octavia people say it was from our end?”
“Because someone in that vehicle said they worked for us and wanted to get inside.”
“That’s a lie.”
“What?”
“I saw the whole thing. It was weird. The people wanting to go inside just go inside, or they get turned away. This vehicle had the staff go to them. They talked, and they were arguing, and then the manager guy was shot. It wasn’t us.”
“I’m aware it wasn’t us. Thank you.”
I ignored Ashton’s dry tone, saying, “I got the license plate number too.”
“What?”
“I’m nosy. And bored. And I got it to see if you’d run it down for me.”
“What is it?”
I went back outside, ducking down for the pad that I’d dropped and moved back inside. I read it off for him. “What are the chances they would’ve gotten an entire vehicle registered to you before doing this whole thing.”
“Chances are high.”
Oh. “What was the point of doing the whole conversation and telling them they were there for you?”
He was quiet on his end.
I had a point. I thrust my fist in the air and doubled down. “I bet they had to do that because they didn’t register the plates to you. I mean, it’s a genius move to try and alienate you from Octavia’s owners.”
“We’ll run the car down.”
“Okay.” And I was running in a circle, fist in the air. Booyah.
“I’m still going to have you move locations—”
“No! Come on. I like staying here. If I stay—”
“You’ll go where Jess is.”
“—that’d be awesome because company. Or could she come here?”
“Eze’s phone lost signal. I don’t like that coincidence.”
I didn’t, either, but I wasn’t done arguing my case.
I went over to the side where I couldn’t see the front of Octavia anymore, but the large crowd was as much entertainment.
“I have a whole system here. And we have the vantage. If they knew I was here, they wouldn’t have tried it where we could see them do it in real time.
You said it yourself. No one knows we’re here.
It works ...” I trailed off because the same vehicle was parked at the end of the alley.
By the back door. Which I knew Octavia rarely used, and I knew this because I was involved on a long stakeout, for my own pleasure.
And I knew no one used that door.
“They’re there.”
“What?!”
“The same vehicle. Car. The plates are the same.”
“Get the fuck out of there.”
I got closer, stepping to the end of the floor. “They don’t know I’m here. I’m telling you—” I cut off because that door that was never used was just used .
A woman and man came hurrying out.
“They’re picking people up.”
“Who?”
I squinted, trying to see as best as I could. “I couldn’t tell. A woman and a man. His head was down, and he had a hand on her back. She stuck out more. She was thin. Tall. Black hair. She had a shawl wrapped around her, and she had silver heels. The heels were killer.”
He was quiet again. “If I got you surveillance tapes, could you recognize those shoes?”
I was totally hearing the theme song for Sex and the City play in my head. “Oh yeah. I’d recognize them.”
Eze was coming back inside. I heard the locks being disengaged.
“Are we staying?”
“No.”
“Come on.”
“No, Molly. First rule is if you even think your location is blown, you move.”
“If they knew we were here, they wouldn’t have returned to pick someone up from the same nightclub they just shot.”
“Eze’s signal might’ve gotten intercepted because they figured out he’s one of your personal guards. I am not taking a chance on your life.”
I had a whole argument prepared, but the door opened again and Ashton walked inside, all scowly and fierce looking, and everything melted inside of me.
He cared. It hit me hard in the middle of my chest. He really did care about me.
In my life, with how I grew up, sometimes it took a beat for that to sink in.
Him, Ashton, he was sinking in.
I hung up the phone and ran to him.
His eyes flickered once before he dropped his phone, his arms came out, and I was up in the air. He caught me, my mouth on his. I was kissing him because I wanted to let him know that I cared as much about him as he did me.
“What’s this?”
I shook my head, smiling, and tightened my arms. “I care about you too.”
His eyebrows dipped. A whole somber look came over him. His eyes darkened, dropping to my mouth, and soon his lips were back on mine.
I sighed, feeling the press of them, the taste as his tongue slid inside.
He was kissing me and carrying me at the same time, but then we were in the bedroom, and he dropped me lightly to the bed.
He straightened, walked to the closet, and brought back a bag to me.
“Get your absolute must-haves in here. We leave in ten. We’re going to where Trace and Jess are. ”
Ten minutes. Got it. I stood up, leaning over, and touched his lips with mine again.
I only needed eight.