Chapter 28
BEASTY
The inside of the shop was a wreck. Colorful hand-painted ornaments crunched under my feet, and I waved away pieces of plaster falling from the ceiling like snow. Somehow, the stereo had survived, and Christmas music was still playing.
Once I was farther into the shop, I stopped, unsure where to go with no voices to guide me.
Jorge stepped in after us.
"Where is she?" I asked.
He nodded down a back hallway. "I put her in the office and gave her water."
I headed toward the door that I was pretty sure was the office and paused. A woman sniffled inside.
She could be brutalized like Desiree. With how the men had holed up in here, that was a real possibility.
Steeling myself, I pushed the door open. She scooted back against the wall, a gasp on her lips.
Wrapped in a Christmas blanket and drinking out of a Christmas cup was the most grandmotherly woman I'd ever seen. She reminded me of the sweet lady who ran the front of the homeless shelter.
"What's your name?" I asked quietly, stepping into the office without making any sudden movements.
"Tandy," she answered, casting her gaze down. That was right, Books had mentioned she was the owner.
Kim, Joaquin, and Atlas filled the doorway behind me, and the woman shrieked.
"Shhh. It's okay." I held my hands up like I was approaching a wild animal. "I'm Cressida. These guys are my family. Kim, Atlas, and Joaquin. They won't hurt you."
They took a step back, but firmly planted their feet. I got the message, they wouldn’t let me out of their sight. That was fine, I had no desire to be away from them either.
Tandy stopped moving away and eyed them from under her eyelashes. "That man said the Pescis have no power anymore. Is that true?" Her voice was hesitant, like she wasn’t sure she’d believe me either way.
I studied her. She didn't seem to be part of the mafia, but honestly, what did I know? I hadn't realized Stevo was part of it when I lived here.
Before answering, I pulled out my phone.
Me: A woman named Tandy who owns a Christmas shop. Was she like you or is she a big fan?
I had no idea if what I typed would sound ridiculous to Desiree, but the boys' arrest stopped me from using words that could be held against me.
Desire responded within seconds.
Desiree: Like me. She’s an aunt to a guy that was recruited a few years ago, but she never approved.
Desiree: Approvals don't mean shit in their town tho
Me: Thanks
I pocketed my phone and sat across from her. "It's true. I'm a friend of Desiree's."
Her fingertips whitened as her eyes filled with tears. "She's okay? I wasn't sure after..."
"Desiree's fine. She's been staying with us." I raised my hand and hovered over the woman's knee. I didn't know if she'd welcome touch and I didn’t know her.
I patted her knee anyway.
I wouldn’t withhold comfort from anyone if they needed it. Tandy grabbed my hand and squeezed like she was afraid to let go.
"What happened?" I asked.
The guys stayed in the hallway, but movement caught my eye. Jorge stood behind Atlas, listening. Intently.
She peered around me, and I shook her hand. "Hey, don't worry about them. Those are the good guys. What happened?"
"Donnie," she spewed. "He came here last night after he tried to burn down Suzette's restaurant. He damn near did too." Tandy looked at me as if the thought just occurred to her. "Is Suzette okay?"
"I..." I shook my head slowly, uncertain what to say. I looked back at Jorge, and he shrugged with a shake of his head. "I don't know. We can have someone check on her after this."
"Okay. Okay," she breathed. "Some of Danny's men were in Ricosta’s, and they fought back. Then Donnie forced his way in my shop and they were here all night." Her voice was bitter as a fat tear rolled down her cheek.
"Did they...Did they force anything else?" I didn't want to traumatize her more, but we needed to know so we knew what kind of help to get her.
"No, no, of course not. But..." She glanced up at me. "Donnie killed my nephew last night because he didn't want them to come in. He sided with Danny,” she whispered.
This poor woman.
I cupped her hand between mine and sat with her for a minute. When she seemed like she wasn’t going to cry, I asked the question that had troubled me since we got here.
"Why is the street so deserted? It’s a ghost town out there."
She pulled her hand away and turned to the hallway. "Can I have my phone."
Jorge pushed to the front, the boys parting for him. "I have it, but we can't let you take it back until you’ve been vetted."
"You're under no danger from me." She gave him a watery smile that said how ridiculous that sounded. "Who would I call? The police? I'm pretty sure I heard their sirens already.”
Jorge nodded and pulled a phone with a broken screen from his pocket. "No texts or calls."
"I won't." She took it and opened a text chain. It was a generic message from a contact consisting of only four numbers. "It's a town alert. The Pescis work with the police and they're able to send messages out like this to the entire town."
I—that was so corrupt and unethical, yet I wasn't sure why I was surprised.
Code Red: All citizens must be indoors. Businesses are closed until further notice.
"Why were you here?"
"I live upstairs. There's nowhere else for me to be, and Donnie was here anyway. The message didn't apply to me." Her lips trembled.
"That's not going to be the case anymore. I promise. I used to work over at Linda's." Her eyes flared in recognition.
"I thought you looked familiar."
I nodded. "If you have any trouble at all. Please, go to Linda's. She'll get a message to us and we'll come help."
She was on the verge of crying. All it would take was one blink and the tears would spill over. But she didn't. She sniffed, patted my hand, and said, "Thank you, sweetheart. I appreciate it."
"I'll ask the boys if they can arrange for someone to help you clean up in here." I looked over my shoulder, and Joaquin nodded.
My stomach fluttered at their willingness to do this kindness for me. I would stay and help myself, but we had an unidentified man outside, and we needed to get somewhere safe. Even if the police in town were dirty, being out in the open like this felt too risky.
After another pat on her knee, I joined the boys in the hallway.
"I found a couple cleaning crews in town. I wanted to check with Books first, make sure I'm not stepping on a bomb, then I'll give them a call. We'll cover the bill too," Joaquin said under his breath as he touched my back.
Stopping, I threw my arms around his shoulders and kissed him. It was hard and fast. I knew it wasn't the place, but I wanted him to know how much I appreciated this. How much I loved their effort to make me happy.
We left the shop, and I froze.
Even if the tension wasn't stifling, the stare-down between Lake and Parker was intense.
"We're leaving," Lake said without moving his gaze from Parker.
There were still twenty men on the ground with their hands behind their heads. They glanced between Lake and Parker with something I'd describe as hope, if we hadn't crashed their town and taken them hostage.
"What's wrong?" I asked, walking to Lake. I glanced at Books, who was studying Lake with a green tint to his face. Whatever had happened in the short time we were inside had upset him.
"Nothing. We're leaving."
"What about all this mess?" Kim waved his hand to encompass the street.
Books cleared his throat. "I've already placed some calls to the Network. Two cleanup crews are on their way."
Joaquin’s shoulders dropped as he let loose a sigh.
"Cleanup crews?" That sounded like this was an everyday occurrence to Books.
He scrubbed a hand down his face. "One for the...bodies, and one for construction and tech." He pointed to the traffic light down the street. "If there's any footage, we'll confiscate it and destroy it. I'll oversee it personally. You guys can go ahead and get out of here."
"That doesn't answer my question. What about these men?" Kim pointedly looked at the men on the ground. They were taking our measure.
A few I recognized. When they felt me staring and turned, recognition flared for them too.
"We'll be in town for a few days to monitor the situation. Go ahead and take off, but don't leave town." Parker jerked his chin toward the back street where we'd parked. "We still need to question our new friend, and Jorge has Donnie in a nice set of tourniquets for you."
The man who had been following us was handcuffed on the ground, lying on his side with a vicious scowl.
"Actually, any of you recognize this man?" Parker asked the guys on the ground.
"Nope."
"No."
And several other negative responses were lobbed at him.
"Right." Parker sighed. "Because it can never be easy."
“Let’s go,” Lake growled, and laced his fingers through mine. He stomped as he led us to the side road. I turned back to Books. "I'll see you at your place later!"
He jerked his head up, still looking off.
For the first time, Lake sat in the middle with me, while Atlas took the back seat, Joaquin drove, and Kim took the passenger seat.
Smoothing my thumb over the back of Lake’s hand, I quickly typed out a message to Books to tell him what we learned while I gave Lake the rundown.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
Lake didn’t answer me, but the muscles were working overtime in his jaw. Something had happened, and he didn’t seem like he was ready to share it just yet.
“Lake?”
Silence.
Fine, he could have his moment for a little while. There was something I wanted to do anyway. "Joaquin, take us to Linda's."
Joaquin met my gaze in the rearview mirror. "The place you used to work?"
"Yeah." A small bout of nerves settled in my stomach. Hopefully, she’d be happy to see me. "I want to say hi, then we can go to Books."
Lake was still catatonic, and I changed my mind. I couldn’t watch him like this.
"What's wrong, Lake?" I laid a hand on his shoulder, massaging the hard stress out of his muscles.