Chapter 18 #2
Six hours later, my head was still spinning when Juliette got back into the car.
Not only had I allowed myself to pretend there was a shot in hell I could have a real relationship with Vince Ginocassi’s daughter, I’d allowed myself to pretend she wouldn’t hate me when she eventually found out I’d been working undercover for the NYPD all this time.
“Hey.” Juliette smiled. “Sorry that took forever.”
I turned the key in the ignition. “Not a problem.”
Juliette sighed as she reached down and slipped her heels off. “That guy is such a misogynistic asshole. I don’t know how he hasn’t gotten canceled yet.” She let her head fall back against the headrest. “Did you at least have a peaceful day in the car and continue your whistling?”
What’s the opposite of peaceful? That’s the day I had. “My day was fine.”
I pulled away from the curb. “This morning, when you got out of the car, you kissed me.”
“Did I?” Her brow furrowed as she thought back. “I didn’t even realize it.”
“We need to be more careful in the future.”
“Okay.”
Yet not two seconds later, Juliette reached over and rested her hand on my thigh.
I removed it and glanced around. “I just said we need to be more careful. Someone could see.”
“My hand is below the window. Who’s gonna see?”
She had a point, but it didn’t ease the knot in my gut. “Let’s just not touch in public at all.”
“Fine.”
I looked over. She was staring straight ahead, jaw tight. Clearly annoyed. But I let it be.
The drive home was quiet, and the silence continued into the house. Juliette went into her room and changed into sweats.
“Is everything okay, Wes?” she asked when she came back out.
No. Everything is fucking terrible. “I just have a headache.”
“I’ll get you some Advil.”
“Thanks.”
Dinner conversation was stilted. Every word I said felt like a lie, and I didn’t have the capacity for any more today.
Juliette asked me a second time if something was bothering me, and I continued with the headache story.
I was relieved when she said she had some work to do and went to her room to use her desk.
She didn’t emerge again until ten o’clock.
“God, I didn’t realize how long I’d been working.” She stretched her arms over her head and leaned to one side, yawning. “I’m tired. You ready for bed?”
I pointed toward the TV. “I think I’ll watch a little more TV.”
She glanced at the screen, then back to me, her brow creasing. “It’s not even on.”
Shit. “Right. I meant I’m going to watch a little TV.”
She frowned, clearly unconvinced, but didn’t press further. Instead, she walked over and kissed me. “Goodnight. I hope whatever is weighing on you seems lighter in the morning. If not, I’m always here to talk.”
Jesus, I didn’t deserve this woman. “Thanks, babe.”
It was after midnight before I finally went to bed.
I’d debated sleeping on the couch, but I knew that would definitely have Juliette asking questions.
We’d slept together every night since we’d started having sex.
So instead, I waited until I was sure she was asleep before I slipped into the room, careful not to wake her.
I stared at the ceiling, thinking back over all the decisions I’d made that had landed me here.
The decision to kick the shit out of that husband when I answered a domestic-abuse call.
The decision to go to the DA when Vince Ginocassi contacted me with a job offer.
The decision to accept the DA’s proposal to drop all the criminal charges against me, in exchange for going undercover and using Vince’s offer as a way to infiltrate the Ginocassi family.
At the time, it felt like the deal of a lifetime.
I got to stay out of prison, keep my job, and put away a bunch of wiseguys—didn’t sound like a bad idea.
Until I fell for the head wiseguy’s daughter.
I’m so fucked.
***
I hate myself.
The following afternoon, I decided the best course of action was to try to get the information my captain needed from Juliette.
It’s just the location of a meeting.
It will get my boss off my back.
It’s not that big of a deal.
They’re not even going to raid it, just pick up a guy who’s been MIA for years anyway.
But I still felt like shit, no matter how hard I tried to convince myself Juliette wasn’t going to get hurt. Because deep down I knew the truth: I was betraying her. And that fucking ripped my insides apart.
Juliette was on the phone with her mom, so I figured that gave me the perfect in. I waited until she finished, then struck up a casual conversation.
“How’s your mom doing?” I asked, strolling into the kitchen.
“She’s good. My dad bought her some fifteen-thousand-dollar necklace from Van Cleef & Arpels for her birthday. That seemed to make her happy, though I’m sure it fell off the back of a truck.”
I smiled. “How did your mom handle it when your dad went to prison years ago? He did like three years for assault, right?”
Juliette sighed. “Instead of making him dinner at home every night, she brought it to the prison—one set of Pyrex dishes for my dad and one set for the guard who looked the other way. I think that CO gained twenty pounds while my dad was an inmate.” Juliette shook her head.
“I hated going to visit him there. I was only twelve, but I remember going on family day every other week. My mom would always cry outside when we left.”
I hesitated, though I was genuinely curious. “Would it make your life easier now if Vince were locked up? You wouldn’t be a target anymore because he wouldn’t be in power.”
“I guess? But just because I hate his life doesn’t mean I want him locked in a cage for the rest of it. He’s still my dad.”
I felt deflated. I sat at the kitchen table until a few minutes later, my phone rang. It was Vince, of all people. I swiped and lifted my cell to my ear. As usual, he started barking before I’d even said hello.
“Big meeting happening soon.”
My ears perked up. “Oh yeah? What can I do to help?”
“I need Juliette in the house on Friday. All day long. You don’t let her out until you hear from me.”
“Tomorrow?”
“That’s what I just said, didn’t I?”
My eyes locked with Juliette’s. She was sitting across from me, but had definitely heard what her father said. The guy spoke so damn loud, it was like he was always on speakerphone. She rolled her eyes and got up and went into the other room.
“Not a problem,” I said. “Just tomorrow?”
“As of right now. Depending on how things go, the temperature could cool off or heat back up. Keep her inside until you hear from me again.”
“You got it, boss.”
Click.
What an asshole. The dick must’ve gone to the same school of manners as my captain. I tossed my phone onto the table, and Juliette came back in.
“Why do I have to be locked down again?” she asked.
“There’s some sort of a big meeting happening.” I paused, then added something her father and I hadn’t discussed. “At the rooster.”
Juliette sighed. “I guess it must be important. My father hates the drive to Pine Creek Gorge.”
“That’s Pennsylvania, right?”
She nodded. “My uncle Anthony has a country house there. They call it the rooster because whenever they have meetings up there, the neighbor’s rooster always wakes them at the crack of dawn.
My dad always complains about going. No one knows it—because God forbid the boss have any weaknesses—but my dad actually gets carsick, and it’s a five-hour drive. ”
“Don’t blame him for keeping that under wraps.” I smiled. “Carsick does sound kind of wimpy.”
“Would you mind taking a ride to the bookstore with me? There’s a new book I might get to turn into a screenplay, and I haven’t read it yet. I’d like to pick it up, especially if we’re on lockdown tomorrow for Lord knows how long again.”
“Sure. Just give me a minute to change my shirt.”
“Okay.”
Inside Juliette’s room, I closed the door behind me before going to my duffel bag.
I’d hidden the cell phone my captain had given me in a side compartment.
Pulling it out, I turned my back to the door, in case she suddenly opened it, and turned on the phone.
As soon as it illuminated, I typed in nine words.
The Rooster. Anthony Ginocassi’s house. Pine Creek Gorge, Pennsylvania.