Chapter Fifteen
Dante
I knew the second I heard her voice that something had gone horribly sideways.
It was that whispered tremble, that desperate way her voice looped around my name.
I was running out of Famiglia before I could tell anyone what was going on. That said, this wasn’t our first rodeo. So by the time I was running down the salt-slippery steps, I heard them all rushing behind me.
I knew I didn’t have to yell back to them that there was a problem, that they needed to follow me. I just focused on trying to keep Hazel calm and flooring it all the way back up the highway to the garden center.
Nothing seemed overly out of place as I pulled in. Except, of course, that Hazel’s Jeep was nowhere in sight.
I managed to clock that but didn’t let myself focus on it as I ran to the shop, unlocked the door, and rushed inside.
I saw my family pulling into the lot behind me. I knew they would do what needed to be done: get their weapons, fan out in groups, scour every inch of the garden center and the woods to make sure there was no active threat.
That let me focus on Hazel.
The light in the shop was low, and I didn’t want to freak her out by turning any on, so it was hard to assess the extent of the damage.
I could smell the blood, though. And when I sat next to her, I noticed the way she had her hands set on her thighs, palms up.
There were some gnarly scratches there, along with some on her face, and she was caked in dirt all up her front, the light brown color standing out against her black clothing.
As I sat with her, waiting for her shaking to subside and the shock to slowly slip away, I couldn’t help but wonder what the hell she was doing at the garden center at the crack of dawn in all black… without her car.
It wasn’t time to ask her questions yet, though, so I just sat with her, giving her the comfort she needed after what was clearly an ordeal.
That said, I was glad to hear Dom calling me, because it was killing me not knowing what they found… or didn’t find.
Sure that Hazel would be okay for a couple of minutes without me, I made my way back outside, finding Domenico waiting for me, his face even graver than usual.
“Did you find him?”
“No. Definitely some evidence of a struggle. Someone not only broke the door to the greenhouse, but one of the wall panels. Some blood here and there. That ain’t what I called you out here about, though.”
“What is it?”
“Someone uncovered the body.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Dug it up with their hands, it seems. Found some gloves a few feet away.”
There was dirt all over Hazel. I’d assumed it was from a struggle. But what if…
No.
“He’s still there, though, right?”
“Right.”
“I sense there’s something else.”
“Found a phone a couple of feet away from the body too.”
My stomach twisted.
I didn’t have to ask to know.
But I asked anyway.
“Was it Hazel’s?”
“Well, she might not be the only person in Navesink Bank with a phone case covered in witch hats, but…”
He flashed the phone at me as his other hand reached for his own phone, scrolling until the other phone started to ring.
Domenico - manager flashed on the screen.
I didn’t want to believe it.
But the evidence was piling up.
The outfit, the gloves, the phone, her missing car.
“Where’s her Jeep?”
“Parked in the lot of the movie theater.”
Shit.
It was her.
There was no denying it.
“Guess she didn’t buy the lie you fed her after all.”
“Guess not,” I agreed. “Did you find anything belonging to the guy following her?”
“Footprints, but other than that, no.”
“Any chance the new cameras are up and working?”
“A few of them, yeah.”
He clicked around on his phone then handed it to me.
I watched the serene, if pretty destroyed, garden center for a long moment before Hazel shot out of the woods like a cannonball, her legs carrying her quickly away from danger.
For a second, I thought maybe there hadn’t been someone else, that she let her imagination get the better of her.
But then there he was, a baseball cap pulled low, the light outside lower still, making it nearly impossible to try to figure out who it was.
“Any idea?” I asked Dom, my stomach twisted into knot after knot as I watched the bastard chase, grab, drag, and terrorize Hazel.
I had to say, I was proud of Hazel’s survival instincts; the way she fought, the quickness of her mind.
When I saw her crawling out of the greenhouse, I made a mental note to use a flashlight and tweezers to make sure there weren’t any shards of glass in her wounds.
The video caught Hazel bolting for her life toward the shop, then disappearing inside.
I expected to see the man following her.
But there was nothing, not even a shadow. He just disappeared.
“Go over this with a fine-tooth comb. See if you can get a decent angle of this fucker’s face. Is anyone trekking through the woods to see if he disappeared into one of the other lots around?”
“Yeah. But we both know he’s long gone.”
I nodded at that.
“What the fuck did he want from Hazel?”
“Don’t got answers to that. Maybe he thinks she belongs to you. Or he wanted to use her for ransom or turn her into a mole. Who knows? She might have some of the answers we need, though.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, glancing back at the garden center. “I have to get her out of here and cleaned up. But I’ll get some answers out of her.”
“Know you’re thinking with your dick about her, but keep in mind that she was here when she wasn’t supposed to be.”
“I know,” I agreed. “I know where my loyalties lie,” I assured him. “But my gut is saying she’s not a plant or trying to fuck us over. She’s really freaked out. I don’t think she could fake that.”
“It would be weird for her to bust her ass like she’s been doing if she was just here to gather information.”
I nodded at that.
“Seems like we’re going to be ramping up the security for the girls.”
“Wouldn’t object to moving into your mom’s guest room for a bit.”
“You just want some home-cooked meals.”
“Won’t deny that.”
“Okay. Do it. We’ll see if we can convince Valley to crash in her old room for a while too.” We were going to be stretched thin with all the different houses and businesses we were going to need to protect now.
“Just tossing this out there,” Dom started, “but no one else has had a threat.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “When I get a few minutes, I’m gonna comb through my deals and crew, see if anything seems off. Especially deals Big Ed did recently.”
“Lemme know if you need any help.”
“Will do,” I agreed.
“Know Hazel was supposed to be here today to meet deliveries and start setting shit up. I’ll handle that. Might not be as good at it as she is, but I’ll make it work.”
“Appreciate you,” I said, giving his shoulder a squeeze, then moving back into the shop.
“It’s me, babe,” I called softly, not wanting to startle her any more in one day. “How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts,” she admitted, slowly getting to her feet, the task seeming like it took a lot more effort than it should.
“We need to get you cleaned up.”
“I think there’s glass in my hands.”
“Yeah, that’s not going to be pleasant. Can I ask you something?”
“About the guy?”
“No. The cameras caught him.”
“Oh, okay.” She shifted her feet.
“Why were you digging up a body in the woods?”
Her eyes went round at that. But I watched as her jaw tightened and her shoulders tensed.
“Why was there a body buried in the woods?”
“What was your plan once you found it?”
“Did you kill him?”
“No. No, absolutely not. That man? That’s Big Ed. He was a friend of mine. And worked for me on occasion.”
“Why did you put him in the woods if he was your friend?”
“Because he has no family and I need the cops not to show up here.”
“Because you’re in the mob.”
That was a bold question.
“Yes.”
Her lips parted at that. She hadn’t been expecting my honesty. In reality, though, everyone around here knew who I was, what I was wrapped up in. The only reason she had to ask was that she wasn’t from the area.
“Who killed him?”
“I wish I knew.”
“Because you’d kill them?”
“They killed my friend. They hurt you. They’re making my whole family go on lockdown.”
“Is this normal for you?”
“No. We have occasional moments of tension, but one of ours getting murdered? That never happens. Not in this generation anyway.”
“That’s why all the men have been around.”
“Yes. I want my people to be safe. You should have been safe.”
“I probably would have been if I hadn’t been here on the off hours.”
“Why were you looking for the body?”
“Because I knew you were lying to me about it being a prop. I spent hours looking up horror props. Nothing was even close. And then I looked up the Grassi family and then, well…”
“You needed to see for yourself.”
“Yes.”
“And then?”
“I was going to call the police.”
To that, I nodded.
“You could have called the police when you got in here,” I said, waving a hand around. “But you called me.”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know.”
“Are you planning on calling the police about Ed’s body?”
“I… I don’t know anymore,” she admitted.
“If I offered to take you back to my house to clean you up, would you be comfortable with that? I’d offer to take you to your place but your first aid kit is awful and you need some real care.” She shuffled her feet. “You can keep the gun on you if you want,” I offered.
“Really?” she asked, brows pinching.
“Whatever makes you most comfortable. But I assure you, we don’t hurt women.”
“Even if they are going to turn you into the police.”
“Even then.”
“Do you have anything strong to drink at home?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
“If you’ve hit your head tonight or not.”
“No.”
“Then you can have all the drinks you want. And a meal prepared by my mom.”
“I guess I’m sold then.”
“Okay,” I agreed. “Grab your gun.”
She took it awkwardly; whether that was because of her bloodied hands or her inexperience with firearms was anyone’s guess, then followed me out to my car.
I set her inside, sucked in a deep breath, and wondered just how deep I was already in without realizing it.
Because I was low-level excited to have this woman in my house.