Chapter 13
Delilah sighed when she reached her apartment. She stuck the key in the lock but didn’t turn it. Nothing about tonight made sense. A few hours ago, she was bemoaning to Luca how terrible it would be to spend time with Samson.
But as much as she fought it, she couldn’t deny the truth that she wanted to see him again. Tonight was supposed to be her opportunity to be free from him, but now she was in deeper than ever.
She opened the door and tossed her keys on the table next to the door and shrugged off her jacket before turning on the light.
When she saw the figure sitting in the chair she screamed before clamping a hand across her mouth. “Luca. You scared me. What are you doing in here?”
“You were out late.”
“I didn’t know I had a curfew.”
“I thought you said you wouldn’t leave the restaurant with him.”
“Is that why you’re here? You were you worried about me? That’s sweet, but I’m fine. Nothing happened. He wanted to show me something, and he did. It was interesting, but that’s all. I have no intention of seeing him again.”
“Does he know that?”
The toilet flushed, and she looked toward the bathroom. “Who’s that?”
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for—” The door opened, and Marc smiled at her. “What’s he doing here? Why would you let him in here?”
“Good to see you too,” Marc said as he sat on the couch, spreading his arms across the back. “By the way, I like that rug thing that’s on the toilet lid. Cozy.”
“Get out of my apartment.”
“It’s not your apartment. It belongs to Luca, and he invited me in.”
“I work for my rent. That means it’s mine, and you need to leave.” She made her voice stern to hide the quaver of fear.
“Don’t you worry. I’ll be out of your hair soon enough.”
“Luca, what were you thinking letting him in here?”
“Don’t be too hard on him,” Marc said. “If it’s any consolation, he didn’t want to do it. But what do you expect?”
“I expect you to respect my privacy.”
“Normally I would, but then Luca told me what a great job you did with Samson. I had to hear it from the horse’s mouth.”
Luca shifted in the chair.
Delilah went into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. Not because she was thirsty, but she didn’t want Marc to know how nervous he made her. She had no problem standing up to him to a point. But he could be a dangerous man if pushed too hard. She’d been lucky when she gave him that scar. He hadn’t snapped.
“I wouldn’t mind a drink,” Marc said.
She ignored him and sat on the arm of Luca’s chair, sipping her water. “You can go now.”
“Come on, D,” Luca said. “Hear him out.”
“He’s got nothing to say that I want to hear.”
“You sure about that?” Marc said.
She glared at him. “Yes.”
“You might change your mind if you heard my offer.”
“All right. Spit it out so you can leave. What do you want?”
“The same thing you want. For Luca and his restaurant to prosper.”
“It will prosper just fine without you.”
“Yeah, see, that’s the problem. That cart has bolted.”
“What does that mean?”
“The success that Luca now enjoys is because of me.”
“He already told me that. But that doesn’t mean you can keep expecting favors from him.”
“You have it all wrong. I’m the one who did him a favor.”
“It’s not a favor if you make him owe you for the rest of his life.”
“I’m not forcing him to do anything he doesn’t want to do. Because the thing is, if I’m doing well, he’s doing well. And vice versa.”
“What is wrong with you?”
“Samson is what is wrong.”
“I distracted him like Luca asked.”
“You did. Very well done.”
“Then why are you here?”
“Unfortunately, it’s not enough. Luca is not my only investment, and Samson is getting in my way. He’s paying me way too much attention, and it is imperative that I protect this other venture. Luca’s prosperity depends on it.”
“Your other projects have nothing to do with Luca.”
“Like I said, if I prosper, he prospers. Up until now, Samson has been untouchable.”
“Yeah, I hear he’s good at his job.”
“He’s not just good. It’s almost as if that man has supernatural powers.”
“Like a superhero.” Delilah scoffed. “You’re delusional.”
“You ask any criminal in this city, and they’ll tell you the same. And now he’s got me in his sights.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“Seems to me you have a great deal of influence over that man.”
“You’d be mistaken to think so. If I tell him to lay off you, that will only make him more interested.”
“That’s not what I need from you.”
“I already told Luca I’d only distract Samson once. I’ve done that.”
“That’s not really what I need either.”
“Must you drag this conversation on? I’m tired, and I want to go to bed.”
“I want to know Samson’s weakness.”
She shrugged. “Women, booze, rich food. Take your pick. His life is full of overindulgences to choose from.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“I’m not going to help you hurt him.”
“You misunderstand. I don’t want to hurt him. All I want is to scare him. I need to show him it’s not worth his while.”
“And you think I know how you can do that?”
“I’m hoping he mentioned something. Or if not, you could spend some more time with him. It could be something small. No one is completely invincible.”
“I’m not getting involved in this.” She went to the door and opened it. “If you want to know his weaknesses, you can ask him yourself.”
Marc looked at Luca, who sat forward in the chair, clasping his hands together. “I know you’ve got a thing for him,” Luca said.
“Excuse me?”
“I could see it. Why else would you leave with him? He trusts you. If he didn’t tell you anything tonight, you need to try again.”
“You think that’s why I don’t want to say anything? Because I like him?”
“I think you’re a generous person who cares about others. Marc’s not going to hurt him. He just needs him to leave us all alone. It’s a win-win. He’ll back off, and we all stay safe. Please. Do it for me if for no other reason.”
“If you want me to leave you alone,” Marc said. “You’re going to have to give me something. Otherwise, I can make both your lives a living hell, and don’t think I won’t.”
Delilah licked her lips. She didn’t owe Samson any loyalty, but that didn’t make it right. But she also knew that, if she didn’t give Marc an answer, he’d be good to his word. He could ruin Luca.
“If I tell you and then find out Samson’s hurt,” she said. “I’ll go to the cops. I swear.”
“So you do have something?” Marc said.
“Promise me.”
“I promise. I won’t hurt one hair on his head.”
“And then you can go and never come here again. Luca’s off limits after this. No more favors.”
“That’s a lot to ask.”
“Do you want to know Samson’s weakness or not?”
Marc looked at Luca. “You could learn a thing or two about doing business from your cousin.”
“He does fine on his own,” she said. “And he’ll do a lot better when you’re out of the picture.”
“Okay, you’ve got yourself a deal. Tell me what you’ve got.”
“He said he has no skill with knives.”
“Knives?”
“That’s what he said. Any other weapon he can handle, but knives and swords he said he’s terrible with. That’s the best I can do for you.”
“You realize I’ll know if you’re lying to me.”
“All I can do is pass on what he said.”
“And you believe him?”
“He had no reason to lie. And you promised you won’t hurt him.”
“Absolutely not. He’ll come out unscathed.”
“Good. You have what you came for. Now you can go.”
Marc thought for a minute. “I think you might be right. I can’t ever remember hearing about a knife fight. Although I did just hear recently that he took out a whole gang with a cow’s jawbone.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“I’m only saying what I heard.” He stood. “It was good doing business with you. I appreciate your help.”
“Bye.”
“Good night to you both.”
Luca remained in the chair after Marc left, and Delilah looked down at him while squeezing the back of her neck. “What have you gotten yourself into?”
“Thanks for giving that information to Marc.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“It’s nothing. Marc’s got other deals going on. It’s not connected to the restaurant. I don’t even know what it is, but he really needed my help.”
“Was he serious when he said Samson’s been after him?”
“Yeah. And Marc doesn’t scare easily, but he’s afraid of Samson.”
“He should be. I’d rather let Samson have him.”
“I know Marc’s made some bad choices, but he’s not all bad.”
“Actually, he is. Is this why Trish left?”
“What?”
“The fight you had with Trish that ended things, was it about Marc?”
“She left because our personalities clashed. That’s it. It didn’t work out.”
She didn’t believe him, but she could see he was worn out. “At least he’ll be out of your hair after this.”
“Yeah.”
“You look disappointed.”
“He had some good ideas.”
“You can’t be serious.”
“It’s my business, okay? If you don’t like the way I’m running things, you can always leave.”
“That’s how you feel?”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I love having you here, but I’ve got a lot going on. I don’t need someone lecturing me. I need a friend.”
“Hey, I am your friend. That’s why I’m worried about you. I’m trying to look out for you. After what I had to go through, I don’t want that to happen to you.”
“I’ll be fine. I can look after myself.” He stood. “Let’s get some sleep. Everything will look better in the morning.”
After Luca left, she trudged to her bedroom and flopped on the bed. She couldn’t get anything right anymore. She’d been turned around in so many directions, she couldn’t work out which way was up anymore. The only good thing about the day was Samson, and she’d just betrayed him to help her cousin, who didn’t want her input in his life.
She brought up Samson’s number. Somehow he’d convinced her to save it in her phone before he let her out of his car.
She wanted to text him to tell him what she’d done, but the ramifications of that were too much for her to handle tonight. He knew how to handle himself. Surely he’d find a way to defend himself against knives. Or maybe Marc was really telling the truth, and they weren’t going to hurt him.
She started typing out a text telling him to be careful but deleted it. She’d have to wait it out. There was nothing she could say that wouldn’t make him suspicious of her, and the last thing she wanted was for him to think she’d turned on him.
She stared up at the ceiling. Was there nothing she could do?
“God?” Her voice was flat and strange in the silence.
She couldn’t remember the last time she’d said His name. As a child, she’d believed that there was a creator of some kind. In fact, she could remember being sure of it. But life had changed that, and religion had become the last thing on her mind. Until, oddly, now.
“God, if you’re real, which…I’m not really sure, but if you are and Samson matters at all to you, can you look after him? I’d hate for him to get hurt because of me.” Praying felt like a cheap way out of guilt. Was it her way of allowing herself to be a coward? Or was there really help out there that she couldn’t see or understand?
But she’d been hurt by too much. If God was real, why had nothing gone right?
She grabbed her pillow and hugged it to her chest, pressing against the emptiness as she fell asleep.