36. Chapter 36
Chapter 36
Nellie
H e’s killed people? I couldn’t get out of the warehouse fast enough, and as soon as I could breathe fresh air, I dug in my purse for my keys, finding them before I remembered I hadn’t driven. “Fuck,” I whispered, searching the mostly abandoned lot.
I sat on the curb, folding my knees against my chest and dropping my head into my hands. My throat was on fire with the scream I wanted to release but that held on tightly to my lungs. I could barely breathe, even with the cool evening breeze. When the door behind me opened and the hinges squeaked, I stiffened. I didn’t look up.
“Can I talk to you?” I was surprised by the woman’s voice, and I whipped around. I recognized his sister from the party.
I nodded, scooting over on the curb to give her more room. “Are you part of this whole thing too?” I asked.
“I’m not allowed to be. They say it’s too dangerous.” She shook her head, rolling her eyes dramatically. I imagined it was a fight she’d had more than once, judging by the exasperation in her voice and the way she was apparently hiding out in that meeting. “Listen, I know this is really overwhelming for you.”
I cackled, and the laugh bounced off the brick buildings that surrounded us. “To say the least!”
“It can be a lot to try and wrap your head around, but you need to understand one thing.” Grace reached over and took my hand with both of hers without giving me the option to pull away. “My brothers can be assholes, and sometimes, they do scary, probably bad, things, but they’re good men. Especially Ronan, and since you started coming around, he has been different. You make him better.”
I sniffed, letting my shoulders relax. Did I really make him better? “I don’t know.”
“I do,” she said, dipping her head to catch my stare and pulling my attention back to her. “He’d do anything for you. Plus, I’ve always wanted a sister, especially one who can put my big brother in his place!” I joined her when she started to laugh, leaning towards her when our shoulders bumped together.
“Thank you.” I offered her a gentle smile. “For explaining some of it to me. They’re so guarded in there.”
She nodded. “They have to be. If they’re not guarded, they put everyone at risk.” Grace smiled, starting to stand up when the door opened. “I told you: they’ll do anything to keep us safe. That includes you.”
“I’ll take you home,” Ronan said, stepping out of the building. How much of the conversation had he heard? He held out his hand, and I took it, standing up from the curb and looking back at Grace.
“Okay. Thank you again.” I smiled, and she returned it, winking before Ronan silently led me back to his car. I looked back at the warehouse when Ronan opened the door. What were they talking about in there now?
“I’m sorry.” He climbed into the driver’s seat, closing the door behind him but not starting the car after he put the key in the ignition.
When I looked at him, he was staring at me. It wasn’t his normal stare or the stare that told me he was going to make my body tremble. It was different, something I couldn’t place my finger on but that felt serious. He was magnetic, and I reached toward him, placing my palm against his cheek. “I know.”
He pressed into my hand and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before he opened them again. “Let’s get you home.”
I buckled my seatbelt and settled onto the leather, weighted under more questions than I had when we arrived but feeling somehow less anxious about it. I didn’t know what it meant that Ronan was in the mafia and clearly in a position of power, but I trusted I was safe. At least for now.
The streets were darker when we left, and they looked different under the glow of the streetlamps. There were fewer cars, and while businesses were closed, there were people flowing in and out of the various bars and pubs along the street. How many of them lived secret lives?
How many of them were dangerous like Ronan?
“Why did you take me there?” I finally asked when he turned onto my street. He looked at me from the side of his eye, pulling up in front of my apartment building and putting the car in park.
“I needed you to understand.” He looked intimidating under the half-shadow, half-glow. The sharp line of his jaw was accented, but his eyes looked even darker. Maybe they were full of secrets.
I lowered my eyes to his hands. One hung loosely from the steering wheel by a single finger, and the other sat on my thigh. “Understand what?”
“That this is who I am.” He took my hands in his. “And you’re part of me now.”
I knew they would be there. At 9:00 a.m., where else would a couple of cops getting paid too well to follow me around be besides the coffee shop across from my restaurant? “Oh, look, if it isn’t Ronan Moretti,” Stanton said, taking a drink.
Bending forward, I placed my hands flat against their table. Stanton and his scraggly partner looked unphased, but the third man sitting with them widened his eyes. “Gentlemen. I’d say it’s good to see you, but we all know that’s not true.”
“What can we do for you this morning?” Stanton asked, taking a quick scan of the room to remind me we weren’t alone.
“I heard a couple of your cronies were harassing Nellie Giordano. Leave her out of your little witch hunt. She’s not involved.” I lowered my voice, leaning closer to the table.
Detective Ramsey scoffed, taking a drink of his coffee. He didn’t look up at me when he spoke. “I don’t know. The two of you seem pretty involved to me.”
“Listen to me, you little shit.” I slapped the cup of hot coffee out of his hand, watching the steaming liquid splatter everywhere. I didn’t care that it drew attention. Let the entire world hear me. “She isn’t a resource for you or part of your game. Do you understand me?”
“Everyone is a resource for us,” Stanton said, drinking his coffee and ignoring the spilled liquid dripping from the table to the floor. It dropped onto his shoe, and he didn’t move his foot or divert his glare.
“Not. Her.” I reached out and took his coffee from him, taking a long gulp of it. He drank it with too much cream and sugar, and I winced, spitting the liquid back into the cup and setting it down. “You leave her alone, or there will be an issue.”
Stanton stood, pushing the chair back with a loud squeak. “There’s already an issue, Moretti, and I’ll resolve it by whatever means necessary.”
“You heard me. You don’t want to do that.” I turned around and stormed out, looking back over my shoulder when I threw the door open. “Enjoy your coffee, detectives.”