“Laurel,” he says, his voice softer. “When my dad came home from being away, my ma made a potato hash with poached eggs because it was his favorite. She wasn’t born knowing how he liked his hash. We’ll figure things out.”
Releasing my hand, he straps his gun and holster in place and covers it with his suit coat.
Then he hugs me, and I have to inhale the delicious way he smells.
“I wasn’t calling you Scott on purpose. I swear.”
“Calling me Scott is not the problem. Three women who love me call me by my first name. You can too, whenever the hell you want. The thing you need to work on is your tone, especially if you’re gonna push back on something.”
Inside I bristle and have to purse my lips to avoid a biting reply… which gives me pause. I have been under a ton of stress both at work and at home. Once I even rolled my eyes in a meeting and cut off a colleague who was taking forever to make a point. My boss didn’t say anything at the time, but later he told me to take a couple of personal days to deal with whatever was bothering me. I’ve been good at work for months. Home’s the only place I don’t have to watch every little thing I say and do. Am I now supposed to pretend life’s perfect all the time for Trick? How could I?
“I understand you’re used to a lot of deference. But I’m not used to being overly deferential and if I’m stressed, I can’t always keep it bottled up.” I look away, my eyes stinging again. “I’m pretty sure we’re never going to be a good fit.”
He releases me, but stops to look in my eyes. “Last time, you quit on me without even trying. Afterward, I think you regretted it. This time the stakes are higher, Laurelyn. Think about that before you give up on us.”
* * *
Trick
The gears in my mind are spinning so fast, my brain’s overheating. I need sleep. Instead, I drive from Boston to Coins with the headlights of oncoming cars making my eyes ache.
Having to watch everything I said and did during my bullshit Grand Jury appearance sucked a lot of energy. The prosecutor knew he was wasting everyone’s time by calling me in to say I couldn’t remember seeing a Murphy cousin in an Irish bar a year and a half ago. He dragged me in to slip in other questions about a C Crue warehouse in Boston where we sometimes house crates of guns. It’s held by a shell company, but now that the feds have found it, we’ll sell it and find new holding spots for illegal shipments.
In hindsight, I should’ve known going to Laurel’s after two sixteen-hour days and a game of cat-and-mouse with a federal prosecutor wasn’t the best timing. I was just too sick of waiting to hear from her about the test. And, since I can’t get Laurelyn out of my head, I wanted to see her and fuck her and sleep next to her.
Laurel’s quiet on the drive to Coins, but I get the breakdown on the little sister’s disappearance. I’m aware of the party she’s talking about. Claudine ‘Dini’ Ford’s a party girl, so we’ve crossed paths a lot of times. She had a thing for me for a while, so there were some blowjobs. I can’t remember the last time. A year maybe? I do not want Laurelyn hearing about it, so I will keep them apart.
Dini was on the dance team with Zoe in high school, so chances are good C will be there. He’s my first stop. C knew I was headed to Boston for the night, but assumed it was for some dungeon play time, and I didn’t set the record straight. The last thing I want is for word to spread around the party that I got engaged before I tell my own crue. And that’s not just because C and I are friends. C will have concerns about Laurelyn Reilly living with me after the feds used her to try to get to us.
After parking the Rover, I scan the area and come around to the passenger side. When I get there I find Laurel’s already stepping down from the running board.
“Let me get your door from now on.”
“I forgot that you do that.” A small smile plays on her lips. Her voice is soft and a little sheepish. “Honestly, I always loved it.”
Telling her that now it’s just as much a safety thing as a chivalry thing won’t score me any points, and since I’m down on points I’ll save that discussion for another day. She’s got knit finger gloves on, which works in my favor in terms of having time to find my guys and break the news myself before there’s gossip about the ring.
“When we get inside, I need to do a lap. Stay by my side. If we come across Monet right away, we’ll bring her along with us.”
“What’s going on?”
“C and his girlfriend Zoe Arantes may be here. I want to say hello to them.”
“So go and say hello, and I’ll—”
My frown stops her words, and she tries again.
“Do you mind if while you’re looking for them, I look for my sister?” Her shift in tone is appreciated.
I kiss her and wish we had time to make a meal of it. “Let’s stay together until I see how things look.”
“What do you mean?”
She’s so unschooled in what parties in Coins can be these days. I want her to stay that way, so I’m not interested in explaining Dini’s dealer, a Palermo guy, went to Coynston High and will probably be here. Plus the Palermos have some new young guys working for them who might have gotten an invite. Since Frank died, the all-out war has died down, but there’s always danger in having C Crue and Palermo syndicate members in the same place.
To Laurel, I only say, “People get shady when they’re wired on drugs.”
Music pounds out of the house and backyard, so we hear it from the sidewalk. Catching her hand, I hold it.
