"What thing?" I asked.
"Tugging at your collar. You did it in the pizzeria, then when Markie answered the door, and now you're doing it again."
I looked down, shocked to find that my fingers were--in fact--tugging at the dark T-shirt under my SWAT jacket. "The T-shirt's too tight. Feels like it's strangling me," I said, forcing my hand to let go. We turned and walked back toward the emergency room doors. Real cops would show up soon, and we needed to be gone before they did.
"You sure? Looks to me like you have a tell."
"A tell?" I snorted. I lived in the gambling capital of the world and had a lifestyle where predictability led to certain death. If I had a tell, I would have damn well known about it years ago. "No, I don't."
"You know I always shoot straight with you, Angel, and because I have your back, let me assure you, you fuckin' do."
I climbed into the Hummer and started it up. "You're being ridiculous. I just met her."
Bones shrugged. "Yeah, and now you need to stay the hell away from her."
He was right, but his words made me bristle. "Oh? Why's that?"
I merged into traffic and toward the strip, feeling his gaze boring into the side of my head.
"Because broads like Markie are more interested in picking out rings than condoms."
"And you got that from meeting her twice?" I asked.
He chuckled. "You know how good I am at reading people. Tell me I'm wrong, Angel."
I couldn't and he knew it. "Is that really a bad thing? I am getting a little tired of shopping for condoms."
"Dangerous words, my friend. You remember One Nut Brizio, right?" Bones asked.
I groaned. A few years ago, a son of the Porta family named Brizio had a hardon for a chick from out of town. As expected, Brizio's father ran a background check on the girl, but she came out clean. Squeaky clean, in fact. The girl didn't have so much as a speeding ticket on her record. Since nobody was that clean, Brizio's father pegged her for a cop or worse. He told Brizio to stay away from the girl, but Brizio chose to marry her instead. Turned out the girl was working for one of the other families. She was sent in to get intel, but ended up catching a goddamn feeling and blowing off her own family. She disappeared. Then Brizio's father took a hit out on his own son's testicles, declaring that his kid was too stupid to procreate. Losing one of his balls and his new wife sent Brizio over the edge. A couple of days later he put a gun in his mouth and joined her in the great dirt nap.
"Some real Romeo and Juliet shit, there," I said. "Didn't know you were such a romantic, Bones."
He flipped me off. "I knew Brizio. Before that broad appeared and started fuckin' with his head, he was a good guy. A stand-up guy. I can tell you're interested in this broad, so let me do my job and run a full background check on her. I'll dig until I hit bedrock under her dirt, and then we can make sure it's all shit you can live with."
A woman had caught my interest, so my best friend wanted to search her closet for skeletons. And they say romance is dead.
"You know, normal people get to know each other organically. They don't start out the relationship knowing whether or not the other person cheated on their senior project or was molested by their uncle."
I didn't even know the girl, and delving into her secrets seemed like a shitty way to start. Where's the fun in getting to know someone when you've already read up on their history?
"Yeah, well you're a Mariani."
I tensed. "No shit?"
Bones glared at me.
"I know who the fuck I am, Bones. Why do you think I didn't ask for her number? She's perfect and innocent and I'm not gonna screw her up by dragging her into my life."
"Dammit, Angel. Maybe she'd be good for you. You could use a distraction. Let me check into her and make sure she's as innocent as you think and--"
"No background check. Forget about it."
Bones looked down. "Look, I--"
"You have to do your job. I get it. It's fine. I need some sleep." My life wasn't his fault, and he didn't deserve my anger. Bones was doing what he always did, trying to protect me. Softening my tone, I held out an olive branch. "I'm done for the night, but why don't you drop me off and take the Hummer?"
Bones had a car; a dark blue jeep which, for the most part, stayed parked in the apartment garage, since he stayed by my side and I drove a bullet-resistant monstrosity with run-flat tires and twenty-four-seven access to Tech. I offered him the use of the Hummer because I knew if he came upstairs to get his keys, he'd probably end up calling it a night as well. I wanted my friend to go out and enjoy himself, not be trapped in the condo with me.
