“And that’s why you volunteer at the suicide hotline,’ he guessed. She nodded as well as she could without lifting her head.
“Kayla killed herself just a couple of weeks after the attack.” It was the hardest time in her life, losing her friend like that. “I missed the signs. I knew she was going through something tough, but I didn’t realize just how much she was suffering.”
“And the trafficking ring reminds you of this?”
“Those women are suffering just like Kayla did. I can’t ignore it again. Ineedto help them.”
“We’re going to. I promise. We’ll shut the whole thing down.”
She wanted to believe that so much, but it was hard for her to trust anyone, even this man that she just slept with. And she knew just how crafty her father was.
They laid there in silence for a while, and she was just starting to get sleepy when the sound of a phone ringing jerked her fully awake.
Connor moved away from her, and she immediately felt cold. He didn’t flick the light back on, just sat on the edge of the bed as he talked. She didn’t get much from the side of the conversation that she heard, but when he promised he’d be right there to whoever was on the other end of the line, she knew he was leaving. When he hung up the phone, he let out a groan.
“I’ve got to go.”
Turning back to her, he loomed over her and planted a toe-curling kiss on her lips. It nearly stole her breath, and she wanted to pull him back into the bed with her, but she didn’t. He had business to attend to, and she was tired anyway.
There was no reason to be upset that he was leaving. He didn’t owe her anything. This was just a passionate release of tension. It was over. Besides, she had her own work to do. She wasn’t going to stop researching the list of names in her father’s handwriting. When Connor was gone, she got out of bed to do just that.
10
CONNOR
He wasn’t happy about leaving Alessia’s bed. He didn’t know exactly where things were going with them, but he didn’t like the way that it felt to take off right after sex like that. As if she was nothing but a good fuck.
She was proving herself to be much more than that, and he was drawn to her in a way that he’d never experienced before. He probably would have stuck around all night if Ollie didn’t call him away.
There was trouble tonight at the casino. The mafia had their hands in a lot of pots, running the illegal side of recreational activities in the city. That included gambling. The casino was set up in the back room of a high-end boutique, which did pretty well for a legitimate business.
There was a side entrance to the building, and that was how Conner came inside, bypassing the boutique. The casino was full of people, most nights, and this one was no different, but there wasn’t much gambling going on at the moment. Everyone looked freaked out, and there was plenty of drinking going on as they all stood around, murmuring to each other.
Connor spotted Ollie right away, standing next to a body on the floor behind the blackjack table, a blanket covering it from view. He was barking orders at another member of the mafia, who was hurrying to scrub blood off the wall.
“What the fuck happened?” he asked, marching over to Ollie.
“Some fucker was losing money and lost his damn mind. He pulled a gun.”
“Who’s the stiff?” he asked, gesturing to the body.
“The guy running the game.”
“And the shooter?”
Ollie jerked his head in the direction of the back door that led to the alley. “I took care of him out there. I didn’t want another mess to clean up inside.”
Connor cuffed him on the shoulder. “That’s why I put you in charge here.”
He turned to the gamblers gathered nearby and tried to give them a reassuring smile. “I’m sorry for the trouble, everyone. Some people don’t use their heads and make bad decisions when they’re losing money, but we took care of the problem and business will resume as usual in a few minutes.”
“Can we leave?” a man in a gray suit asked. “We were told wehadto stay.”
“That was just while we took care of the threat. You can leave.Butif you stay, everyone will be comped a grand for the trouble.”
That stopped the talk of leaving. A little bloodshed wasn’t going to stop them when there was money on the line. Connor helped Ollie carry the body out to the alley, joining the fucker that did this. They had a man that took care of problems like this for them, and Connor had already called him. He’d be here within the hour to pick up the bodies.
Connor sighed as he brushed his hair out of his face. Ollie pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up as he leaned against the wall of the building.
