“Oh, excuseme for beingpettywhensomeone just threatened me with a gun!”
Her voice breaks, and tears slide down her cheeks. I slide my hand out of my pocket and take her in my arms. It’s instinct. I just can’t bear to see her cry like this—devastated, agonized.
She crumples against me.
I’m not even sure how it happens. One moment I’m holding her, then I brush hair from her eyes. The next our lips our fused together.
Did she lean it first? Did I?
No clue. But kissing me makes me hot all over, my heartbeat twitching out of sync.
I take a step back.
“Fuck,” I growl.
“Fuck,” Celine agrees, wiping her mouth and turning away.
I step into the hall and call Julian. Snap at him to come and tell him Celine is here.
The wait is awkward. I purposefully sit in the chair as far from Celine as I can get, fighting the instinct to hold her. She wipes her cheeks every few minutes.
Julian texts me when he’s here. As usual, he meets me around the back. My usually neat friend walks in, disheveled and distracted.
“Where is she?” he demands.
As we walk into the living room, Celine springs up again, rushing at her brother. “Who are you, Julian?” She hisses. “No bullshit – no half-truths. I needallof it right this second.”
Julian slumps onto the couch, resting his head in his hands. “Goddammit,” he mutters.
“That’s not an answer,” she snaps.
“I work for the mob,” Julian whispers. “I’ve worked for the mob for years. I was never in private security. Damian and I, we’re… enforcers, you call it. We get the jobs done that no one else wants to handle. We work from the shadows.”
Celine makes a choking noise, covering her mouth.
“Oh my God,” she whispers, gutted. “What sort ofjobs?”
“Violence,” I say. “Intimidation. Death.”
Julian looks at me sharply.
I shrug. “If we’re going to tell the truth, might as well tell it all.”
“You knew,” Julian mutters. “I think you’ve known for a while. You never asked what happened to Damian, but you knew there was a reason we couldn’t go to a hospital.”
“Don’ttell me what I know,” she hisses, leaning against the wall, hugging herself again, protecting herself. “The mob. Themob.”
Julian stands. “Damian, we need to talk.”
He rushes me into the hallway, glaring.
“What the fuck, man?” he demands.
“Rico tried to assault her,” I tell him. “I had no choice but to get involved.”
“But you could’ve… told her something else.”
“Lied to her, you mean? She’s not an idiot, Julian. She would’ve known I was bullshitting her.”
