She’d be a sitting duck in her apartment if this guy got smart, circled back, and entered the building he’d seen me going into or coming out of. Any idiot criminal knew that you could easily use a loved one to flush out who you were really after.
I mean, no, Steph wasn’t a ‘loved one.’ But this schmuck didn’t know that.
If he’d been watching, he would have seen me glued to her side, hanging onto her every word, moving her around a dance floor, and sneaking away to a private bathroom with her.
“I’m not calm.” I was just really good at hiding my worries. Because if an enemy even saw a hint of that kind of weakness, they would use it ruthlessly against you. “I’m just trying to think.”
What was my move now?
Take her to the boss’s house?
No.
No, that wouldn’t work.
He was out of town, taking the kids to visit a real, live manger.
Fuck.
Fuck.
There were other capos.
We could go there.
Wait for someone to get in touch with Lorenzo. See what the next steps were.
My fingers itched to reach for my phone.
“Thinking about what?”
“About keeping you safe.”
“We’re safe now.”
She had no idea how untrue that was.
“And it’s not your job to keep me safe,” she added.
That was where she was wrong.
I was the reason she was in danger.
So it was damn sure my job to keep her safe from this point on.
“It is.”
“Venezio—”
I would never figure out what she was going to say. Because right then, a group of five riders stood up and broke into a pretty solid rendition of“Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
By the time the makeshift carolers were finished, the train was pulling into the station.
“Where are we going?” Steph asked, lagging a few steps behind. I thought she was choosing not to follow. But when I turned, I found her flexing her feet in her shoes.
It had to be hell running in those fucking things after a night of already being on her feet. She was probably blistering like crazy.
I glanced at the signs, orienting myself, trying to figure out what to do with her.
