“Ah… “
“Gotcha.”
“No fair. I haven’t had coffee.”
“I swear to God, Sam. Send Mrs. Rossini back the check. We are so done with this case.”
“No way. I am not letting Gallo get away with murder. People should not kill other people.”
“What about Frankie?”
She pauses, no doubt trying to figure out how to rationalize her friendship with the hitman. “He doesn’t count. First off, it’s his job. Secondly, he only murders people who deserve it. Really, really bad guys. He’s got scruples.”
Somehow, we got off topic so I try to rein the conversation back in. “Sam, sweetheart. You no longer work for the FBI. If you’re really concerned, give the Rossini case to them, or the NYPD.”
“I can’t. We don’t have any evidence. I promise, once we find a body, I will.”
“Dammit, Sam. I don’t know if I can do this anymore. Call me back when you find an ounce of common sense.” I hang up and punch the pillows until feathers fly.
She won’t let me protect her and she won’t drop this case. She’s driving me ab-so-fucking-lutely crazy.
She’s texts me back an apology but it’s a far cry from what I need. Hell, what if whoever tried to hurt her comes back?
Me: Keep your goddamn gun in your holster
Sam: K
Me: Text me every hour
Sam: K
Me: Sorry I hung up on you
Sam: Sorry I can’t drop the case
Me: Y not?
Sam: It’s complicated
Everything about her is complicated. But hell, I love her, and when I hold her in my arms, I’m going to fuck some sense into her.
While I’m daydreaming, my phone pings, and at first I think it’s her. “Sam?”
“No, it’s me, Rose.”
“Is she alright?”
“Yeah. She had worse bruises in grade school. She’ll be fine.”
In my youth, girls didn’t come to class with black eyes and split lips but in Brooklyn, who knows? “You messin’ with me?”
“Okay, maybe not that far back, but certainly by middle school. However, that’s not why I called. Josi, the cousin who went back to college? She broke up with her long-time fiancé. To make a long story short, Sam was talking about your wedding and how you wanted to keep costs down? Well, Josi’s friends already paid for a bachelorette party and I took the reservation off their hands for a fraction of the cost. It’s a surprise. All you have to do is bring Sam to the door. Tell her you’re taking her out to dinner, then drop her off with us.”
“When?”
“Next Thursday.”
“Where?”
