"So, you won't be watching over the apartment tonight?"
He shakes his head.
"No, I think Charlie might be. Percy's occupied with things already, and I'm accompanying Dom tonight."
"Accompanying him where?"
He narrows his eyes at me, slowing his pace.
"Why so many questions?"
Worrying my lip between my teeth, I stop walking and glance around us, taking in the empty path, making sure no one's around before I speak.
"Are you going to the marina?" I ask quietly, my muscles tense with anxiety.
His expression doesn't change, but the slight twitch in his eyebrow shows he's surprised by my question, not expecting me to know about what's happening tonight.
"Why'd you ask that?"
"Leo, please, just tell me," I say, the worry eating away at me. "Are you and Dom going to be at the marina tonight, waiting for that gun shipment?"
He stares at me for a moment, his dark, callous gaze penetrating mine.
I fidget on the spot, nerves vibrating through my body as I wait for him to speak.
"What's going on, Alicia?" His eyes dart around our surroundings before he steps closer to me. "What do you know, and why are you acting like a nervous wreck?"
Holding Jellybean's lead in one hand and fiddling with the heart-shaped locket around my neck with the other, I release a shaky breath.
"I don't think you should go tonight. Either of you," I tell him, breathing deeply as I avoid his stare. "I have a really bad feeling, Leo, like something's going to happen, or someone's going to get hurt."
My chest feels as if someone's standing on it, and my stomach is twisted in knots.
"I don't want either of you to get hurt."
The creases on his forehead deepen as his eyebrows lower further.
"You having afeelingisn't enough justification for me to not do what I'm tasked with doing. So, do you want to tell me indetailwhat's actually going on, or do you want to keep beating around the bush?"
Sighing, I walk up the path towards a bench that's off to the side and sit down, burying my head in my hands.
"I fucked up," I tell him as he sits beside me, and Jellybean stands between our feet, looking up at us both. "I made a stupidly rash decision in the heat of the moment, and now I've realised it was a huge mistake, but I don't know how to prevent it from happening."
"Okay, hold up. I'm confused. Go back to the start and tell me what's gone on."
Glancing up at him with tears in my eyes, I nod my head and do exactly that. I tell him everything—from the moment Lenny called me, to the messages he sent this morning.
By the end of it, I feel sick, and the look he's directing my way doesn't help at all.
We sit in silence for what feels like hours before he nods, stands from the bench, and offers me his hand.
"I'll sort it out," he says, pulling me to my feet. "I won't tell Dom you're involved, but I'll figure out a way of telling him Lenny knows about the incoming shipment. We'll solve it."
I all but jump at him, wrapping my arms around his tense body as relief ebbs away at the guilt that was starting to consume me.
"Thank you," I mumble against him as his arms hesitantly curl around my frame, holding me loosely while I cling to him as if he's my lifeline.
Chapter Thirty-Six
