Chapter 4
It was about ten o’clock when they finally finished talking to the police. The clear, crisp night air and stars twinkling overhead would have been romantic, if not for the bank robbery. Misty walked next to Gabe with her hands in her coat pockets.
Something made him want to put his arm around her shoulder and pull her closer. He told himself it was just his protective instincts, but another part of him was calling bullshit. The kiss they’d shared in the vault was more than just a reaction to being in danger. It wasn’t impulsive. And it sure as hell wasn’t protective. He had been thinking about it long before they were stuck in there.
He looked up the street and spotted a club. “Maybe we could get a drink there.” He tipped up his chin in the bar’s direction.
Misty wrinkled her nose. “I don’t really like that place. I’ve only been in it once, but it was really loud. To be honest, I just feel like going home.”
“Sure. Of course. You’ve probably had enough excitement for one night.” She looked tired, or maybe it was just what was left of the cement dust making her look like she’d aged about a decade.
“Yeah. I feel like I’ve had enough excitement for a month, at least. If you want a drink, you don’t have to walk me all the way home.”
“I want to,” he said without hesitation.
“More than you want a drink right now?”
“Yeah.” He surprised himself, but being with her really was nice. Of course, he wanted to be sure she got home okay too. Naturally.
She smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
They walked on in silence for a few minutes. “So, you live in the North End?” Gabe asked, feeling like a lame conversationalist.
“Yeah. It’s a decent one-bedroom apartment. Nothing fancy. You can come up and see it, if you’d like. I can even offer you that drink.”
Was she inviting him up for a nightcap? Gabe wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe nothing. He really would like to see her place and make sure everything was secure.
“I’ll come up for a minute.”
“If you like wine, I can offer you a glass of red before you go.”
“I don’t know an Italian who doesn’t like wine—especially red.”
She smiled at him, and those pretty lips sent a message straight to his groin. He mentally chastised himself for reacting like a randy teenager.She’s my friend’s little sister, for God’s sake! Stick to the mission, Fierro.He had thought of this “favor” as Operation Protect Misty, but he was no longer sure from whom he was protecting her.
Soon they were walking up her driveway to a side door. She slipped a key in the lock, and after opening that one, she used a different key in a different lock to open the door.
Good. A dead bolt.
Once inside, there was a stairway next to a door. Misty walked up the stairs, and Gabe was relieved again. She was on the second floor behind a double-locked outside door and probably another dead-bolted inside door. Smart girl.
She opened the upstairs door with one key, which made him slightly nervous. If someone who lived here wanted in, a credit card would probably open that door.
“Do the landlords live downstairs?” he asked as he followed her inside. The layout was that of a traditional older home. They stood in a short hallway, but he could see a living room. No kitchen or dining area shared the space. They must be separated by the yellowed, wallpapered walls.
“Just one landlord. She’s an older lady and lives alone. She likes having someone else in the house.”
“That’s probably a good idea. It might even be better if she rented to a male.”
Misty removed her coat and was about to hang it in the closet when she stopped. “What are you saying?”
Had he blown it? “Nothing. I just mean, you know… I’ve seen a lot of crap go down in the city. Two women alone are only slightly less vulnerable than one woman alone.”
Misty laughed. “You might not feel that way if you met her. She likes being a badass. She has tattoos and a bunch of piercings. Three days after I moved in, I heard a downstairs window fly open, and she was yelling her head off. When I looked out my window, I saw her shaking a baseball bat at some young guy who was running down the street. He looked like he was running for his life.”
Misty reached for his coat.
“Did she ever tell you what that was about?”
