Page 10 of The Mobster's Flower

Which is the point behind the warehouse’s location—to not be heard—but I’ll keep that bit of trivia to myself.

I clench my fists and slide them into my pockets, walking away before I touch the girl because I know I will not stop when I do. She is a new obsession I cannot understand. Rue has this effect on me that no other woman has ever come close to.

She makes it hard for me to resist her, and God, am I trying.

“This way,” I tell the confused girl, walking toward the only structure in sight.

“Wait, what are we doing here?”

I don’t respond, stopping at a keypad just outside the entrance. I type in a code, then press my thumb to the bio scanner. There’s a pneumatic hiss, then the large door begins to roll upward, allowing us entry. With a hand at the small of her back, I guide Rue inside my mostly empty warehouse. Rue hesitates before stepping to my side and looking around.

“What is this place?” she asks, her voice echoing through the large space.

“My warehouse. It’s not in use right now, I’ve only just bought it. But there are still some things the previous owner left in the back. One of them is a vendor cart I think might suit you until I can replace the one that was destroyed.”

She shakes her head, ringlets of her hair dancing around as she does so. “I appreciate the offer, but you don’t need to do that. It sounds like the accident wasn’t Arya’s fault. I’m just glad no one was seriously injured and that Arya will be alright.”

“I insist,” I tell Rue, before walking deeper into the cavernous space, giving her no choice but to follow.

What I’d told her is true. I only recently purchased this warehouse. Eventually, it will serve as a distribution center of sorts for my family’s mostly legitimate manufacturing business.The floors are clean, lined with white tiles, and the walls are polished concrete. The roof is high enough to catch an echo, and it’s empty. For now, this is where we temporarily store our weapons and counterfeit money before moving it to a place where the cops can’t find it, but we had a transfer a few days ago, and the warehouse will not be used for at least another week or so.

The back storage area has a few things left by the previous owners, including a vendor stand. It’s older and not much to look at it, but it’s still serviceable and should tide Rue over until I can order a replacement for the one she lost. I make a mental note to have my assistant check if we have any contacts with greeneries in the area. A flower stand is no good without stock.

When we reach the storage area, I pull the sheet of the cart and turn to Rue. “I know it’s not the prettiest thing to look at, but I’m sure it’ll look better once you’ve stocked it. And you’ll only have to use it for however long it takes for your new one to arrive. I’ll order it today and put a rush on delivery. If you’re willing to use this one for now, I’ll have it delivered to Annie’s later today.”

For several long moments, Rue is silent, staring at the vendor cart with an unreadable expression. Then suddenly, a dam breaks, and everything I suspect she’s been holding in since the accident bursts free.

“Do you have any idea how much work I put into opening my own flower stand?” She turns to face me, and there is a fire burning in her teary eyes. “I spent nearly all of my money—every penny that hadn’t already gone to the cart itself—on the flowers, which I had to get from a different town because Valor Springs doesn’t have any greeneries. Even the next town over didn’t have all the flowers I wanted, so I had to go to yet another one to order the stock I needed. And maybe the owners could seemy desperation because they overcharged me; I knew what they were doing, but I didn’t have a choice. I couldn’t get the flowers anywhere else. Then I had to jump through more hoops than a show dog to get a business license. Don’t even get me started on the permit. When I applied for it, they misplaced my paperwork, and I had to start the process all over again, which took me weeks…”

She begins pacing the room, her voice growing louder and more passionate as she speaks. “…And then, a few days before opening, one of the flower vendors told me he’d gotten a better offer and would cancel on me if I couldn’t match it. Can you believe that! I could have sued that asshole for breach of contract, but I didn’t want to drag it out, so I paid him the price he was asking for. I had to call my parents and beg them for a loan to pay the vendor the money he was wanted.”

I watch her silently as she rages on and on about all the hurdles she’s had to jump to finally get her business running, but then she stops, and her voice drops to a whisper. “After all that, I didn’t even get to sell my first rose before they were crushed.”

She sniffs, turning around to face me, her expression sullen. “I’m not mad at Arya, please don’t get me wrong,” she says. “Accidents happen all the time, right? I know she didn’t mean it, but it got me wondering if the universe is trying to tell me something.”

“And what’s that?” I speak for the first time since she started raging.

“That maybe I ought to think about a different career path.” She takes a step toward me. “Maybe I wasn’t meant to be a florist. I’m twenty-one. I can learn about other things, right?”

Jesus Christ, she’s twenty-one. I knew she was young, but twenty-one! She is sixteen years younger than me and only a little older than Arya.

Rue doesn’t seem to share my opinion as she steps into my space, her gaze a mix of nerves, fear, and hope. “You don’t think it’s too late, do you?”

“Too late for what?”

“To learn something new.”

“You are twenty-one,” I rasp, and fuck, even saying the words out loud feels forbidden.

“I know, but I’ve wanted to be a florist since…forever. I worked in greenhouses during the summer holidays learning about flowers, how to grow them, what each flower represents, and all that stuff. I don’t know how to do anything else.”

“Rue, you are twenty-one,” I say again, wincing at my words. “You can do whatever the hell you want with your life. Either way, I will compensate you for the loss you incurred, starting with this.” I gesture to the cart, and her eyes track the movement. She approaches it and runs her fingers along the edge.

“You’re being more than generous,” she says, crossing back to me, and fuck, the girl smells like a fucking field of flowers in spring. “This cart is great. If you really don’t need it, I can use it for my flower stand. You don’t need to get another replacement; this one is will work.”

Now I know what Rue looks like when she’s lying. This vendor cart is anything but great. There is rust along the bottom edges, the canopy at the top is faded and torn, and I can see at least two flat tires. “This cart is two steps from the junkyard. But it’s all I can offer you right now. You’re getting a replacementthat is just as good as the one you lost, maybe better if I can manage it.” I take a step closer to her and infuse my tone with steel, the way I do when speaking with the men who work for me. I’m not letting Rue give me no for an answer on this one.

She glares at me, her lips pouting slightly as she does. She seems to waging some kind of internal battle for a moment, but she doesn’t back away from me. We’re so close, her chest nearly brushes mine as she breathes.

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