Page 17 of One Kill

Even Enzo, Marco’s most trusted man and one of his brothers-in-law, had to find a way to stay on the job or else disappear forever. It’s the way it is. You know when you step inside that the only way out is in a body bag… if you’re lucky. Most likely, you end up like this guy, right here.

It takes us the better part of three hours to clean this modern art off the fucking walls. The next time I’m at Devon’s gym, I’ll make sure to thank him for the work. With my fist in his pretty-boy British face.

“Fucking Christ, there’s a drop up in the corner over there.” My eyes follow Tab’s finger and no shit… there’s a splash of red in the far corner of the room.

“Get the black light out, let’s make sure we’re thorough. Guy’s got a sister so she’ll be coming around looking for him at some point. We don’t want the cops sniffing around and finding cause to make it a crime scene.” No body, no evidence, no cause for an investigation.

The vibration in my back pocket gets my attention. Only bad news comes around at three in the morning.

Murphy’s name flashes on the screen and my heart goes into overdrive. It’s not even romantic, it’s fear. Outright, soul-crushing fear like I’ve never felt before… not since the night my parents were gunned down in cold blood.

Hallie.

“Is she all right?” I don’t bother with pleasantries or a ridiculous “hello” like I don’t know who it is.

“Calm down, tiger. She’s fine. Been asleep for the last six hours.”

I frown.What the fuck?

“I’m the one who can’t sleep.”

Aren’t there teas for that?

“So you thought calling me would be the equivalent of a sleeping pill?” His deep, dark chuckle does things to me.

“No, Jaybear, I figured you’d be the only person I know to still be awake.” This makes me pause and think about the situation. Murph isn’t stupid, he knows I’m not out here helping the elderly cross the street. But if he ever found out I’m working for the Mancini family, he might not be able to forgive me for that. The Irish mob and the Italian mafia don’t even remotely get along. Their truce is hanging on by the thread of their ball sacks and finding out I’m not only still alive but in the deep end of the Mancini family? It would only mean one thing… war.

Murphy would kill me himself before bringing death to his front door.

More reason for me to keep my distance from them. It’s the only way to make sure they’re safe.

“You good, J?” Tab’s deep voice is so close I nearly jump at the sound but I don’t miss the heavy intake of Murphy’s breath.

“You’re busy, then. I’ll let you go.” He hangs up and I’m left here, completely at a loss.

Well, fuck.

Chapter Nine

Murphy

Thatwasadickmove.

I knew I was being an asshole as I hung up the phone but, for some reason, I couldn’t stop myself from doing it. The green-eyed monster took over my brain and all I could see was J with some burly sounding guy, doing whatever it was they were doing. For all I know, he was her mechanic asking her if everything was going okay with her bike.

Dammit, what is she doing to me?

Looking at my clock on my phone, I realize sleep isn’t going to happen. Being productive by starting on work now wouldmaybeallow me to leave the garage earlier tomorrow. One can hope.

Firing up the laptop, I click on my spreadsheets and line them up on different tabs. Each tab holds a different list of vehicles with matching plates. Then, going into the system, I search out numbers that are available and give those numbers to cars we’re reselling. I know it’s not exactly legal but my name is nowhere to be seen on any of the papers and no names are registered to any of the cars. Even if anyone were to have doubts about our operation, every paper and computer trail would lead to a dead end. We made sure of it.

It’s not until after twenty minutes of work that I wonder if I could find J’s plate number on this system and from there, surely the DMV would have her address. Once the thought takes root, I can’t stop my fingers from roaming the system until I get a hit.

Like a teenager who’s just found a handwritten note from the girl he likes sitting in his locker, I’m acutely aware of the butterflies doing some kind of dance in my guts. What I’m doing is stalkerish and a bit douchebaggy but my curiosity is slowly killing me.

Also, there’s Hallie and I have to keep her safe. At least, that’s what I tell myself.

The address that flashes on my screen is located on West Eleventh, which, at this time of night, shouldn’t be more than a twenty-minute ride, probably less. My gaze flicks to the side as though I can see through the walls that Hallie is fast asleep.

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