Page 16 of Lesson on Depravity

It’s the afternoon, and Dorothy doesn’t let her off work until the day is over. She obviously pays my princess the amount of the hours, but it still doesn’t sit right with me that she works more than what the average work hours are.

This place doesn’t have nine to five jobs. This territory counts on criminal activities to function, but there are stores that aren’t affiliated with me, and I tend to leave them alone until they become a problem for me.

I take her out of the doorway and into the streets, but that was a mistake since it has no privacy at all. The sun beams down on us, heating the top of my head while she squints up at me.

My teeth ache for that familiar bite of the cigarette bud, but my lungs aren’t looking for that punch of smoke just yet. Smoking in front of Coco is bad, and I never do it; she can’t have anything damaging to her body.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, fingers diving through her hair and finding the nape of her neck.

I hold her, my thumb kneading the row of bones under her skin. She purses her lips, eyebrows furrowing as her green eyes shine with inconsistency.

“I have an auntie,” she quickly blurts out.

It’s my time to be confused. My intel is correct; the only family she had was her parents. They’re gone now, and that should mean that she has no one to return to, and I made sure of that.

Where the hell did this aunt come from?

If have to get more information out of her. “I didn’t know you have an aunt. Who is she?”

Coco scrunches up her nose. “I don’t know. She came into the shop, and she knows me, and she knows things about my mom that are private.”

“What did she say?” My hand tightens around her neck, bringing her face closer to mine as I lean down to press my lips to her temple.

“She said her name was Jessabelle, and she’s my mom’s sister—she knows about mom’s birthmark.” Coco’s tiny fingers grip my shirt.

“It’s weird,” she adds. “I mean, mom never talked about her and, oh, she had a Pomeranian.”

It is just like Coco to mention something utterly irrelevant to what I want to know, but I don’t need to rush her. Even if I knew everything about this so-called aunt of hers, I have business to attend to later today, and it’s lucrative.

I have to be there to make sure no bullshit will go down because criminals have no code of honor.

“What did she want?”

She hums. “I didn’t get to ask her when Mrs. Curtis had me do inventories.”

Just when I thought I could finally cut off every tie that could be a threat to Coco, in comes a damned woman who calls herself her aunt with a damned dog.

I am going have to remind Tito just what happens when work is done sloppily. I have no use for those who leave loose ends that will complicate my life, and this aunt’s sudden appearance is a thorn in my side.

Unless I have more information on my hands, I can’t risk taking any action just yet. Then from the corner of my eye, I see a figure stepping out of the bar, and I bring Coco closer to my chest. I hide her face from Tito, and it’s also to not let her eyes wander, I want to keep her as naïve as possible to the things I have done and will continue to do in the future.

Once a killer, always a killer.

Tito cocks his head, mentioning for me to the side for a conversation. I pet her hair, feeling the soft brown strands slip away from my rough hand. I calculate the distance from here to Dorothy’s shop and our home, but they are still too far from the bar for me to be completely confident that she’ll arrive there safely.

“I want you to get inside the bar and go into the kitchen.” I would prefer a safer place, and the best option is on the second floor, but everyone knows that upstairs is a place for sex, and I do not want her to be exposed to that.

“Okay,” she answers obediently.

I let her leave my arms and turn to face Tito. He lifts his hand to wave, and I glare at him over her head. His hand drops but not before she waves at him too. Her shy action is adorable, and I would have kissed her senseless if we weren’t in public.

“Run along, little Coco-Rococo.” Tito cracks her a grin.

He is really asking for my fist to meet his face. Tito raises an eyebrow as if he’s taunting me that Coco’s heightened sense of paranoia doesn’t reach him, and I’m not special in that regard.

“No harm done, boss.” He shrugs his shoulders. “Just want to build a rapport with her.”

“It’s not necessary,” I snap, glaring at him as I close the distance.

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