“He was in my apartment this morning—”
Rome stabbed the knife into the desk.
“Don’t do anything to him. Please.” The sigh Harley emitted brimmed over with exhaustion. “I don’t need him dead, okay? And not in the hospital either. I’ll just lie low for a while until he comes to his senses.”
The intensity rolling off Rome mirrored my own emotions. If her ex was after her, I wanted him taken care of. Not in a violent way—which the guy opposite me probably would opt for—but legally. But without knowing what was going on, I couldn’t do anything. Not to mention Harley refused to get the police involved, which, whatever that Craig guy had on her, made sense.
“Rome, promise me you won’t do anything.” Harley leaned in as if wanting to hypnotize him.
“You know I don’t make those kinds of promises. Especially if you don’t tell mewhyhe was in your apartment.”
She closed her eyes. Shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. I heard about Gino. Does this mean you’re the next don?”
I almost choked on my own breath. Don? As in, Mafia don? So the guy didn’t just look like a Mafia member, he was one?
The muscles in my shoulders knotted even more. What kind of connections did Harley have? No, this wasn’t a connection. Those two were friends. Or more?
“No lo so.My niece has priority. Everything else follows.”
“I’m sorry, Rome. I know how bad you want to get out.”
He dropped his chin to his chest, several strands of black hair falling into his eyes. “It is what it is. Anything else?”
“Nope. Thank you so much. I’ll be praying for you.” Harley rose.
I was about to follow suit when Rome gestured for me to stay seated. “Harley, give me and the monk a minute.”
Her red eyebrows shot up. “Okay?” Walking backward, she kept taking us in until she’d reached the door. Her eyes stayed locked onto us until the very last second. Was it me she didn’t trust, or Rome?
Silence and the smell of leather hung in the air as Rome and I stared each other down for a full minute. I didn’t want any beef with the guy. Not with anyone ever, but most definitely not with the Mafia. As a kid, I’d heard all the crazy tales. Now I was pretty sure they were true.
“Can you protect her?” Rome eyed my habit.
“I’ll do whatever necessary to keep her safe.”
“You need firearms? Knives?”
The idea of me showing up at the monastery with a pistol or rifle made me grin inwardly. Former cartel member or not, I doubted Father Cruz would appreciate me playing Rambo. “A nuke would be helpful.”
“Not sure if I have one of those in stock. Gotta check first.”
“Sure, take your time.”
Rome smirked, then sobered quickly. “You got any idea what her ex did?”
I shook my head. “She climbed the walls of our monastery last night. Was pretty spooked. I let her spend the night while pulling security. No one showed up.”
The chair creaked when Rome leaned back. He wet his lips. “You’re an honorable man, Brother Samuel.”
“I just did what anyone else would do.”
“No, you did a whole lot more. Something’s wrong with that guy.” Rome opened a drawer and unearthed a black business card with a red cobra embossed on it. He extended it to me. “Call me if she’s in danger or if you ever need someone taken care of.”
“I don’t have access to a phone.” I took it anyway.
“You might at some point.”
I didn’t object. “May the Lord bless you and keep you.”