Page 58 of Desert Thorns
“Later.” He nodded at Bella. “Aren’t you a tutor for teens or something?”
Good Lord, I had mentioned Bella one time. One. Time. In passing. How did he still remember that she was a tutor? How did he even know what she looked like?
Bella beamed. “Yup, although I’m still working towards my psychology degree.”
“You seem competent enough. My fourteen-year-old niece has been slacking and needs help. Not just with school stuff. She needs a female role model.”
The compassion that softened Bella’s feature made me want to grab her shoulders and shake some sense into her. Maybe I should warn her flat-out that Rome was Mafia.
I slid a glance to Kingsley, who’d been quiet the entire time. His gaze rested on me, an intensity in his green eyes that gave me goosebumps. Good thing we weren’t alone.
“How about you give me your number, and I’ll call?” Bella extended her phone to Rome, who took it, tapped around on the screen, then handed it back. He must’ve left more than his number, because Bella looked at her cell, then gave him a furtive smile.
“Hokay, I think it’s time to go.” I slapped Rome’s visor shut, then gave Bella a hug. “He’s no good,” I whispered in her ear.
“I know.”
“I don’t think you do. He’s the son of a Mafia don, Bella.”
The small gasp told me she finally understood. Good.
Letting her go, I gave her a serious look, then rounded the F-150 and climbed in the passenger side. Warning her was all I could do. What she did with this information was up to her, but I prayed she would be cautious. Rome was a good man, yet his lifestyle was dangerous.
“If you keep shooting me down like that, I’ll die a lonely man,” Rome said over the Bluetooth integrated in his helmet when we hit the road. He rode ahead of us, the red taillight a beacon in the dark.
I glared at my cell as if he could see me through the call. “Someone has to warn her that she might end up dead.”
“Fair enough.” Rome’s voice sounded solid, but the way he dipped his head ever so slightly indicated that I’d hit a sore spot. This wasn’t the first time he responded like that to this topic. Had he lost someone he’d held dear in the past? A girlfriend? Wife?
“So, where are we going?” I asked when he remained silent.
“I possibly found Fuller’s weapon storage. But I need Brother Samuel to lead us there.”
I glanced over at Kingsley sitting behind the wheel, still mute. What was going on with him? He looked rough. “Where?”
“There’s a bunker somewhere in the jungle near Silent Wharf.”
“And you know where it is?” I asked Kingsley.
He gave me a curt nod.
Okay? I wanted to ask what was going on, but not with Rome listening in.
The drive to Silent Wharf took forever, and by the time we were there, darkness had swallowed daylight. I got out of the pickup Kingsley had parked behind an old shack and stared at the jungle looming into the black sky. The crickets were deafening.
A chill crept up my spine and the back of my neck. Why did it feel like Craig was lying in ambush somewhere, waiting for us to set foot into this trap?
“Let’s go.” Rome turned on the flashlight on his phone and set foot into the maze of ancient trees, plants, and vines.
I followed suit, my scalp prickling as if thousands of spiders crawled around on it.Please keep us safe, Jesus.
Chapter 22
Kingsley
We should’ve long been back at the monastery, yet here we were, sneaking around in the jungle on the hunt for a dirty detective’s weapon storage. As if my bad conscience wasn’t already tormenting me enough.
Rome extended his cell to me and leaned in. “That’s a phone with a flashlight,” he shout-whispered to drown out the ruckus the crickets made.
