Page 36 of Mafia Fire

I step back. Run a hand along the back of my neck. I’m still not sure what the hell is going on in his mind. I wait for him to speak.

He reiterates his point. “The only life she knows is living with her grandma and working that pharmacy. Getting help from the owner of a kink club? It’d be too much for her. She was perfectly content to clean our house. Look around. I knew she’d try to come back.”

With my anger at bay, I can focus on my surroundings. The place smells of lemon and pine cleaner. The banister has been polished. The mirrors and windows are spotless.

I believe him. I know what he says is true. Because now, I feel I know Kylie. She’s just that damn sweet.

“Then we’re good. I’ll take good care of her.” I eye him. “Do you know why she’s in trouble with the Meralos?”

He gives a nod. “She doesn’t want anyone to know. Her uncle owes them drug money and they’ve been coming to her for payment. That’s why she wanted to work here, to earn more money, to get some protection. She’s trying to keep it to herself, to not let the story spread any further than it has. It would break her grandmother’s heart if she found out what’s happened to her only son.”

The Meralos want money. Something they have plenty of. How much can her uncle possibly owe? A rank feeling flips through my gut. They know she has only enough to cover her meager expenses. They must be after something other than money as payback.

I nod. “Fine. Thanks. For the information.”

His gaze steels, the softness he had when speaking of Kylie dissolving. “I’ve told you everything,” he says. “Now get off my land. I’ve got things to do.”

I leave him with a long look before I decide to leave, my boots tromping over the rickety boards of his porch.

Kylie’s in the car right where she should be. I unlock the door, sliding in beside her.

Antonio stands in front of his house, arms crossed over his chest, the hook glinting in a sliver of morning sunlight that’s made its way through the thick trees. He stands his ground, watching us as we leave.

“He looks okay.” She eyes him, probably looking for bruises.

My fingers tighten around the wheel. “I can’t believe I’m saying this. You were right.”

Finally, she releases the twist of hair from her finger, turning to me with wide eyes. “What do you mean?”

“It was sugar in the package. The whole delivery was a front.” I turn the car around the circular drive. “He did it for you.”

Her eyes widen. “He did?” She glances over her shoulder at the forlorn Antonio.

“Yes. He set the whole thing up for you. So you could find me and get the protection he knew you needed.”

She turns back around, shaking her head in disbelief. “I had this feeling that he… I mean, I didn’t know what was in his head when he sent me, but I just couldn’t believe he would… you know?”

Does she like him? Am I… jealous? I run an agitated hand through my hair. “No. I don’t know.”

She gives a happy sigh, settling back against her seat. “I knew it. I knew he had some good in him. I could see it in his eyes when I sat with him.”

“Seriously?”

She shrugs. “His mother died when he was young. I imagine his father was hard on him. I know what it’s like to grow up without a mother, it really messes you up, trust me, but at least I had my Nonna.” She looks to me. “Who did he have?”

The pureness of her kindness makes my throat feel tight. I clear it. “Well…”

I leave it at that, cruising along the mountain roads. It’s not lost on me how different the feeling, the energy, in the car is withherhere beside me. Something deep inside me loosens, a knot I’ve kept tied up and buried for a long time.

Kylie… this girl… she’s…undoing me.

What she does to me is going to be a problem. A major one. For once in my life, it’s a problem I don’t know how to solve.

10

Kylie

“This cannot bewhat he means for me to wear.” I stare in the mirror, disbelief reflecting back on my makeup-free face.

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