Page 24 of Mafia Made (Crowned Criminals)

Annie’s jaw tightened so much that I worried it was going to snap in half. “We aren’t close.”

“He’s back in Michigan?”

Annie had torn the napkin in front of her into pieces. “I’m not sure where he is,” she said, refusing to meet my eyes. “We don’t talk.”

There was pain in her voice, and it made me feel like an ass. I’d tried to push her to tell me more, and inadvertently opened up a wound. I’d been lucky enough to have at least one parent who cared about me.

Though my parents didn’t have a good marriage, they both loved me.

“Hey,” I said, reaching out to grab Annie’s hand. “It’s a beautiful day.”

Annie smiled, but it was sad. There was always a sense of sadness in her face. I found myself wanting nothing more than to make her happy. The thought stopped me in my tracks. I’d never spent a lot of time caring about a woman before, and I hadn’t expected to care about Annie.

“Let’s get some ice cream!” I said.

Annie laughed. “It’s like ten in the morning.”

I shrugged. “C’est la vie.” I pulled her up out of her chair.

She was giggling, which was the intention. “Okay, okay,” she said. “If you can find an ice cream shop open this early, then I guess I’ll go.”

“Don’t ever underestimate me.”

CHAPTERNINE

I felt as though I were floating on air as I walked to my desk early Monday morning. Ezra and I spent Saturday morning together, talking and eating delectable foods around the city. Somehow, he’d found an ice cream place, and I’d eaten so many different flavors that my stomach ached—in a good way.

On Sunday, Julia and I cleaned the apartment and then enjoyed some two-dollar dumplings at the Chinese restaurant down the street. Normally, I wouldn’t be so gluttonous, but this weekend had been like a dream.

In fact, that weekend has been the best one that I could remember in a long time.

“Hey,” Tommy said. He was standing at my desk looking as though he’d swallowed a porcupine.

My good mood immediately evaporated. Something was wrong. Even if it wasn’t written all over Tommy’s face, I would know things weren’t right just by the fact that Tommy was here much earlier than normal. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

I dropped my bag on my desk and rushed forward.

“I got a call on Friday,” he said, shifting from foot to foot.

“Okay…” I wasn’t sure what the call could have been about, or why it would cause Tommy to be standing at my desk at 7:30 in the morning.

“It was the head of HR,” he told me.

My stomach immediately dropped. I knew what this was about. They must have started processing my paperwork. That was the only explanation. Ezra had told me that he would take care of it, but it appeared that he forgot.

“I’m sure it’s just a mistake,” Tommy said. “Those temp companies always send us over bad paperwork. It’s not a big deal.” He was rambling, so I knew that it was a big deal. But I didn’t want to make Tommy feel any worse than he obviously did.

Plastering a smile on my face, I walked back to my desk and grabbed my purse. “I’ll go talk to them,” I said. “I’m sure it’s just a mistake.”

It wasn’t, and I gripped my bag strap in my hand tightly as I thought about what was about to happen next.

Tommy nodded. “That’s why I’m here so early. They wanted to see you first.”

I practically felt the color drain from my face as I processed Tommy’s words. “Great,” I said. My voice was a high-pitched squeak. “I’ll see you in a few.”

I didn’t stop to hear anything from Tommy.

Walking towards the HR office, a cold sweat began to break out on the back of my neck, and I regretted the polyester blouse I was wearing. It felt as though it was sticking directly to my skin in a way that was uncomfortable and restricting.

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