Page 69 of The Woman with the Target on her Back (Grassi Family)

“She can always rely on us,” I said, meaning it. “If you ever need a hand…”

To that, he nodded.

“I appreciate that. But so long as I am breathing… and conscious,” he said, shaking his head at needing to add that caveat now, “she will be safe. I expect you two will be heading back to your lives as soon as Traveler is ready to leave?” he asked.

It was a question. But also a bit of a demand.

Get out of my town.

Maybe I should have been offended by that since I dropped my entire life to protect his daughter when he couldn’t. But, coming from another criminal, I had to understand him not wanting outsiders in his business.

“Of course,” I agreed, nodding.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Aurelio’s hard look, but pretended not to see it.

We shared a little more conversation between James texting, likely setting up security for his daughter, as Traveler slammed around in the bed and bathroom before emerging with all of her shit.

“Alright. I’m ready,” she said, her face a blank mask.

I couldn’t read anything.

I couldn’t tell if she had the black hole in her chest too.

“Yep. Let’s go,” he said, striding over to take her things, then heading toward the door. “Thanks again,” he called to us, nodding.

“Yeah, ah, thanks, guys,” she said, not making eye contact with either of us as she looked in our general direction before following her father out.

I wondered if she would tell her dad that she was scared of elevators now. Or if she would grin and bear it.

“You’re a fucking moron,” Aurelio said into the silence that followed their departure, shocking me enough to make me look over at him.

“What?” I asked, brows pinched.

“You’re just going to let her leave like that?” he asked. “After what has been going on with you two since we got here?”

“It was… a way to pass the time,” I said, but I couldn’t look at him when I said it. I busied myself with starting to clean up our morning mess instead.

“Bullshit,” Aurelio said, voice angrier than I usually heard it. “You two are the most fucking stubborn-ass human beings I have ever met. Both too fucking chickenshit to admit you have feelings, so you just act like it meant nothing.”

“Maybe it didn’t mean anything,” I said, doing a casual shrug that I didn’t feel as I filled the trash with random shit we’d brought in to keep in the fridge.

She’d hate that.

Me throwing away perfectly good food.

Not recycling the containers that the perfectly good food was inside of.

“I’m gonna finish cleaning, then pack up. Want to share a ride to the repair shop to get our cars?”

Aurelio stared at me for a long minute, sighed, then said, “Sure.”

With that, I moved into the bedroom, trying to ignore the smell of Traveler around, the little bits of evidence that she’d been around.

A hair tie she’d forgotten.

Her wet towels from her bath.

The messy bed neither of us had bothered to make.

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