Page 12 of Working for the Mob

That couldn’t be good news. A hollow pang grew in my stomach. I felt like the time Derrick Thomas told me that Santa wasn’t real.

I reached for Lucy’s hand again and held it tight.

“Uh … ladies, I have some bad news,” he said, and my heart dropped. “The Turnersville police were at the platform to apprehend the guy, just like you asked Mr. Necci. But he … uh … slipped through their fingers. He must have known they were coming and hopped off early.”

His words clanged into my head like a judge sentencing me to life in prison. So that was it. I was stuck here.

“I’m very sorry about your stolen purse, ma’am,” Officer Brighton said, “They’re going to do everything they can to track down the guy.”

But his words fell on deaf ears. I had no money, no place to stay, and no way out of this God-forsaken town.

I didn’t know what to do.

This wasn’t how the last twenty-four hours were supposed to go. I wasn’t supposed to be here in a town in the middle of nowhere, and not even enough money to buy a box of cornflakes.

I pulled Lucy’s hand onto my chest and held on for dear life.

Chapter 4 – Genevieve

My entire life had always been planned by my parents. Where to go, what to eat, sometimes who to socialize with. It wasn’t a bad life. I was even used to it. And there were comforts that came with it. I never had to worry about cooking, money, or transportation. My parents had everything planned out.

Today was the first day that my life wasn’t planned. I had plans for the eight hundred dollars, but that was gone.

I zoned out. I think Jamie brought me more coffee at one point. He and Art stood at the counter and talked in hushed tones, like they were at someone’s deathbed. What did that say about me?

Lucy held my hand from across the table while she studied the cuticles of her other hand.

This was punishment for defying my parents. I knew it. I should never have erupted at the matchmaker. She probably sent that drifter to snatch my clutch!

And how was I going to get out of here? Without any money, I was screwed. And I had a feeling that Lucy didn’t have any money either. That left both of us without a way out of here and no place to stay. The cherry on top of my crap-filled sundae was that we were being held captive by the mob.

I put my head on the table and tried my best not to start crying. If I could just hold out until we weren’t around Art, I’d feel accomplished.

Instead, a vice grip dragged me upright and out of my chair. I squealed.

“Mind if I borrow your sister?” Art asked Lucy.

Lucy barely spared me a glance and continued to study her nails. “Go ahead.”

TRAITOR!

“I mind!” I said, but he pulled me into the backroom, with the mops and industrial sink.

What did it say about me that I liked his hand there?

“What are you going to do?” Art demanded. I remembered to snatch my arm back, a second after he let go.

“What do you mean?” I had the next two hours already planned: sitting in the café and feeling sorry for myself.

“What are you going to do with your sister? That’s the second man in Lannington that’s dumped her”––Lucy went through men like teenage boys went through handkerchiefs––“and now she has no place to stay. And I don’t see a bunch of suitors lined up either. You need a plan for you andher,” Art said, and jerked his thumb towards Lucy.

I bit my lip. Now I had to make decisions for thetwoof us. I felt like we were kids again. But this time I hoped Lucy would actually listen to me.

“I could get you out of here,” he said, and pulled out his wallet. “I can buy you train tickets back to the city––”

“No!” I said, and cut him off. I’m not taking money from the mob. And even if we made it back to the city, we had no place to stay. “I’ll figure this out.”

He glared at me, as though he expected me to think of something on the spot.

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