Page 36 of Bad Men

He shook his head. “I did.”

The temporary relief brought on by the knowledge that Eduardo hadn’t put a hit on me vanished at the thought of something happening to Nero. The only thing that came to mind was the job he’d been sent on the night before, but he was one of the best. There was no way he’d screw up a hit.

“Hey, whatever it is, we’ll deal with it, right? What happened?”

He shifted forward, elbows going to his knees. Fingers interlocked under his chin. The knuckles on his injured hand blazed an angry red in the dim light.

“I left my post last night,” he started slowly, talking to the coffee table. “It was for fifteen minutes at most, maybe twenty. You know Ernie’s place is just up the road from Mia’s diner.”

It wasn’t a question, but I nodded. “You went to see her. I get that. I probably would have done the same.”

Nero nodded but the avoidance of his gaze was beginning to prick at my anxiety.

“Did you miss Ernie?” I guessed, needing to move this along. “‘cause we can go find the fucker right now. Eduardo doesn’t need to know—”

“I’m fairly certain Eduardo already had Ernie killed.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and passed it over to me. “He called it off.”

I skimmed the signal to cancel the hit sent by Alejandro. I passed it back.

“You think Eduardo’s pissed that you left your post?”

Nero shook his head. “I can’t see how he’d know. Even if he did … I dunno. That’s not it.”

“Okay? So what is?” I snapped. “You’re freaking me out. Just tell me.”

His shoulders lifted with his deep inhale. “I took Mia back with me to wait for Ernie. This was before the text. She was going to walk home. I told her I’d take her.”

The oily sensation started in my belly, a cold leak that made me aware of every breath I took. “How much did you tell her?”

The moment his eyes finally met mine, I knew even before he uttered the single word.

“Everything.”

“What the fuck, Nero? You’re the one always talking about following the rules and you pull this shit?”

He shot to his feet and paced the width of space between the coffee table and the TV. “I know! I fucked up.”

“What were you thinking?” I snarled, getting to my own feet.

“I wasn’t!”

“No shit!” I shoved five fingers back through my hair and let out a low growl. “You just sealed her death warrant.”

Nero stopped walking and faced me, the anger now panic in his eyes. “I know.” His nostrils flared. “That’s why I went back last night.”

I froze, my heart forgetting to beat for that split second. “What did you do?”

He shook his head. “I snuck into her room after I dropped her off. I was … I was going to finish the job…”

“If you fucking hurt her, Nero…”

I was breathing hard, my terror twisting into rage. Blood pounded in my ears, silencing everything except the prayer rotating through my head.

Please don’t let him have killed her.

There was nothing I could do if he had, but I knew it would change things between me and my best friend in a way I didn’t know how to handle. Mia was just another person, a woman we would eventually have to let go.

Let go, not erase forever.

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