Page 53 of The Mafia's Property

“You mean your dead friend who was probably killed by her boyfriend? I should ask you since you’re the one working with the killer.”

What he was saying had to be some diversion tactic. Derreck, while a little possessive, was no killer. He could never do such a thing. He was the only person fighting for the actual killers to be brought to justice. Derreck was more passionate about it than I was. “What did you do to her? Why kill her? What wrong did she do that warranted that?”

“Ask Derreck that.”

“Are you deflecting the murder to him because Derreck saw you? “

Nico chuckled. “Is that what he said? I have to admire the gall.”

Technically, he said he wasn’t sure if it was Nico or Rico he saw, but I no longer cared who the real killer was. They were both complicit. They bragged about doing everything together.

“He must be saying this because I fired him for possibly killing Zoe. She worked for sus and her disappearance was in the news. I had to look for the killer myself because the police weren’t doing a good enough job. Like them, I couldn’t find evidence to nail him, but there was more than enough suspicious smell around him for me to fire him. He’s not the angel you think him to be. I could have wacked him if it weren’t for his status and the timing of events. Made men like him are important to some people. If he wasn’t, he would have died a long time ago.”

“Lies. You must be lying.” That could be the only reason, but the more I think about it, the more his story made sense. Derreck was insecure about himself and the attention Zoe got from other men. Their relationship was rocky. And even though they briefly made up just before she died, they could have fought. The jealous boyfriend killing the girlfriend was a tale as old as time. More plausible than getting hit by a mob guy for demanding payment for the work she did for them.

“Did you pay Zoe for sex?”

He blinked twice and shook his head. “You know we don’t just sleep with anyone. Why would I pay her for sex?”

His story made more sense than Derreck’s. Sitting with that made my blood run cold. If true, I was working with my best friend’s killer to settle a score because he was given a slap on the wrist for the murder he committed.

“If you knew he did that? Why didn’t you send him to the police?”

“Ah yes. A mob guy like me working with the police to give them a suspect. I don’t know if you know this, but that’s called snitching. The only way I could settle it was our way. The police would have done nothing to him, anyway. There was no evidence tying him to the crime and the overdose/missing party girl story he made up was irresistible to them. It’s easier to prove than murder.”

Come to think of it, he was the one to suggest she might have been given a drug. And who else knew about drugs more than him? It was as if every piece of the puzzle was coming together perfectly and the picture was right there, but I couldn’t make it out. Finding out your friend was killed by your other friend was hard. Just as hard as admitting the person you thought was the devil was actually not the bad guy.

“So all this time you thought I was the reason your friend is dead?”

“You’re capable of it,” I said.

“True, but I don’t hurt innocents.”

“What about me?”

“You’re no innocent. Even when you were a virgin.” He seemed a little mad all of a sudden. He got up from the bathtub, splashing water everywhere. He grabbed the towel to dry himself and wrapped it before wading out. The water was feeling cold now, even though it hadn’t been long since I sank into the bath. I got out and pulled a towel off the rack to dry myself. Nico was not in the bedroom when I came in. Rico was still lying on the bed, awake and on his phone. “You look fresh,” he said. “It’s going to make putting you into the restraints a little sad.”

“I’m not getting tied up again.”

“It’s not like you have much of a choice. And besides, you signed up for this.”

“I’m not going to run.” There was nowhere else for me to run to. Derreck was a killer who knew where I lived and if I found him, he would probably use me and kill me to tie a loose end. That might have been his initial plan for all I knew. As for these two, they still wanted to kill me, but at least they seem to enjoy my company.

“I’ve heard that before.”

“If I do, feel free to kill me on the spot.”

“I still can’t have you running around this place.” He faced me for the first time and his eyes reflected a hunger that wanted to be satiated by me. I held the towel tight around my chest, thinking he wanted to rip it off. I might have even let him if he didn’t turn his attention back to his phone.

I dangled the bracelet on my wrist. “You can use this to track my movements.”

“I don’t know. I feel like I need something tangible to make the punishment good enough.”

There was no way I could handle being tied up once more. I scrambled my brain for a compromise he would accept. Nothing came to me until—

“You can cuff me to yourself and have me follow you around.”

Rico raised his eyebrows ready to mock it, but he slowly started nodding, saying. “That could work. But how much do you like being jerked around by me or Nico?”

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