Enforce(47)

“Damn it!” I gripped her hand over the seatbelt. “We’re in the middle of traffic. You’re staying here. I don’t care if you think your freaking heart is going to explode. We can’t be vulnerable, and right now, we are.” Especially considering it was entirely possible I wasn’t the only one who had seen that necklace.

Shit. I looked in the rearview mirror, half-expecting an Alfero SUV to be tailing me, guns blazing.

Luckily, I saw nothing except for Chase in the other SUV.

For the next ten minutes, my cursing got so creative that even I had to give myself credit for making up words I’m pretty sure hadn’t existed until that very moment.

When we pulled up to the store, I snapped. “Leave. Both of you. I’ll deal with this.”

Trace tensed next to me, her hand still on the seatbelt, and mine still covering it.

I needed to concentrate on something — anything but her smooth skin. She could be the enemy. She could have been planted there to distract me. Hell, anything was possible at that point. I wasn’t sure if I should pull a gun on her or calmly ask what the hell she was doing with that necklace. A necklace that basically said I couldn’t have her, and that even if I did, I never deserved her in the first place. Not that I liked her. Or wanted to kiss her — my eyes fell to her lips. Damn it!

Popping my knuckles, I closed my eyes for a brief minute before asking, “What’s your last name?”

“Rooks,” she said slowly. “Why, what’s yours?” Well good. At least she still had her sense of humor. She’d need that — if she lived to make it to the grocery store. I lowered my hand to the side door where I kept another gun. It sucked.

My life sucked.

A girl that reminded me of one I’d lost.

And I may be ending her life in a few minutes.

A life wasted.

Another life wasted.

Too much blood on my hands.

I shifted the safety off. “I’m asking questions. You’re giving answers. You understand?” I tried to give her my most threatening glare, pissed at her for lying, pissed at myself for not realizing she could be out to get my entire family. Revenge was a bitch. “Now, I can ask nicely. Or I can use force. What is your last name?” My finger was on the trigger. I’d never wanted someone to lie to me so badly. I wanted her to say I was crazy. I wanted her to laugh it off.

Nausea overwhelmed me. I didn’t want to kill her.

But I would.

To protect Mo, to protect my family. It wasn’t just blood in, blood out for the Sicilians. It was blood in — no way out, except death.

“Rooks!” Tears pooled in Trace’s brown eyes. “It’s all I know!”

I carefully pulled my hand away from the gun and reached across to unbuckle her seatbelt. She was telling the truth. Her eyes were scared. She was damn-near shaking the car she was trembling so much.

I grabbed the necklace and turned it over. “Damn it!”

Alfero. I hadn’t been wrong. The worst part? It had their family crest on it. Not that she would know that.

And I wasn’t about to tell her what it meant to have a picture of an owl as part of the design.

“What?” Trace whispered. “Look, Nixon…” She tried to pull away from me. “…this was a bad idea. Take me back to the dorms. I don’t need the security detail like you guys do. I’ll just come back in a cab or something. Plus, you’re freaking me out. I‘ll just find my own way home.”

Home.

She was home.

She just didn’t know it.

Because a necklace like that? Didn’t get into the wrong hands. Which meant only one thing.

She was one of them.

And she was in my SUV… under my protection. Did Frank know? Was it a setup from the beginning? How could I be so blind! And WHO the hell did she belong to?

“The hell you will,” I mumbled, dropping the necklace against her chest and reaching for her hand. “Let’s just, let’s just get this over with, okay?”

With a grunt, I pulled the same gun that not minutes before was going to be pointed at her head and stuffed it in its holster on my hip.

“Uh…” She pointed. “…why are you packing a gun?”

Yeah. Wasn’t ready to explain that one. Because it would probably sound exactly like a bad Mafia movie. “Because it’s part of the rules.”

“Of the school?” she blurted, sounding cute as hell.

I fought the urge to smile. Damn, it was too easy around her. “No.” My smile felt forced, sad. “My family. Now, let’s go.”

She stormed off. I trailed after her, letting her have her tantrum while looking for any suspicious characters.

Once I checked in with Mo, I went in search of Trace. She was mumbling to herself and tossing stuff into her cart like she wasn’t going to eat ever again.