I never imagined I’d be hiding my little brother’s kindergarten teacher there one day. But that was the nature of a life in the business. You never knew when shit was going to happen, and you never knew how prepared you had to be. As I slowed the car down and pulled over in front of the cheap-looking row home, I was pretty damn thankful that I had been a little over prepared.
I cut the engine and looked at her. “This is it.”
She looked around. “What do you mean?”
“This is my safe house.”
She looked over at the houses and shrugged. I opened my door and climbed out. I walked around to her side and pulled open her door.
“Come on,” I said.
She climbed out slowly with a far-off and weird look on her face. I could tell that she was trembling as she stood, and I grabbed her arm to steady her. I thought she was over the worst of it, but clearly she was still in shock. She felt cold and clammy, like she had a fever or something. I shut the door behind her as we made our way over to the front door. She leaned on me the whole way, as if she were almost ready to fall asleep.
“Ellie, you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m a little tired,” she said vaguely.
“Okay, let’s get inside and you can nap.”
“Okay, sure, Liam.”
I fumbled with my keys, unlocked the door, and pushed it open. We stepped over the threshold and I shut the door behind us.
Inside, the place was sparsely furnished. There was a staircase directly ahead of us and a living room off to the left. In the back was the kitchen. I had a cheap couch, an old TV set, a single coffee table, and an old lamp on a crappy end table. It was all trash-picked stuff, garbage college kids were throwing away, but it was clean and it was good enough.
We hobbled together up the stairs, and I marveled at how light she felt in my arms. Her skin was soft and smooth, and I practically carried her up into the only furnished bedroom in the place. Slowly, I lowered her down onto the stiff mattress, and she curled up into a tight ball.
“Are you going to sleep?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she mumbled.
I frowned down at her, worried. Had Max done something to her before I got there? I had no clue what the guy was capable of, but I doubted he drugged her. He needed information from her and couldn’t risk her getting too out of it. She looked gorgeous lying curled up on the mattress, her firm tits barely covered by a thin cotton T-shirt, and I had to force myself to look away. I couldn’t let her distract me, not yet.
“I’m going out. Don’t leave here.”
She mumbled something in response. I gave her one last lingering look, as I turned and went down the steps. I moved fast into the kitchen, pulled out a pad of sticky notes and a pen, and wrote her a message.
Ellie: DO NOT LEAVE. I will be back very, very soon to explain everything.
I stuck it up on the front door, locked the knob, shoved it closed behind me, and jogged down the steps.
I hated to leave her alone, but I had things I needed to do, and I needed to do them fast. I practically dove back into the car, turned on the engine, and sped out of my spot, heading back toward my restaurant. My mind was moving at the speed of light, calculating how long I had before Colm came looking for me. I guessed at least another hour, maybe two, before he figured out that it was me who stopped Max. But it could be less. I wasn’t sure how long Max would be out, or if the cops had taken him in, or what.
There were too many loose ends. I cursed my impulsive stupidity. Before, I could have salvaged the situation, maybe figured out a way to keep Ellie alive while still winning over Colm. But as soon as she called the cops, all bets were off.
Still, I had my plan. It could work, even with this huge wrench thrown into the middle of things. Maybe I had to change a few details, alter a few moves, but it was still possible. And it was my only option.
I pulled into the alley behind the restaurant, killed the engine, and ran inside. Luis was prepping for the early dinner rush as I moved through the kitchen.
“Yo, boss,” he called out, and I waved, not stopping.
I moved out into the hall and pushed open the door to my office. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I reached back to feel the gun tucked into my pants for reassurance. The room was empty, though, so I ran over to the safe I had tucked against a back wall. I entered the code and the door unlocked with a loud click.
“What’s going on?”
I glanced up and saw Colin looking in at me.
“Nothing. I just need this cash.”
He stared hard at me and shook his head.
“I know something’s up. Colm keeps calling, and you’ve been missing all morning.”
“Don’t worry about it. Just business.”