As I got into my car and drove out to the deli, I knew I should try to get my mind right. Some fucking shady shit had happened last night with the Spiders, and there was a lot I couldn’t figure out.
But instead of wondering about that, I just kept thinking about Emma. She was the real problem in my life. I didn’t know what to do with her, and really I should have killed her already. Soon Dante was going to ask for a body, though I suspected this shit with the Spiders bought me a little extra time.
I wasn’t going to kill her. That wasn’t an option. But I still didn’t know how to keep both of us alive. Maybe we could go on the run, but I doubted she’d be willing. She’d have to stay close to me, listen to everything I told her, and it would be a lot of time before she was free again. The mafia didn’t forget easily, so we’d have to stay hidden together. She could barely wait a few days in my apartment; I couldn’t imagine what it would be like living in hiding with her.
But fuck if I didn’t want that anyway. I could only imagine all the different ways I could get her off. I could practically hear the way she’d beg my name, needing me to fuck her deeper and harder.
I pulled up outside the deli, my cock hard, and had to take a few deep breaths to calm myself down.
Hard on subsided, I climbed out and opened the back door of the building. I stepped into the familiar back room and looked around.
Dante was sitting alone at the table. His eye was black and his arm was in a bloody sling.
“You look like shit,” I said.
“You do too.”
I shrugged and grimaced. “How’d you get out of there?” I joined him at the table. The deli up front was pretty busy, but the staff knew not to come into the back when Dante was there.
“Not ashamed to admit that I hid underneath a dumpster.”
“So that’s what that smell is.”
He smirked. “Good one. Those fucking Spiders, man. They tore us to pieces.”
“How many did we lose?”
“Six,” he said. “Everyone else is injured.”
“I got shot twice in the fucking chest. Vest saved my life.”
“What happened to you?”
“Pushed those cars out and tried to escape, but I took those bullets, like I said. When I woke up, I was lying facedown on the sidewalk and everyone was gone, except the bodies, of course.”
He nodded. “They must have thought you were dead.”
“Yeah, well, lucky me. I got up and walked the fuck away from there as fast as I could.”
“That shit with the cars, that was good work.”
“Thanks.” I leaned back in the shitty folding chair and crossed my arms. “Figured someone had to do it.”
“Seriously, Brooks. That sort of shit is why Gian is so impressed with you.”
“Anything to impress him.”
Dante grinned at me. “You want to move up in this organization, right? Maybe get my job one day?”
I nodded guardedly. “Sure. One day.”
“Then you need to play ball, Brooks. This shit with you refusing to kill women, it just looks bad.”
“I’m not sure I give a fuck how it looks.”
Dante laughed. “See, that’s why I like you, big fucking balls.”
“Why’d you call me down here, Dante?”
“I got another job for you.”
I cringed. “I’m not exactly up for a kill right now.”
“Not a kill, although it is something of a hunt.”
“Spit it out, Dante.”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long cigar. I watched as he took his time unwrapping it, cutting it, and lighting it. It was such a stupid fucking power play, but I sat there patiently anyway.
He puffed on his cigar. “We got most of the girls back last night,” he said. “Spiders took a few, and a few others are missing. It’s your job to figure out if they’re still loose in the city or if the Spiders took them.”
The memory of those girls came back to me. I’d let them go. Hell, I’d made them run away. Now Dante wanted me to hunt them down.
“Fine,” I said. “That all? Find a bunch of lost hookers?”
“That’s it. Gian wants them found and brought back if you can. Kill them if you can’t.”
“Why not have someone else do it?”
Dante puffed again, blowing smoke toward me. “Because I fucking want to see you do it, Brooks. That okay?”
“Guess so.”
“It’s going to have to be. Find the fucking girls. Bring them back, dead or alive.” He laughed.
I stood up. “You got it.” I turned to leave.
“How’s your little prize doing?” Dante asked.
I turned slowly back toward him. I’d been hoping he’d forgotten about that, but apparently not. “Why?”