5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Leigh

L eigh was skulking about his own streets like a tourist, using Tolly to case shops before they went inside. He was protecting himself, sure, but also laying the groundwork for murder. There was no way he could feel good about this.

Captain America? Leigh didn't mind Tolly's taste in films, but he couldn't live up to references to comic book characters.

Not unless he was the villain.

The route Leigh took Tolly on was the same one the Morettis would make when collecting fees. Leigh lived right at the border of territories, and technically he was on the Moretti side until he crossed that last street to Sweeney's club. The shop owners all knew him and who he worked for, so if one of them had given him up, it would be easy to suss out.

Tolly was the decoy, and it gave him his wish to explore the neighborhood, not that Leigh felt any less low about it. He would send Tolly in first to put the shopkeeps at ease with a new and friendly face. Then he would enter after and wait for the right moment to reveal himself. If any of these people had talked, they would be startled to see him, but everyone seemed relieved. A few even laughed.

"William," said the surly old man who ran the corner store, "what are you playing dress up for? We got a problem brewing?"

The shopkeeps knew the money Leigh slipped them from time to time was from the Morettis. Sweeney liked the Robin Hood act because it made the people love Leigh, and in turn love him , but people tended to talk, so he had to wonder if any of them had.

"You're with him?" the man said to Tolly. "You go ahead and take that soda on the house, son. William is good people."

The pit in Leigh's stomach deepened to hear that, made worse by Tolly's smile.

The other businesses turned out much the same, from the mechanic shop to the little antique store barely holding on. Tolly was especially enamored there, hands skimming edges of old tables, pictures, and a collection of ancient VHS tapes. Leigh had to break it to him that he didn't have a VCR to watch them on, but Tolly still enjoyed looking at them.

The last stop was the record store, the closest to being in good shape since it skirted the line toward nicer streets and got good spillover traffic on occasion. A lone and very bored young woman covered in piercings and tattoos manned it today. Leigh had dealt with her before, not that she ever seemed fazed by having mobsters around.

"I love this song," Tolly said. Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" played, probably because Trainspotting was on the TV behind the shopgirl's head. "I love most music. Is this one from that film? I do not think I know it."

"I'm guessing you prefer happier tales, so stay away from Trainspotting and definitely stay away from Requiem for a Dream ."

Tolly was only half listening, sifting through records and CDs as he hummed along to the song, his voice far sweeter than Iggy's. It reminded Leigh of hearing Tolly sing under the water, though he wondered if he'd really heard him because he didn't remember seeing Tolly's lips move.

When the song changed to David Bowie's "Golden Years," Tolly's eyes closed, and his humming seemed to shift more than simply switching melodies. Leigh felt drawn in, as if only Tolly's voice were singing, as if only Tolly existed in all the world, calling to him like a siren.

Leigh gasped as he broke free from… whatever that was, feeling like he'd been dreaming, only to see the shopgirl out of the corner of his eye, staring at Tolly with a blank expression, eyes unblinking and glazed over.

Like a siren.

"Tolly." Leigh grabbed his arm.

Tolly's eyes flashed open, his humming ceasing, and in that same moment, the shopgirl blinked and shook her head.

"I am sorry," Tolly whispered. "Usually, I have more control over it."

"Are there any other mermaid abilities you need to warn me about?" Leigh said.

"I do not believe so."

Great. They'd finished their errands and needed to get back before any other surprises arose.

Leigh thanked the shopgirl and left, tugging Tolly behind him. He could see the disappointment in Tolly's face at leaving, but there were more pressing things to be done than browsing records. Leigh could introduce Tolly to YouTube later, and he could listen to any song he wanted.

The outing had at least proved that local businesses were loyal. Leigh should have been happy, especially with Tolly's powers proving beneficial. Sonar, hypnotism through song, a healing touch under water. It would be so easy to exploit those gifts.

Then Leigh really would be like his father.

"This is good, yes?" Tolly said when they returned home, climbing in through the fire escape the same way they'd left. "Your neighborhood shop owners are all fine people. I could sense their honesty and goodwill."

"Sense?" Leigh tossed the ball cap onto the sofa. "Like with me?"

"My sense of you is much stronger, but yes, a bit like that."

Next, Leigh removed his glasses. He'd worn them once for a Halloween costume. Alvin thought it would be hilarious, given his closely shorn head, if he went as Walter White. "Sure, it's good, but it means I'm right that one of the inner circle has to be the one who betrayed me, and all of them saw me alive this morning."

"With me," Tolly said, standing straighter in alarm. "I wish only to keep you safe. Please, continue to use me however you need."

Didn't Tolly understand how easily he could be taken advantage of if Leigh were a different man? "Using people isn't usually seen as an endearment."

"But I am offering," Tolly said, his smile sweet as he moved closer and reached to take Leigh's hand, but then hesitated. Usually, it wouldn't have been something Leigh allowed—the touch when Tolly healed Leigh's cut aside—but he must have shown some sign that it was okay this time because Tolly grasped him firmly. "Regardless of the end goal, this was nice, seeing where you are from, your home."

"Born and raised on these very streets," Leigh said. "Other places are a lot nicer than here, though. If you're a movie buff, you have to know that."

"This feels more real," Tolly said with a shrug, both hands holding one of Leigh's now and caressing his fingers almost as if he didn't realize what he was doing. "Everything is new. The people are kind. And there is you. Are you a… movie buff?"

"When I can be. Usually watch 'em at home or at Alvin's. Don't get to the theater much. Except for this one…." It came to Leigh as he said it, a reminder of an old theater he and Alvin used to sneak off to. "Maybe I can take you sometime."

"I would love to see a movie with you. Do you have a favorite?" Tolly's eyes, dark and shimmering, could capture Leigh just like his singing, and the touch of his hands sent shivers racing beneath Leigh's skin.

"I always like mysteries. Hidden villains, hidden heroes, secrets to be unraveled. Ever see Princess Bride ?"

"I have not, but I have heard of it. Does it have a happy ending?"

"Definitely. We'll watch it sometime. Assuming we're still alive in a few days." Reality kept creeping in no matter how remarkable Tolly was.

A fresh knock was so well timed that Leigh wondered how many knocks he'd missed while they were out. He pulled his hand from Tolly, who seemed to recognize what he'd been doing finally and looked sheepish.

It was the kids from the apartment below Leigh, teens who might have been runaways, high on something and needing their air conditioner fixed even though it was spring and still crisp outside. Leigh also noticed a few Post-it notes on his door, one from the super, who needed assistance with the fuse box. Leigh couldn't blame him. The guy was ancient and shouldn't be superintendent for any building anymore.

Before agreeing to help the kids, he checked his phone to be sure Alvin hadn't sent any warnings. Nothing so far.

Tolly accompanied him—his roommate, he introduced him again, rather than tell anyone new that Tolly was his bodyguard. He would have been annoyed to have so many errands to run, being the "real super" as Deanna often called him, but it took his mind off what he'd have to face soon.

Killing a man. Killing a bad man. A really bad man. A murderer himself who'd sent his brother to kill Leigh. There should be no conflict of conscience. But then Tolly would smile, sweet and adoring, and Leigh felt like throwing up.

"Must be bad karma in the building today," he said when they were finally finished with everyone else's needs, gathering laundry he'd thrown in so they could return Miss Maggie her housecoat. "It isn't usually this steady."

"Perhaps if people from other buildings knew of your skills, you could do this instead of stealing," Tolly said so easily, like anything could be easy if you simply believed enough.

"I can't pay the rent in brownies."

"Oh. Yes. You need money. You should ask for money."

"Not from my neighbors."

"From others then. Surely others would appreciate your knowledge."

"It's not that simple. I'd need money first to buy a shop. People can't just come to my apartment if they're not my friends."

"Like the shop we passed that will be empty soon?"

Tolly was observant, Leigh had to give him that. "There are too many pieces to running a business," Leigh said, leading Tolly out of the laundry room.

"You have considered it then?"

"It's a catch-22."

Tolly stared at him dumbly.

"To get enough money to start a business," Leigh said once they were inside the apartment, "I need to do bad things. But if I do bad things, maybe none of my neighbors will want me to fix things for them anymore. The only way to get what I want ruins what I want. Story of my life."

"But… you have me," Tolly said softly, "assuming you wish for me to stay. And I am not ruined. Am I?"

"Of course you're not—" Leigh started to say, but another knock prevented him from finishing.

He longed for a moment's peace, but Tolly seemed to know what he'd been about to say and smiled gratefully before Leigh went to see who was calling.

It was Miss Maggie.

"Apologies for last night," he said as he allowed her inside, followed by Gert coming in at a run. "For the record, it wasn't what it looked like."

"No?" Maggie said, hands on her hips. "And why not? I actually like this one."

Tolly's head darted up, but the next moment Gert was hugging his legs and exclaiming, "Can we play mermaid now?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, young lady," Miss Maggie said. "We came to cook dinner for these boys."

"What? No, Maggie, now isn't a great time—"

"Is it dinner already?" Tolly asked.

They'd grabbed sandwiches from the corner store for lunch, nothing special, though Tolly had acted as though turkey and Swiss on a croissant was as amazing as everything else he'd tried.

"Miss Maggie heard you walk by from the laundry room," Gert said. "She said you wore her nightgown last night. Did you really?"

"I did." Tolly crouched down like before to get on Gert's level. "She was very kind. I lost my clothing and had nothing else to wear."

"That's silly." Gert giggled. "I bet you looked funny."

"Speaking of," Maggie said, "I assume that was part of the laundry you did."

Tolly pulled the nightgown from the bag and handed it to her bashfully.

"Great, you have that back." Leigh hoped to usher them out after realizing how late it was. "Now you need to go."

"William." Miss Maggie was an immovable wall. "It's casserole night."

"I appreciate that, but I've had enough visitors today. Anyone staying for too long… it could be dangerous."

"You in trouble again?"

"I'm fixing it."

"Fine, then you can come with us," Maggie declared. "We'll cook at my place. Gertrude, Tolly, come along. Deanna and Garfield should be home soon."

Leigh imagined this was what having an overbearing mother must be like—not that he remembered much of his own. He knew he was no match for Maggie, though, or Gert and Tolly's excitement.

He checked his phone again. Alvin had done a good job of grabbing intel during the day, but without telling his friend to look into the higher-ups of their crew, he couldn't be sure where he stood. He'd need to tease out more info himself, and he had to be careful. He couldn't just walk over to Moretti-run territory and pop Vincent on a street corner.

Maybe he did need a dinner break.

Gert held Tolly's hand and talked his ear off about what she had done all day while they headed to Miss Maggie's, brownies along to share. Tolly explained with equal excitement how Leigh had shown him around the neighborhood. His earnest nature made him right at home entertaining a child.

Deanna didn't seem surprised to find Tolly with them when she and Gar showed up for dinner. Neither of the women brought up Leigh being in trouble or pried for details. It was dinnertime, and the children didn't need to hear about that. Leigh didn't always get roped into casserole night, but if Maggie happened to catch him, he usually gave in. It was nice to have more than himself at the table sometimes.

"You like sharks?" Gar asked Tolly when he finally got a word in around his sister.

"I do," Tolly said. "Sharks are very intelligent and affectionate creatures. Their bite is only for eating as long as you are nice to them."

"You've seen one in real life?"

"Many times. They like to be petted on the nose like a… puppy! Ah, but you should not try that yourself if ever you meet one. They should only be approached in such a manner by a friend they trust."

"How do you become friends with a shark?" Gar asked.

"Very carefully," Leigh said so Tolly wouldn't dig any deeper holes.

"How did you two meet again?" Deanna asked.

"I needed a roommate who could watch my back," Leigh said, "and we sort of… found each other."

"Roommate, huh?" Maggie said.

"It's not what you think."

"Tell that to my nightgown."

Deanna snickered from behind her next bite of food, while Tolly kept the children distracted with chatter and cast smiling glances at Leigh, not minding at all what these women thought of them. Leigh didn't mind either; he just couldn't believe someone like Tolly could actually be happy with someone like him, who wasn't capable of loving openly.

"Can we play mermaid now ?" Gert asked once everyone had finished eating.

"Of course." Tolly smiled at her. "We will have to imagine the water."

"We could go to the pool, right, Mama?"

"You have a pool?" Tolly's eyes brightened at the suggestion.

Crap. Leigh hadn't thought of that.

"I suppose we could," Deanna said, "for a little while."

"Tolly doesn't have a suit," Leigh spoke up quickly, "and I don't have one he can borrow."

"Aww…," Gert whined.

"I'm sure Ralph has one," Maggie said. "He should fit Tolly well enough."

When they knocked on Ralph's door, he offered up his suit easily as an excuse to do homework with company while his parents worked the late shift. Somehow, Leigh ended up poolside in minutes with Ralph on his laptop, Maggie knitting, and Deanna and Tolly swimming with the kids. If it hadn't been an indoor pool, the weather would have been too cool for this.

He'd pulled Tolly aside before they got there. "Your tail won't just come out?"

"No, I can control it. You need not worry."

"What about the chlorine?"

"What is chlorine?"

"It's a chemical they put in pools to keep it sterile." Though Leigh doubted theirs was the cleanest pool around.

"Chemicals do not affect my kin. If they did, I could hardly go into any water near human cities. We adapt well. I will be fine."

He was. He was also an amazing swimmer, not that that was a surprise.

Trying to use the time to clear his mind and consider his next steps, Leigh lay back on his chosen pool chair and closed his eyes. The Morettis didn't know where he lived, or at least didn't know he was alive—yet. No one had talked, but one of the inner circle might be behind it. They would likely play it safe for a while—Leigh would have—but then what? He had maybe one more night of peace before things got dicey. He needed to lay a trap. He needed to save his own skin. He needed to…

Get in the water.

Leigh had the sudden desire to be submerged, and somehow it didn't scare him despite having nearly drowned last night. The water felt calm and peaceful and welcoming around him, like he'd never known in his entire life. He wanted so badly to let his tail out.

Startling awake from his half-dozing state, Leigh realized he'd been thinking like Tolly , feeling what Tolly felt. They really were connected.

Tolly was enjoying his time in the water, pretending to play mermaid with his ankles crossed, but there was longing in his eyes to let the real thing free.

Sitting up fully, Leigh instinctively reached to check his wallet, mostly because he always did that, paranoid as he had to be in this neighborhood, but also because he'd sworn as he lay there that he'd felt something….

Ralph.

"Wipe that smug grin off your face and give it back."

Ralph's sticky fingers were impressive on occasion, but he had no poker face. He held the wallet up from where he'd hidden it behind his laptop. "Actually got it away from you this time."

"I fell asleep."

"You said being opportunistic didn't count as cheating."

"Trust me, you don't want to be like me." Leigh snatched the wallet back from him. He didn't mean to sound so angry, but he'd started out just like Ralph once. Ralph's parents cared at least; they just weren't around much. "You need to get out of here someday. Stick to your studies."

"Like you did?" Ralph shot back. "My parents work so hard, I barely see 'em. My only chance to have something better is with skills, and these are the skills I got. What am I supposed to do, become a cop, fight the good fight?"

"Why not?"

"Because if I did that, someday I'd end up arresting a familiar face." Ralph petulantly returned to his laptop, and all Leigh could do was frown.

"All right, you two, time to get ready for bed," Deanna said as she climbed out of the pool, gesturing for Gert in her floaties to reach up to her. Both kids groaned and begged for more time, but Deanna was firm, and soon the party was ending, leaving only Tolly in the water.

"Leigh, do you mind if we stay a bit longer?"

"Sure," Leigh said, not ready to get up himself yet. "We can stay."

Deanna and Maggie were cordial in their farewells, the kids, too, but Ralph didn't say much more than a "Later" thrown at Tolly.

Seeing the expectant look on Tolly's face after the others left, Leigh went to the doors to lock them.

"Go ahead. But we can't risk it for long."

Tolly pushed off the side of the pool in a backward dive, disappearing swiftly. Before Leigh returned to the edge, the borrowed swim trunks came flying up to land with a splat on the side. He ventured closer and saw the transformation already complete, a vision of red cutting through the water in twists and turns, sparkling like Tolly was covered in sequins.

He really was glorious, every bit the fantasy conjured in paintings and fairy tales. The pool wasn't deep enough for him to shoot up like a fish and dive back down, but he still kicked with his tail a few times, allowing Leigh to take it in and see how large the tailfin was when it fanned out behind him with a flourish.

Sitting at the edge of the pool, Leigh didn't care that his jeans got a bit wet, though he still took off his shoes and socks and rolled his jeans up to the knee before dropping his feet over the edge.

"Leigh." Tolly came up with a splash, swimming to him like he was floating on air. "Why is it you feel you have no family? Clearly you do, much as you are not related by blood. They love you."

Love never gets anyone anything but pain , Leigh's father used to say, and he'd taken that to heart, but some people kept wheedling their way in.

"Join me," Tolly said when he didn't answer.

"I don't have a suit, remember? And I'm not putting on the wet one or getting my clothes soaked."

"Then… what is the phrase? Skinny-dip!"

"Not happening," Leigh said, sharper than he meant to, but stripping by moonlight for a near stranger, no matter how magical or adorable, was not something he was up for tonight.

"You do not wish for me to see you," Tolly said glumly.

"It's not…. I'm just not feeling it right now, okay?"

Tolly swam a while in silence, sometimes with his head above the water, tail splashing playfully, other times like a blur in the depths, but eventually he came up, his dark floof of hair slicked back, and drifted closer to Leigh.

"Will you really kill this man?" he asked, and Leigh gave a deep sigh.

"I have time to figure out how. Sweeney's not expecting it overnight."

"But you have not killed before."

"No."

"Why do you wish to start?"

"Because I have to." Leigh kicked at the water angrily, and Tolly floated around him to approach from the side.

Not that Leigh would have…. He hadn't meant to….

"Do you? Have to?" Tolly pressed. "I can protect you."

"Tolly…."

"I come from a race of killers, but I choose to be different."

Killers? Looking like that? Leigh hardly believed it, but he didn't think Tolly was the type to lie. "Because you have a choice."

"You think it has been easy for me?"

This was getting too heavy too fast, and Leigh still wasn't sure about his plan. "Are you done?" He gestured at the water as he pulled his feet free and stood. "I need to get some sleep and don't want to leave you down here alone."

"We can go up. All I ask is that you allow me to help you."

"Let me sleep on it."

Tolly lifted out of the water without any effort, and right then he had legs, naked again, since his suit was on the floor. "May I sleep with you?" he asked as he picked up the trunks to slide on for the walk upstairs. "I mean, may I share the bed with you?"

"Of course. It's fine." It wouldn't help Leigh sleep, but he couldn't ask Tolly to take the couch, and he didn't want to sleep there himself.

Leigh got ready for bed, while Tolly, somehow, without showering or brushing his teeth or doing more than patting gently at his head a moment with a towel to get rid of the denser drops of water, was clean and fresh as a daisy. Even smelled it, like rain after a storm.

It might not be a power Tolly understood, but it was definitely magical.

He said he would prefer to sleep naked but agreed to wear underwear. It didn't help, however, to watch that long, lithe body, clad only in too-tight boxer briefs, climb into bed with him. He needed to get Tolly some clothes of his own tomorrow.

Amazingly enough, Leigh drifted off easily. He'd nearly fallen asleep earlier, after all, bone-weary from almost dying and having his world turned upside down.

Only his dreams weren't the pleasant ones of sun-kissed skin and boyish grins he'd hoped for, but of drowning again, very different from his shared half dream with Tolly at the pool. The water wasn't welcoming anymore, but dark and hiding terrors.

Something deadly was in the water with him, something with skin the color of blood and razor-sharp teeth. Something with claws like knives and eyes that same deep red, almost black as a void.

And it was hungry, wanting nothing more than to possess Leigh entirely.

He awoke with a gasp like choking on water again. He'd almost died. He'd learned mermaids were real. In a few days, he'd either be a murderer or dead himself. Of course he was dreaming about monsters.

After catching his breath, he reached toward Tolly to make sure he was okay, but his hand came down on nothing. Leigh sat up quickly. He couldn't hear anything, so Tolly couldn't be awake. Had something happened? Had Tolly left? Had Leigh dreamt it all?

Then his tired eyes took in the lump in the covers below the empty space, and he lifted the comforter to peek beneath, discovering Tolly curled up in a very small ball in the center of the bed. No wonder, really; he was used to sleeping beneath several tons of water.

A knock at the door brought Leigh right back to yesterday, only at least this time he knew it wouldn't be Miss Maggie holding Tolly by the arm in her housecoat. Padding across the apartment barefoot and in sleep clothes like the unfairest of déjà vu, he was still only half awake when he wrenched his door open.

"What—" But his greeting died on his tongue when he saw the three Moretti goons who'd weighted his ankles.

Leigh desperately tried to shut the door, berating himself for being so careless when he'd known this could happen, but they were too strong for him, armed and ready to take him out.

The largest burst in first as Leigh stumbled back from the force of their push. "Hey there, Hurley. Fancy seeing you here— alive . Guess we're gonna have to remedy that."

Leigh thought of anything nearby he could use as a weapon, anywhere he could run, but there were three of them and one of him, and two of the goons already had their guns out. He couldn't fight his way out of this, and he wouldn't be fast enough to find an exit before they fired. Then, once they took him out, they'd ransack his place for that extra cash and find Tolly .

He had to bargain.

"We have an opportunity here, gentlemen, if only you'd see that." Leigh dropped his fighting stance and stood tall. "Sweeney has a soft spot for me, being close friends with his son and all. Might have a soft spot for you, too, with cold hard cash or anything else you want if you forget you found me."

The lead goon, the largest, who'd burst in first and hadn't yet drawn a weapon, gave a sinister laugh as he stalked up to Leigh, while the others circled behind him to box him in. "Always heard you had a silver tongue, even though usually you fly under the radar. Not under the radar anymore," he said close in Leigh's face. "I don't know how you escaped that drop in the river, but you're gonna tell us, and then this time we're gonna be more thorough making sure you stay dead."

Before Leigh could say anything, the butt of a gun slammed against the back of his head and he stumbled to his knees, gasping to get his bearings. The blow hadn't been brutal enough to knock him out. They didn't want him out . Just less likely to fight while they got what they wanted.

"I'm not saying we'll go easy on you if you talk sooner." A large hand grabbed Leigh by the neck and slammed him into the floor, laying him out prone. "But we're definitely gonna go harder until you do. Now spill ." A gun barrel pressed against his skull. "How did you get out of the river?"

" Me ," Tolly answered, his voice harder than Leigh had yet heard and far too close.

No , he thought, because Tolly against three men wasn't any better than just Leigh, not when he couldn't help.

He wasn't prepared for how little help Tolly needed.

The gun and the hand on Leigh's neck left in a blink. He was still too dazed to push onto his feet, no matter how loudly he internally screamed at himself to move. Tolly needed him, he had to—

A howl left one of the goons before a body thudded beside Leigh, the forearm he saw in his periphery looking bent at a ninety-degree angle in the wrong direction. Several oomphs and hard smacks followed, like someone punching a slab of meat, and then the second goon landed on Leigh's other side.

"The hell —" The leader spoke in a huff as if swiftly backpedaling, but Tolly's bare feet darted past Leigh, moving like lightning, like the blur he could be when swimming underwater, as Leigh finally pushed onto his knees. "What are you?"

The stabbing pain after a blow to the head made it difficult for Leigh to focus, but what he could make out was the goon pushed up against his door, staring in terror at Tolly, who slammed him back with frightening force. Then Tolly pulled the goon toward him to slam him back even harder.

"Wait!" Leigh called. "We need answers. Don't knock him out."

Lurching to his feet, he pushed past the instant surge of bile. The goons with guns were both splayed out, the one on Leigh's left bleeding from his temple, unconscious, the one with a broken arm whimpering into the floor, while the leader kept staring at Tolly.

Tolly didn't turn, and Leigh wondered if he was as enraged as his brutality suggested and didn't want Leigh to see his expression.

"How did you know where to find me?" Leigh focused on the task at hand. "Who told you I was alive?"

The man trembled in Tolly's grasp, staring forward like he didn't dare glance away.

" Tell me ," Leigh demanded, "or I'll tell him to keep showing you what a mistake you made coming here."

"It was…." That got the man's eyes to dart to Leigh. " Theilen !"

Jake. Figured. "Who else knows? Leo? Vinny? Is Jake working with anyone else?"

"I don't know! I only ever dealt with Theilen. The bosses don't know you're alive. We were gonna tell 'em when we brought in your body."

Tolly slammed the man's head back. "You will not touch Leigh again, do you understand?"

"Tolly…." Leigh didn't know how to finish the reprimand, because he couldn't let these men go—they'd rat him out for sure and be back with more—but he didn't want to put Tolly in this position.

"Do you not wish for them to die?" Tolly asked, turning only partially so Leigh still couldn't see his eyes.

"I don't want you to kill anyone."

"But it is too dangerous to let them live."

"I know, but—"

"P-please," the man stuttered. "I won't turn you in. I'll make something up. Anything! I won't tell anyone I saw you."

What must Tolly's expression look like for the man to be so terrified, even if he was a surprise powerhouse?

"Leigh," Tolly said, strange-sounding, stiff and cold, "cover your ears."

"What? Why?"

"Because I am going to sing."

Leigh obeyed with a jerk, but in the moment before he did, he heard the goon gasp as Tolly's song began. Leigh could still hear him, mutedly, but it wasn't enough to draw him in or affect him like before. It was hauntingly beautiful, the simple tune without words, and caused the goon's eyes to glaze over like the shopgirl's.

Then Leigh heard Tolly murmur commands, telling the men to forget what they had seen, where Leigh was and that he was alive, and to go back where they'd come from as if they'd failed in what they had set out to do.

Leigh looked down to see the man with the broken arm staring at Tolly in a similar daze, and the unconscious man was awake now, lying with his eyes open, frozen by the spell. It wouldn't last forever, not if Jake was a traitor, but it would buy Leigh time.

When Tolly stepped away from the leader, the man moved mechanically to open the door. The men on either side of Leigh got up to follow. The one with a broken arm cradled it, the other holding a hand to his head, but what caught Leigh's attention were the deep scratches through both their shirts, drawing trickles of blood.

"Some sharp nails you have," Leigh said once they had filed out of the apartment.

"Yes," Tolly said, though he sounded sad now, off.

Finally, after shutting the door and taking a breath, he turned to look at Leigh, and Leigh honestly couldn't say what the goon had been so afraid of.

"Are you all right?" Tolly rushed to Leigh's side, traces of blood smudged on his skin as he grasped Leigh's hands.

"You know what they say, it's not the years, it's the mileage," Leigh said, letting Tolly fret and fawn, because it was nice to have someone worry over him so much.

" Raiders of the Lost Ark ?" Tolly tilted his head like an inquisitive puppy. He really was a movie buff to catch that.

"I think Indie and Karen Allen's character had it easy compared to us. I'll live, though, maybe a concussion. You weren't kidding about the bodyguard bit. You're officially hired."

A crack of Tolly's more familiar smile emerged. "I will keep you safe, however I can, I promise." He stroked one hand down Leigh's cheek before blushing in embarrassment and retracting the touch. Leigh hadn't minded, but they had larger concerns.

"If Jake's a snitch, then so is Rosa. Maybe more, but the two of them for sure."

"The unfriendly pair in the corner of the club? You must tell Arthur Sweeney."

"Can't. My word against theirs and I'm already on the shit list. I need to prove it, or it won't matter."

Tolly pursed his lips in thought. "Careful planning?"

"Exactly." Retrieving his cell phone from the coffee table, Leigh checked his messages. Nothing new from Alvin, but it was 7:30, and he had an appointment at 8:00 a.m. he couldn't miss. "We'll get to that. First, we have a date to keep."