Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Clara

Getting back into Leonardo's hotel room after he left?

Easiest thing I'd ever done.

Almost too easy. I was used to having no one watching my back. Aware that Gio was covering me, that I didn't have to worry about Leonardo returning unexpectedly, took some of the excitement out of it but also made it far more enjoyable. No looking over my shoulder a million times, no worrying that someone other than Leonardo might catch me—because Gio would take care of them if they did…

I was in and out like the wind.

Handing the note off to Gio, I smiled at him.

"So, to the precinct?"

Rather than answering me immediately, he looked over the note, frowning as he read it. Something flashed in his eyes, making my insides tighten. He cared that Hailey had been left orphaned by her cousin and her grandfather's machinations. He was angry for her. Upset, even.

Did that make me like him more?

Yes.

At least I knew Hailey was in good hands now. The DiNardos might be Familias , but they took care of their own, and Hailey was now one of them, no matter what family she'd come from. They were going to take care of her. She didn't need me anymore.

I'm now one of them, too.

The thought whispered in my mind, but I shrugged it away. I could take care of myself. I'd proven that over and over and over again over the years. I didn't need anyone, especially a bossy brute like Gio, who did terrible things to my body and made me actually like it. While the backup today had been nice, I didn't need it. I didn't need a Daddy, I didn't need a husband, and I didn't need him.

I just want him.

"Okay, babydoll, let's go clear out your desk," he said, breaking me out of my internal argument. I gave myself a little shake as his arm went back around me, hand settling on my hip as if it belonged there. My bottom tingled where he'd squeezed it earlier this morning.

The way my body responded to him was infuriating.

"Great." I forced a smile onto my lips. I couldn't tell whether or not I was fooling him, but it was worth a try.

Walking into the precinct with one of the top lieutenants of the DiNardo family was an experience. Eyes widened, cops stepped back, several averting their gazes. Officer Ronald Stump actually fled down one of the hallways when he saw me with Gio. Smart man. He'd been trying to take me out for weeks, and he hadn't been very good about taking ‘no' for an answer. I'd gotten a little of my own back by lifting his wallet, but watching him actually run was even more satisfying.

"Clara…" Chief Barnes walked up to us, one eye warily on Gio. The chief had cowered before Jack DiNardo, and I wondered if he regretted that now. He looked torn on how to handle a second employee walking in with a member of the mob, despite the fact I knew he'd been bought and paid for. The DiNardos owned this precinct. "Is everything okay?"

Interesting that he seemed to have grown a conscience. I wondered if I could turn that to my advantage.

"Unfortunately, I have to turn in my resignation, Chief," I said, letting my gaze drop, as if I was ashamed. My stomach twisted a little at the playacting, some part of me not wanting to hurt Gio's feelings. I ruthlessly shoved that part away from me. "And I need to clean out my desk."

"I see," the chief said, frowning. His gaze flickered back and forth between us.

I peeked up at him, giving him a plaintive glance before dropping my head down again.

"Ah, Mr. DiNardo, I wonder if I could have a word with you. Privately."

Hiding my smirk, I glanced over at my desk, speaking up before Gio could answer.

"I'm right over there." I pointed. "I won't take long."

My new husband gave me a considering look, his thoughtful gaze moving between me and the desk I was pointing at. It really was my desk. He wanted to go with me, but at the same time, I could tell he was curious what the chief wanted to say to him… and I would be easily visible.

"Very well," he said after a long moment. His hand pushed me forward. "Be quick about it, babydoll."

Something flashed across Chief Barne's face, but he quickly masked the emotion as he asked Gio how Hailey was doing. That was all I heard as I hurried away, heading for my desk. Opening the drawers, I started to sort through what was work and what was mine—at least, that's what I wanted it to look like.

The real score was under the false bottom of my drawer, but I had to empty some things out on my desk in order to reach it. One eye on Gio and Chief Barnes, I worked to get the false bottom free so I could reach the pouch of money beneath it. As they spoke, Officer Ward walked up to them as well… Gio turned slightly, so he could keep an eye on both of the other men.

Which was all I needed as his focus was no longer so tightly trained on me.

Crouching down, I pulled the pouch free and tucked it into my purse. As I did so, the most serendipitous piece of luck to hit yet happened, as if the universe was watching out for me. Two coppers came in, dragging a pair of drunks who were doing their best to tear each other's throats out.

Everyone turned to look—including Gio. Everyone except me. I was watching my husband, and the moment he turned away, I scampered. Fled, even faster than Officer Stump, headed down a side hall and to the nearest exit, my heart in my throat as I went.

I glanced over my shoulder as I went through the door. The sounds of the fight, the drunken shouting, followed me, but no one and nothing else did. Not even Gio.

Telling myself that was a good thing, I pushed the door open and made good my escape.

* * *

Gio

Watching the cops try to wrangle two drunken idiots was far more entertaining than it had any right to be. Despite the immediate pile-on, it took several minutes and quite a few bruises before they managed to separate the pair while the chief shouted useless instructions at the lot of them. I noted that Officer Ward, Hailey's old flame, came away from the encounter with a black eye. He cast me a surly look as our gazes connected, brushing off his uniform and turning away. Sour grapes over losing Hailey, probably, and he would have recognized me and known my connection to Jack.

Though it might not be so much for the loss of Hailey as it had been the hit to his pride. The man had been too much of a coward to stand up to Jack and had lost the girl. That kind of blow tended to linger.

Turning around, I looked to catch Clara's eye, to see what she'd thought of the fight…

Cazzo! Fuck!

She wasn't at her desk. There were things piled up atop it, but she was no longer beside it.

My gaze careened around the room, and I turned, looking for her, already knowing I wasn't going to find her but needing to search, anyway. Just in case.

"Looking for something?"

I turned and scowled at Officer Ward, who smirked at me despite the rapidly darkening skin around his eye. I stared at him, my fist clenching, as the smile faded from his lips. He jerked his chin upward before turning around and walking away. Smart man. I doubted he wanted two black eyes.

The only reason I didn't indulge was that it would likely slow me down—we might own the precinct, but the cops didn't like it when one of their own was attacked right in front of them. Especially if Officer Ward had decided to hit back, he would likely have friends who would jump in with him, no matter who I was. I couldn't take the delay.

Taking a deep breath, I turned my attention back to the room. There was only one hallway that was close to Clara's desk. Immediately, I headed for it—it was empty, with plenty of closed doors but only one exterior door. My scowl deepened, my hand itching to smack against her ass as I strode down the hallway and out into the sunlight.

It led me to an alley. The sounds of New York filtered through between the buildings and busy streets on either side of the alley… she could have gone in either direction. There was no sign of her. Growling under my breath, I closed my eyes, trying to figure out where she might have gone.

Not back to Mrs. Cunningham's boarding house, all her things had been moved to the DiNardo house. If she was running, it would be incredibly foolish to return there to get them… and she could always get new things, either with money or by stealing them.

She was a hell of a thief.

I growled under my breath, scrubbing my hands over my face and raking my fingers through my hair as I tried to figure out where my new wife had run to. Bus station? Train station? If Hailey wasn't married to Jack, she was the first place I would have checked, and the precinct was the second. But Hailey was safe, the note that she'd requested safely tucked in my pocket—no wonder Clara had let me have it—and no one in the precinct was going to help her get away from me.

As far as I knew, Clara didn't have any other close friends or nearby family, certainly none that she visited on the regular. There was a shelter she worked with, but she'd hardly go there; there would be very little protection, and she wouldn't want the mob descending upon it looking for her. That would scare the women and children who had gone there for safety.

Bus station or train station seemed the most likely, but which one?

A rustling sound made me jump, and I spun around, my eyes flying open. The idea that she'd lain in wait and might be about to attack had not occurred to me… but no one was there. Then, movement. Small movement.

The little black cat mewed as it slunk out of the pile of boxes lined up against the wall of the building, its green eyes trained on me as it came over to wind around my feet.

"Hello, kitty," I said, bending down to give it a little scratch on the chin. It purred, leaning into my fingers. I figured the scrawny thing deserved a reward because just seeing it made me realize where Clara had gone. Sliding my hand around the cat's head, I scooped it up from the chest, cradling it in my arms. It purred again, rubbing its head along the underside of my chin.

"Let's go find Clara."

* * *

Clara

My heart ached as I walked into the warehouse for what I knew was going to be the last time. As soon as I stepped in, a chorus of mews greeted me, cats of all shapes and sizes sliding out of the darkness and trotting toward me, tails held high.

Tears sprang into my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I told them, lowering myself to the ground and holding out my hands so I could pet them. "I don't have any food this time."

It didn't matter.

They purred, crawling over me and nuzzling me, which made my heart ache even more. Maybe food was how I'd originally gotten them to trust me, but the connection went beyond that now. They were happy to see me, even empty-handed.

Star, named so for the white star on her forehead, the only bit of white among the unrelenting black of her fur. Sweetie, a tortoiseshell cat who had stolen candy from me rather than the food I'd offered her the first time we'd met. Rocco, a grey-striped cat who was missing half his right ear and who hung back before coming forward. He liked to play hard to get, but he was also the only one who would let me rub his belly once I got him in my arms. Moxie, Rainbow, Little Bit, Truman, Felix…

I was going to miss them all so much. I was going to worry about them so much. They were all good street cats, used to scavenging, but that got hard in the winter… and sometimes they needed more than that. Like when Rocco had gotten in the fight that had cost him half an ear. And love. They all needed love. They wanted it. But they wouldn't let anyone but me near them.

I knew Hailey would take care of the shelter—and with Jack's backing, she could do even more for the women and children there than we could before—but who was going to take care of my sweetie kitties? No one. They were going to have to take care of themselves.

Just like me.

"We'll be okay," I whispered to them, trying to make myself believe the words I was saying. "You'll be okay, and I'll be okay."

Or I could stay.

I didn't have to run.

I could stay with Gio. Be his wife. Be Hailey's cousin-in-law. Use my new position to make changes the way she was. Make life even better for my kitties as well. Was it a cage if I was choosing to walk into it?

I didn't know because I hadn't been given the choice.

What would Gio do if he ran all over the city looking for me, only to return to the house and find me there? The expression on his face would be… memorable. Of that, I was sure.

Star mewed at me, placing her forepaws on my knee and tilting her head, as if she was asking what I was going to do next. If I was really going to leave them, never to see them again. She mewed again.

I let out a shuddering breath. My bottom tingled.

Was being Gio's wife, his babydoll, really so bad? Now that I had the choice, now that I had escaped, did I really want to run from Daddy? The house or the train station…

Where should my next stop be?

* * *

Gio

Cazzo.

Either I'd been wrong, or I was too late. The warehouse was empty. I scratched the black cat under his chin again, feeling his purr vibrate against my chest.

There was an answering mew and then another, and then all the cats I'd met while I'd been… getting to know Clara… came to greet me.

But I didn't have time for them today. I needed to get to the train station. Or the bus station. Or question Hailey to find out where Clara had gone. Which would mean admitting I'd lost my wife. Fuck.