Speak Low (Speak Easy 2)

Stay calm. You’ll gain nothing by letting your temper loose. “Yes, I remember. But a lot has happened since you left, and I want a chance to explain it to you without you getting angry with me. Please.” I put my hands on his chest. Joey wasn’t too much taller than me, but he had broad, thick muscles, and I could feel the warmth of his skin through his clothes.

He took a breath, and I thought he’d swat my hands away once more, but he didn’t. When he spoke, his voice was softer, but still had an edge. “Where’s your pop?”

Distracted, I answered without thinking. “He’s at a meeting with Angel DiFiore, trying to work out the terms of a business arrangement.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” Joey took a step back. “First the guy tries extortion, then when that doesn’t work he kidnaps your dad, beats him to a pulp, demands ten grand in ransom—and now your pop’s gonna do business with him?” He looked me up and down. “No wonder!”

“No wonder what?”

“No wonder you’re crazy enough to jump in bed with the guy’s son!”

Rage burned in my face. “Fuck you, Joey! You got everything you wanted out of this, didn’t you?” I gestured toward him. “Look at you in your new blue suit driving a fancy red Buick wearing your shiny new shoes! You wouldn’t have any of it if I hadn’t helped you! How dare you judge me for getting what I want!”

“That’s what you want? Him?” Joey yelled.

“Yes! For once in my life, I have something that’s mine, something I’m doing just for me, and if you don’t like it, you know what you can do!”

“Fine.” He closed his eyes, took a few deep breaths and rolled his shoulders. “So why did you call me today after I left?”

“I was worried about you.” Just then my stomach growled again, loud and embarrassing.

Joey’s brows went up when the groaning noise refused to stop. “Jesus, Tiny. If you expect to grow anytime soon, you’re gonna have to eat a meal every now and then.”

A joke. That was a good sign. “I was too scared to eat.”

“Have you had a decent meal since I fed you?”

At the memory of the pasta dinner he’d cooked at my house last week, my mouth watered, and I may have moaned slightly. “I think so. I’m not sure. It’s been a tough couple of days.” I still hadn’t told him the whole story.

Joey shook his head and grabbed my elbow, pulling me toward the driveway. “Come on.”

“Where are we going?”

“To my house. I’ll feed you supper. But this is the last time,” he warned, turning back to shake a finger in my face. “From now on, you’re his mouth to feed.”

Nodding gratefully, I didn’t even toss back a sharp response. The thought of eating Joey’s cooking again had me salivating.

He opened the Buick’s passenger door for me before walking around and sliding into the driver’s seat. Then he pulled two cigarettes from his pocket. “Want one?”

I placed one between my lips and he leaned toward me to light it. When its tip glowed orange, I sucked in a lungful of smoke and exhaled. “Thanks.”

He glanced sideways at me. “So what happened after I left town?”

I shuddered. “What didn’t happen? Things went completely haywire. When Enzo heard the guys who hijacked the load and killed a couple of his men were driving hearses, he knew they had to be the ones he’d seen at the garage the night of Daddy’s kidnapping. And since his father had Daddy hostage the whole time, he figured I knew more than I was telling him. Which I did, of course.”

“What did you say?”

“I admitted that I’d sold the hearses to Sam the Barber and the River Gang because I needed the money for the ransom, but I didn’t tell him I was the one who told you guys about his rum shipment.”

“He still in the dark about that?”

I shook my head and took another drag on my cigarette. “I don’t think so. When he asked me outright this morning if I knew Sam was planning the heist, I told him I did what I had to do to protect my family.”

Joey was quiet a moment, and I thought he might be reflecting on my bravery, but I was wrong. “This morning?”

I shifted in my seat. “Yes.”

“Did you spend the night with him?”