me. They need me.”
“Well, it frightens me, all the guns and threats and posturing. Not to mention the stealing and the lying and the underhanded deals.”
“That’s how it works, Tiny.”
I crossed my arms in a huff.
Enzo smiled again. “Are you angry with me or with yourself?”
“I’m angry with everyone and everything right now. No matter what I do, I can’t get anything right.”
“Come on, now.” Enzo slipped his fingers up the back of my neck through my hair. When I tried to lean away, he closed his fist, keeping my head where it was and forcing me to look at him. “Everything is going to be perfect, Tiny. You’ll see.”
“How do you figure? Will your thirty percent cut of the opium be enough to pay off Gina’s father?”
His lips tipped up, the smile of an adult tolerating an ignorant child. “Of course not.”
“Well, then—how will everything be perfect? I don’t understand.” He couldn’t mean he was going to steal the drugs—Joey would take them from the boathouse tonight, I was certain, and this time he wouldn’t be foolish enough to trust me with their location.
Instead of explaining, Enzo leaned forward and kissed me lightly on each cheek. “Good night, Tiny.”
“Enzo, I—”
“Shhh.” He put a finger to my lips. “I’m going to take care of you. I’m going to take care of everything.”
“But—”
“Leave it all to me.”
I pulled his hand away from my mouth. “You can’t hurt Joey. You promised.”
“I won’t have to.” He released me and sat back. “If he’s smart.”
“And you can’t go to Sam the Barber with this information. He’ll kill Joey himself.”
Enzo’s voice took on a new edge. “You’re awfully concerned about Lupo. I’m not sure I like it.”
Be careful. “I’m just trying to prevent people from getting hurt, Enzo.” That was the truth, wasn’t it? I thought it was, but for me the truth was becoming more nebulous every day. It was nothing I could cling to for safety.
“I see the way he looks at you,” Enzo said icily.
“You’re imagining things. Right now he wants to shoot me. I’m surprised he didn’t.”
“He’s not going to shoot either one of us. In fact, I think he’s going to negotiate further with me.”
“Why would he do that?”
“Because I’ve done a little research on your friend. And I have something he wants. I’m going to offer it to him.” With that he put both hands on the steering wheel. “Now you better go in. I’ll see you soon.”
After shutting the car door as quietly as possible, I snuck back into the house and crept up the stairs, attempting to avoid the ones that creaked.
Wait a minute, what am I doing? Why am I sneaking around like this? It was probably three o’clock in the morning, but what the hell did I care? What’s the worst Daddy would do—throw me out? To hell with it. I walked up the stairs as if it were noontime, actually disappointed that my feet didn’t make more noise on the carpeted steps. How I would have liked to show Daddy he couldn’t police me anymore! I wasn’t his to control—I wasn’t anybody’s.
In the bathroom, I cleaned up a little before climbing back into bed. My body was tired, but my mind wouldn’t rest. I lay on my side, hands tucked under my cheek and knees drawn to my chest. What could Enzo possibly have that Joey wanted? It couldn’t be money.
The whiskey? No, he didn’t really have that yet either.
But I couldn’t think of any other asset Enzo had to offer Joey at this point, so I approached it from the other side.