Dirty Sweet Cowboy

“In your office? You’re talking about the district attorney who tried to put me in jail with no evidence. Are you sure you trust him, Harlow ?”

My stomach drops again. Do I trust him? Do I trust anyone? I don’t know what to believe anymore, and the pile of bleeding men on my antique rug isn’t helping me make a decision .

“I have no idea, Vince. All I know is that you just beat the shit out of three men single-handedly, and now you’re asking me to what? Run away with you ?”

One of the men on the floor starts to stir, and Vince kicks him in the head, sending him back into unconsciousness. “Harlow, I will tell you everything, but we’re kind of operating on borrowed time at the moment, sweetie. No doubt one of your neighbors heard that commotion and will be calling the cops. We need to get out of here posthaste .”

I nod, knowing he’s right, and hurry into the bedroom. As I slip into jeans and a sweatshirt, and start digging around for sneakers, I wipe a tear away from my cheek .

What the hell have I gotten myself into? I wonder for a second time as I jam emergency supplies into a backpack. Is there anyone I can trust ?

Chapter 50

W e’re sitting in a coffee shop in Alphabet City, neither of us saying anything. The waitress keeps talking to us like we’ve just left a funeral, and honestly, it kind of feels like we have. We’re both dressed in black, except for the white bandage that Vince has wrapped around his arm from where that psycho intruder attacked him. I’m so terrified I can barely talk, and Vince is completely lost in thought. He’s downing cup after cup of coffee, and mine has gone ice-cold. Finally, after what feels like an eternity, Vince looks up at me .

“We need to go back to my office .”

My jaw drops. “The office that the Adelardis already destroyed? Why would we go back there ?”

“Because I need to use my computer, and I need to get…something…from the safe .”

I raise an eyebrow at him. “Vince,” I plead. “Can you please tell me what is going on? I don’t think I can handle running around anymore, having people aim guns at me, trying to kill me, when I don’t have a clue why .”

Vince looks around, surveying the diner, as if to make sure that no one suspicious is listening to us, or watching. Then he secures the USB drive around his neck, his fingers blindly confirming it’s still there .

“Okay, I don’t even really know where to begin. The short version is, when I went through my father’s files, I found evidence that Durante Adelardi had been laundering money through his hotels for two decades. From there, I went down a rabbit hole of criminal activity. Blackmail, kidnapping…even murder. If my father hadn’t died, I would have forced him to turn himself in for being complicit in everything he helped them do. But the second best thing I could do was turn over all of the information I’d found to the DA. Or the FBI. Anyone who would listen .”

I lean back in the booth, my head spinning. We’d taken Carlo Adelardi down for racketeering. We hadn’t been able to make any of the other charges stick, because we couldn’t find enough evidence. If Vince had all of the information he said he did, that would be the end of Adelardi family, as well as all of their associates .

“You mentioned people at the top being involved. Do you have any evidence of names or dates, actual confirmation of power players who are aiding and abetting the Adelardis ?”

Vince shakes his head. “Everything I have is written in code, so it’s nicknames, things I don’t recognize. And I haven’t been able to sort them out on my own. Do you think you’d be able to help with that ?”

I run my hands through my hair. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this strung out, or this scared, in my entire life. But it’s not like I have a choice. I can’t go back to my apartment, and I can’t go to the police. We can’t go to the police, without hard evidence that the Adelardi family is behind the attack on us. Our only option is to see this through, and make sure they go down for good .

“I’ll help you. Of course, I’ll help you. But this whole fugitive lifestyle is really not for me. I miss my computer and my cell phone... and my Miles Davis.” Vince laughs at me so loudly, the waitress turns to us with a confused glare .

“It’s been an hour, Harlow,” he says when he regains his composure. “God help us if we were ever trapped on a desert island !”

Even as panic courses through my bones, his smile and laugh warms my heart in a way I can’t quite describe. Vince may have gotten me into this mess, but in some weird way, I know there is no one else I’d rather be beside, never mind on the run with .

I can also see in his huge blue eyes that he feels the same about me .

* * *

I t takes us almost two hours on foot to get from the diner to Vince’s office in the Financial District, because Vince keeps stopping to make sure we’re not being followed. He doesn’t even trust cab drivers, and at this point, I can’t say I blame him. It feels as if every person who looks our way is here to kill us, and every guy who bumps into us is going to pull a gun. Given this is Manhattan, we’re both completely stressed out as we make our way down to Wall Street .

When we finally get to his building, the sun is just starting to rise in the background, and it’s glittering off the sparkling chrome high-rise. I lean against the wall as he peeks around the side, checking for anyone who might be watching us .

“Why do you have an office on Wall Street? Isn’t this mostly for financial guys? And…isn’t it really expensive?” I ask in a whisper. Vince shrugs and gestures for me to follow him in the direction of a side door .

“It’s actually my father’s old office. I didn’t know why he had an office in a financial building, either…until I started digging around in his personal effects. Anyway, I’ve been using his place as a base of operations, while I sort everything out. But as soon as I’m able, I’m dumping this building and finding my own place to work .”

I grab his arm and pull him back. “Wait a second. What do you mean, building? Don’t you mean, office ?”

He shakes his head. “My father owned the building. And now, I do. But I want to sell it as soon as I can so I can find somewhere to operate the new branch of my other business somewhere closer to midtown .”

“Speaking of… How did you do all of that stuff in my apartment with the gun and the …”