I pause. She didn’t order wine, either. No alcohol, no raw fish…
Is she pregnant?
My curiosity burns but I bite my tongue. It’s probably early days, she’s not even showing, and I don’t want to pry. But it gives new weight to her words about finding her own life, outside of her relationship. She and Caleb have managed to build a life together, despite tumultuous beginnings.
It gives me hope that Nero and I could do the same.
But just when I’m beginning to relax, and think of the future, the real world intrudes. We’ve finished lunch, and I’m leaving the café with Juliet when I spot a light grey sedan parked across the street.
I’m not sure, but I think I remember seeing it outside the Newton School, earlier today.
“What’s up?” Juliet asks, noticing I’ve stopped.
I shake my head. “Nothing. I’ll see you soon. For that double date,” I joke, and she laughs.
“Stay safe!”
I meet Kyle at the curb, where he’s been casually waiting with eyes on our patio table, all along.
“You see that car down the block?” I ask, climbing in the backseat. “The grey one?”
Kyle checks it in the mirror without turning. A pro. “You’ve seen it before?”
I nod. “Maybe.”
“I’ll take care of it.” He eases away from the curb, passing the car as we head down the street. I quickly glance to see who’s inside, and find two men up front, dark-haired and heavyset.
Our eyes meet, and I shiver, whipping my head away.
Who are they?
It could be the Feds, still watching me, but it could be someone else, too. The Kovaks. They had to be keeping tabs on Nero and me to approach me in that bathroom, after all.
Behind us, the sedan eases into traffic, and follows us through the lights.
I gulp. “They’re following us,” I tell Kyle. Suddenly, I’m very glad to have him behind the wheel.
“Not for long, they won’t be.”
Heading into heavy traffic, he changes lanes suddenly, making his way from one side of the road to the other with no turn signal. I see the grey sedan struggling to keep up. Then, a stop light in front of us turns yellow. The cars around us start to slow, but Kyle hits the gas and flies through the light just as it turns red.
The grey sedan tailing us is stuck behind a pickup truck, several cars back.
Kyle quickly yanks the wheel, sending us speeding down an alleyway, into the next street, and then along a dizzying route that even I can’t follow, until finally, we pull up outside the club.
I exhale. “Did Nero recruit you from NASCAR?” I ask, reeling. “Or did Avery give you driving lessons?”
Kyle cracks the first smile I’ve ever seen on his burly face. “I’m the one who taught her,” he says. “Bitch stole all my moves.”
I laugh, heading inside. For the first time, Nero’s protection feels like a relief, rather than a prison. I know I’m safe here, surrounded by his guys, and I move confidently through the club into the back, to his office.
“Knock, knock,” I push his door open, and find him deep in paperwork. I hold up the takeout bag I brought from lunch. “They had an Italian sub on the menu. I know nothing lives up to Gino’s, but…”
Nero’s stressed expression melts into a smile. “You brought me lunch.”
“Don’t get used to it,” I warn him with a smirk, depositing it on the desk.
“Any problems?” he asks, unwrapping the food.