Falling for the Killer

She nodded a little and touched her belly. “It’s weird, isn’t it? There’s a baby growing in here.” She blinked a little. “Oh, shit, I need to make doctor appointments.”

“We’ll figure it out,” I said. “Worry about one step at a time right now.”

“Yeah, okay, right. One step at a time.”

“I’m going tout,” I said and walked to the door. “You need a toothbrush and some other shit. I’m going to walk to the bodega and I’m going to take my time. How’s an hour sound?”

She chewed on her lip but nodded. “Plenty of time to get torn to shreds by my parents.”

“Good luck,” I said and pushed open the door. I left her alone at the kitchen table, but I didn’t walk away. Instead, I sat on the stoop, leaned forward with my elbow on my knees, and waited.

I wouldn’t leave her alone. If she needed help, I’d get back in there, but I wanted her to have a sense of privacy at least.

I couldn’t imagine what she was about to go through. I never had parents I cared about. Her relationship was complicated and fucked up, and worse than mine in some ways. At least I knew where I stood with them. She seemed like she loved her parents, but they didn’t quite love her back, at least not as a person.

Maybe as a small, pliable doll.

As I waited, I got another text from Dean.

Don wants to see you tomorrow morning, he said.

I sighed and sent back, See you bright and early.

That wasn’t going to be fun, but we’d survive.

7

Ash

I listened to my mother scream at me for a half hour until her voice gave out and my father took over.

He screamed at me for twenty minutes. That left me with ten minutes to sit alone at a strange kitchen table and contemplate the way my life crumbled all around me.

“How’d it go?” Gian asked when he came back in with a small bag full of toiletries for me.

“About what I expected,” I said. “I’m cut off. If I don’t go home now, they’ll kick me out of the family and hire some people to ruin your life. Oh, and Stuart is going to press charges and sue you and sue my family and probably anyone I’ve ever spoken with.”

“Sounds about right,” he said and gently touched my arm. “What are you going to do?”

I smiled and slipped past him, taking the bag from his hand on the way. “I’m going to shower, brush my teeth, and lie in that bed until tomorrow.” I hesitated on the stairs. “Aren’t you worried?”

“Not at all,” he said, and gave me a charming smile.

I shook my head and went upstairs.

The shower didn’t help. Brushing my teeth didn’t help. And lying in bed watching TV didn’t help, either.

But at least I fell asleep early and in the morning, there was already coffee made in the kitchen. I found Gian dressed in the living room, watching ESPN and drinking from a huge mug.

“Help yourself,” he grunted at me as I shuffled past, still wearing my clothes from yesterday which were unsurprisingly disgusting by this point, but I didn’t have anything else. “We’ve got an errand to run then you can go shopping.”

“Errand?” I asked from the kitchen. “What’s going on?” I poured some coffee into a mug and stared at it. I was pregnant now and had to be careful how much of this stuff I drank, but a little bit would be okay.

“You need to meet the Don,” he said.

I walked out to the living room and stood over him with my mouth open. “I need to do what?” I asked.

He grimaced slightly and turned the TV off. “We should get going soon,” he said. “I was going to wake you up.”

“Right now?” I stepped back. “The Don? The head of your mafia family or whatever the hell it is?”

“He’s not so scary,” Gian said, then hesitated. “Okay, that’s not true, but you’ll be fine. I’ll be with you.”

“No,” I said. “Absolutely not.”

“Ash,” he said. “This isn‘t really an option.”

“No,” I said. “I’m tired of doing what I’m told. I don’t want to meet your Don.”

He stood up and rubbed his face with both hands then gave me a pleading look. “You’re trouble,” he said. “Your family’s trouble. They can make life difficult for my boss. Things are happening in the city right now, and I can’t afford to be distracted. He wants to make sure this isn’t going to be a problem.”

“What sort of things?” I asked.

“Do you really want to know?” He gave me a serious look and ran a hand through his perfect, lush hair.

“Yes,” I said. “I really do.”

“There’s a war going on with a rival gang named the Healy family. They’re gunning for my territory, and I plan on killing a few of them.” He tilted his head to the side. “Feel better now that you know?”