“That’s done,” I said, looking over at German. “Let’s get this body to the car and—”
German’s eyes were wide. He took a step back and pointed, like he saw a ghost. I turned around and froze.
Standing in the alley mouth was a girl.
About twenty years old. Pretty auburn hair, full lips, light blue eyes, high cheekbones. She wore tight jeans and a simple but flattering shirt that showed off her surprisingly nice figure. Rain flattened her hair and made the clothes cling tighter against her chest, but she barely seemed to notice.
She stared down at Justin with horror in her eyes.
“What did you do?” she whispered, taking a step forward.
Then I saw the resemblance.
It was hard to tell really, but she had her father’s eyes. Light blue, like the sky on a clear, sunny day. She reached out like she wanted to touch the corpse, but pulled back in shock when I stepped toward her.
“He didn’t tell me you were here.” Which didn’t matter, since I would’ve killed him anyway, but at least I would’ve had German keep watch.
“You killed him.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, mixed with rainwater. “Oh my god. You killed him.” She stepped forward again, hands coming up to her mouth.
“Ah, shit,” I said softly, looking back at German for help, but he only shook his head.
A car screamed to a stop in the street. Doors opened and slammed. German came up next to me, body language tight again, hand gripping the gun in his waistband. He stepped past the girl and looked out around the corner then cursed.
“Maher’s here,” he said.
“Fuck.” I pulled my gun. “How many with him?”
“Two,” German said. “They’re headed into the bar but they’ll be here in a second.” He looked back at me then nodded at the girl. “What do you think? Looking for her?”
My head spun. Justin was dead, and he was the real target—but the daughter might be worth something to the right people. Justin owed a debt, and sometimes that debt passed down to immediately family, especially when the Lionetti were involved. They always got paid one way or the other.
But I didn’t know if Maher would be that deep with them. He worked for the Doyle family, another strong mafia in the city, but he wasn’t Lionetti. He still might try to take the girl and sell her back to them though, if only to recoup some of the bounty he missed out on.
I turned to the girl. She was staring at her father’s body, hands still at her mouth, not moving. I crouched next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. “Hey, you, listen to me.”
She shrugged me off like my fingers were made of lava. “Don’t touch me,” she hissed. “You murdering piece of shit.”
“Okay, fair enough, but listen to me. There are more guys coming, and they might want to take you since they missed out on your father’s bounty. You might be worth something is what I’m saying, so if you want to avoid getting turned into a fuck slave for some mobster assholes, you should come with me.”
She gaped at me like I grew a second head. “You’re a mobster asshole,” she said. “You murdered my father. Why the hell would I go with you?”
“They’re coming back out,” German said. “We better move.”
“I get it, I just murdered your dad, but someone was going to. And you should be goddamn happy that someone was me.”
“Happy?” She stood up suddenly. I got to my feet and stared down at her as she clenched her jaw, hands balled into fists. Her anger was almost comical, considering she was half my size at best, except for the fact that her father’s corpse lay bleeding at her feet. “You murdered my father and you want me to be happy.”
“If you want to avoid getting thrown into some sex dungeon, shut your mouth and follow me.” I stepped toward her, impatient now. “Do you understand what I’m saying to you? I’m trying to save you.”
And I didn’t know why. Maybe some misguided idea about protecting women and all that bullshit, or maybe just because I wanted to keep her for myself.
The girl was beautiful. Absolutely fucking stunning, in a way that made me believe in higher powers. How some scumbag like Justin could’ve produced a miracle like his daughter, I’d never understand, but she was incredible. If Maher got his hands on her, he’d use her up, turn her into an emaciated, drug-addled wreck, and I couldn’t have that.
I couldn’t let him ruin something so goddamn perfect.
“Fuck you,” she spat and tried to slap me.
I caught her wrist and pulled her against me. She gasped, surprised, and kneed me in the thigh. I grunted, wrenched her arm behind her just like German did to her daddy, and walked her forward.