by Kelsie Rae
“What kind of message?” Jack asks.
“It was a threat that he’d be seeing him soon and that he knows where Regina is. Why the hell isn’t he in police custody?”
“Sei wasn’t on the premises when we raided Burlone’s estate,” Jack answers with a glare at Dex. “We searched everywhere for him.”
Ignoring his pissy attitude, Kingston adds, “Yeah, well, his appearance is just the tip of the iceberg. A few minutes before the kid showed up, Diece and I had a little chat with Q. She divulged some information that connected your boss to the mob and explains why he’s so desperate to find her.”
Jack’s annoyance transforms to utter shock. “What? How?”
“She witnessed Reed attending a meeting with Burlone and Johnson. When they caught her eavesdropping, Reed wanted to have her killed, but Burlone figured that selling her would be a more lucrative way for her to disappear. She’s the key to clearing your name. Unfortunately for you, I can’t allow her to testify.”
Outraged, Jack jumps to his feet and spits, “What? Why the hell not?”
Shit, I’d be pissed too. His freedom was at the tip of his fingers, but Kingston just slid it out of his grasp.
Ignoring Jack’s outburst, Kingston clarifies, “Because I told everyone Burlone was working for the Feds, and while that’s true, it seems that he was using them instead of the other way around.”
“And that’s a problem because…?” Jack lets his voice trail off and waits for Kingston to fill in the blanks.
Instead, I do it for him. “If it looks like Kingston got his facts wrong, it’ll taint the Romano name, and we can’t have that now, can we?”
“So, what? I’m supposed to take the fall?” Jack sneers, but Kingston doesn’t back down.
“It’s either you or the entire Romano family along with an innocent girl who was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” Kingston returns. “Tell me something, Jack. Does that seem very fair to you?”
The guy looks like he’s about to crack one of his molars, but he doesn’t cower from Kingston’s scrutiny. “And what would you suggest I do?”
Kingston’s voice is controlled as he replies, “I suggest you let us take care of your little friend.”
“By what? Killing him?” He scoffs. “I’m not a dirty cop.”
“You know, I love how you still think you’re better than us, even when I’ve opened up my home and have offered to help you. Even when I’ve held up my end of the deal and delivered multiple sex traffickers to your door in a handbasket. We aren’t that different, whether or not you’d like to admit it. But the fact of the matter is that sometimes, we have to get our hands dirty, Jack. Your boss has already made contact with another mafia family. Who’s to say he won’t do it again? He’s connected to buying and selling women. He screwed you over. He deserves to be put in the ground.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why?” Kingston sneers. “You were willing to get your hands dirty once in order to protect innocent women. What makes this so different? When I found out there was a rat in the Romano family, I exterminated him before he could spread his sickness to someone else. I suggest you open up to the possibility that you might have to do the same.”
“You’re suggesting I kill Reed? Why can’t we just turn him in?”
“The legal system will fail,” Kingston reminds him. “Especially when there’s now a connection to your sole witness and the Romano family. People will think she’s lying. And even if you do convince her to get on the stand and confess—which will put a target on her back from inside the legal system, thanks to your boss, as well as anyone that saw her at the tournament—one witness without hard evidence won’t be enough to taint a seasoned Fed’s name. Especially when there’s still hard evidence against you.”
“But it wasn’t my phone!” Jack argues, his face flush with anger.
“Doesn’t matter. He’ll get away scot-free. And your head, along with Q’s, will be next on the guillotine. You’re fucked, Jack. That might not be what you want to hear, but it’s the truth. Now, you have two choices. Either help us handle Reed in our own way so that you can taste an ounce of justice, or deal with the fallout when we don’t and live with the consequences.”
Like a stick of dynamite, Jack explodes with a violent burst of fury. His closed fist punches through the drywall as a scream of frustration ricochets off the walls. Kingston watches him in silence, patiently waiting for him to finish his little temper tantrum before agreeing to the proposition.
Because he will agree.
Of that, I have no doubt.
“Are you finished?” Kingston states while the rest of the room is blanketed with silence.
Rubbing his hand across his face, he growls, “I can’t do that. I’m not that kind of guy.”
“Sure, you’re not. Whatever helps you sleep at night, Jack. But I put Q under the protection of the Romano family, and I won’t risk her safety all because you’re adamant about keeping your hands clean. You have twenty-four hours to decide.”
With a sneer, he storms out of the room before digging his heels into the ground when Kingston calls after him. “And don’t leave the fucking premises! Your face is still plastered all over the news. We clear?”
Nostrils flaring, a pissed off Jack grits out, “Crystal.”
Then he’s gone.
Unperturbed, Kingston continues. “Now, we have a kid upstairs who’s seen way too damn much. What the hell are we supposed to do with him?”
“What do you mean?” Regina interjects. I’d almost forgotten she was here. “We aren’t going to kill an innocent kid, Kingston. That’s not—”
“I wasn’t suggesting that,” he clarifies with his hands raised in defense. “Come on, Regina. I might be a bastard, but I wouldn’t do that shit.”
Tossing his arm around her, Dex pulls her into his side to defuse the situation before thinking aloud, “He doesn’t have any family. Just him and his dad.”
“And the nanny,” Kingston quips. “But I don’t think she’ll be able to help him right now. What are your thoughts, D?”
A headache threatens to spread from the base of my skull before I pinch the bridge of my nose. “She’ll kill me for saying this, but she needs to figure out her own shit before she can take on a kid.”
Not a chance in Hell could she take care of anyone right now. She can barely take care of herself. She was doing so much better at Matteo’s estate. But now, I’m not sure of anything, let alone her mental health.
My attention shifts to the staircase as I half-expect to see my broken Blue watching me from the top of it, shaking like a leaf, but it’s empty.
“I orphaned him,” Dex mutters, distracting me. “And thanks to Sei, he wears my mark. So what do you think, Little Bird? Any chance you’d be willing to help me keep an eye on him for the time being? He seemed taken with you.”
“We can watch him. At least until we figure out our next step,” she agrees without thought, but I’m not exactly surprised. The girl has always been a sucker for taking people under her wing.
Nodding, Kingston divulges, “I don’t think he’ll try to run. He has nowhere else to go, but he’s seen too much shit to be trusted. We also don’t know how long it’ll be before someone reports him missing. I’ll have Lou find him a new social, birth certificate, all that shit once we figure out a long-term solution. But for now, keep an eye on him.”
Dex looks down at Regina beside him before they both turn to Kingston. “We will.”
“Good.” Massaging his temples and likely fighting off a massive headache, Kingston moves on to the next bullet point of today’s family meeting. “Now, we need to figure out how we’re going to catch Sei. Any suggestions?”
“Use me as bait,” Dex offers. “He wants a fight. Might as well give it to him.”
Kingston shakes his head. “No.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because if he really wanted you, all he’d have to do is knock on our do
or. He knows you’re here and that you switched sides. You’re not the prize he’s looking for. And neither is Regina.” All eyes turn to me before Kingston finishes, “Q is.”
“Are you suggesting we use Q as bait?” I grit out, convinced I’ve heard him wrong.
“Listen—”
“No. Not a chance in Hell will I let you put her in danger.”
“And I don’t give a shit what you want,” Kingston counters with a dry laugh, but I don’t find much humor in the situation. “She won’t be safe until Sei is off the streets. You said so yourself. He's obsessed with her.”
“But that doesn’t mean I’d be willing to let him get within ten fucking miles of her—”
“What would you prefer, D? We just wait for him to strike when we least expect it? Or create a plan and execute it on our terms?”
And even though the truth is glaring at me, I look him in the eye and argue, “He doesn’t know where she is.”
“We don’t know that,” a somber Dex interjects. “Sei knows how to track people. It’s why he was such an asset to Burlone.”
“No.” I shake my head back and forth. “No.”
“Why don’t you ask Q what she thinks about it?” Regina suggests in a quiet voice before resting her head on Dex’s shoulder. “You might be surprised by the risk she’d be willing to take if it were to keep Sei away from her.”
“But this wouldn’t be keeping them separated. This would be me offering her to the wolf on a silver platter.”
“Give me a little more credit, D,” Kingston mutters as he rolls his eyes. “Have I ever let you down?”
My lips pull into a thin line.
“Have I?” he pushes.
With all eyes on me, I grit out, “What’s the plan?”
Kingston hesitates before cracking his neck as if he’s getting ready for war. “Dex, you know Sei better than anyone. Any suggestions?”
“Let me think about it, and I’ll get back to you.”
“Alright. Dismissed.”
22
Q
My mind reels from the shitshow downstairs. First, my conversation with Kingston and Diece, then a familiar face from the past shows up to mess with me.
Coincidence? I think not.
What the hell is Will doing here? How is he here? Where’s Mr. Johnson? Does Reed know I’m here? And if he does know, is he coming for me? My breath hitches.
What am I supposed to do now?
Pacing the thickly-carpeted floor, I weave my fingers through my blue hair and tug on the roots, praying the bite of pain will bring an ounce of clarity.
It doesn’t work.
Replaying every possible outcome over and over again, I finally give up and collapse on my bed before holding my head in my hands.
And what about D? Did I just deliver a monster to his door? Not Will, obviously. But Reed? If he finds out I told D, he’ll kill him. My head won’t be the only one on the docket. D’s will be too. And I can’t let that happen.
A set of footsteps pique my curiosity as I continue to sit in my room, stewing in silence.
“Stay in here,” a low voice orders across the hall before retreating back down the stairs.
Head cocked, I wait for any other clues but don’t receive any. There’s a moment of silence before I tiptoe toward my door and open it a few more inches. The hallway is empty. With a deep breath, I venture into the unknown and raise my fist to tap on the door that’s opposite of mine.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“Hello?” a little voice squeaks.
Chest aching, I push open the door. “Will?”
“Queena?”
His pre-teen body practically tackles me as he darts across the room and wraps his arms around my waist.
“Queena, where have you been? You disappeared. Dad said you quit—”
“I know, Will. I know.” Squeezing him tight, I fight back my tears, then slide to the ground and rest my back against the wall. Will follows suit and scoots beside me, leaving less than an inch of space between us.
“What are you doing here, bud?” I whisper as I take in his profile. I’ve only known him for a year or so, but when you’re with someone day in and day out, you start to know them better than yourself. His cheeks aren’t as full as they used to be, and the normal rosy color that I’ve grown accustomed to is absent. It looks like he’s aged a few years since the last time I saw him. And I’d do anything to give him back that time.
“I don’t…I don’t want to talk about it,” he chokes out.
His words act like a vice around my heart. “Then we don’t have to talk about it. Just know that I’m here for you, okay?”
“Okay.”
“You look tired, though,” I point out.
He shrugs but doesn’t deny it.
“You should get some rest.”
With a quick shake of his head, he mutters, “I uh, I don’t like to close my eyes.”
A sad yet knowing smile graces my lips before I divulge a secret. “Ya know, I get scared sometimes too. But do you wanna know what helps me?”
“What?”
“I think about the good stuff. Sometimes, if you try hard enough, you can replace the bad with the good. You just have to stay strong and not give in to the darkness.”
“How do I do that, Queena?” he whispers.
“Think of happy thoughts.”
“Like in Peter Pan?” He quirks his brow in disbelief.
“Exactly,” I chuckle before bopping him on the nose with my index finger.
“And that really works?”
“Not all the time,” I admit. “But it definitely helps.”
Peeking up at me, he asks, “What’s your happy thought?”
An image of D immediately comes to mind. His eyes are alight with fascination as he pops another kernel of popcorn into his mouth while staring at an über-cheesy Hallmark movie. The plot might as well involve aliens for how foreign it is to a guy like him, but he’s as entertained as ever. And I know it’s because he wants me to be happy and will do everything in his power to make it happen, even if it involves sitting through a predictable, sappy love story.
“Queena?” Will murmurs, pulling me back to the present.
I toss my arm over his skinny shoulders and tug him into my side. “Get some rest. I’ll hang out with you here and keep the monsters away, okay?”
With a loud yawn, he scoots down then rests his head on my lap while his gangly body spreads out across the floor. There’s a king-sized bed a few feet away, but I don’t mention it. He looks too exhausted to move anyway.
“Thanks for being here, Queena,” he whispers as his heavy lids flutter closed.
“Anytime.”
Running my fingers through his brown mop of hair, I think back on how much our worlds have been flipped upside down in such a short amount of time. But there’s no use getting lost in the past and what coulda, woulda, shoulda been. Diece taught me that. And now, I’m going to do my best to pass on the knowledge to this kid who, in the blink of an eye, got dealt a pretty shitty hand too.
My head rests against the wall behind me as I fight off the exhaustion that overwhelms every inch of me. I’m crashing. Hard. After the adrenaline rush from earlier, I’m not exactly surprised that I feel like a drained battery, but that doesn’t stop me from fighting to keep my eyes open. I’m not sure how much time passes before I realize I’ve lost the battle. Caught between oblivion and a meditative state of peace, a panicked voice filters in from the hall.
“Q? Q, where are you?” Heavy footsteps stomp around the hallway, searching for me before I register what the hell is going on and whisper-shout, “Diece! Diece, I’m in here.”
The pounding ceases. “Q?”
“In here.”
Will’s door opens seconds later to reveal a disheveled Diece. Pressing my index finger against my lips, I whisper, “Shhh.”
His eyes widen as he assesses my position and the boy lying in my lap before he squats next to me. “Wha
t are you doing in here?”
“Did you honestly expect me not to check on him?” I counter.
“If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that you’ve managed to exceed my expectations on multiple occasions,” he mutters under his breath.
“Liar,” I quip with a smile. “I’m a mess.”
Amused, he tucks my hair behind my ear. “We’re all a mess in our own way, Q. The fact that you can even own up to it says something.” He pauses then adds, “Thank you for confiding in me and Kingston today.”
“I didn’t exactly have a choice,” I point out.
“There’s always a choice. And if I had to have lost my hand to prove that to you, I would’ve.”
“But that’s quite the consequence, don’t you think?”
“I didn’t say there weren’t consequences to our actions,” he clarifies with a wry smirk. “It just depends on the price you’re willing to pay. How’s he doing?”
I look down at the little boy in my lap. “Shaken, but I think he’ll be okay.”
“He looks exhausted.”
“He is exhausted,” I confirm, taking in Will’s boyish features. His eyelashes are so damn long. Lucky little shit. I run my fingers through his brown hair again, then turn to D. “Do you know what happened? Do you know why he’s here? Does anyone else know I’m here?”
“Let’s go chat in the other room.”
“I can’t leave him—”
“Knock, knock,” Regina calls from the doorway. Her heels dig into the ground when she finds us huddled together. “Oh.” Dropping her voice to a whisper, she hooks her thumb over her shoulder and mumbles, “I can come back.”
“Wait,” D orders just as quietly before he turns to me. “What if Regina stays with him? Then you and I can talk in private without the risk of waking him up.”
I look down at Will again. He looks so little in my lap. So innocent. So tired. Licking my lips, I answer, “Okay.” Then I carefully lift his head up and slip out before Regina replaces me on the floor.
“I’ll look after him,” she promises. The determination in her eyes soothes my nerves, but I still find myself frozen in place until the heat from Diece’s palm brands my lower back.