In Pieces

by Alexa Land

  I grabbed a lined notebook and pen out of my backpack and sat at the kitchen table, then wrote all of that down for Detective Nolan, trying to include every detail that I could think of. And when I finished writing, I closed my eyes and replayed all of it yet again, trying to pull up more details. What the man had been saying as he beat me might have been important to the case, but I just couldn’t remember.

  I reached up and brushed tears off my cheek with a hand that was trembling. I wasn’t sure when I’d started crying, and I made myself stop. Yes, a horrible thing had been done to me. Yes, it left me with some issues that still were unresolved. But crying about it wasn’t going to get me anywhere.

  A knock on the door startled me, and I pushed back from the table and went to answer it. I was surprised to find Jamie standing out in the hall, his brows knit and his arms crossed over his chest. “We need to talk,” he said. I repressed a sigh and stepped back to let him in.

  “So, here’s what it looks like from my perspective,” he began when I’d shut the door behind him. “First, you latch on to my ex-boyfriend Charlie. All of a sudden, you two are BFFs and he’s letting you live in his apartment. And then as soon as he gets married, you somehow latch onto my cousin. Kieran and Charlie are a lot alike. They’re two of the sweetest, most trusting guys on the planet, and it would be so easy for someone to take advantage of them.”

  “Someone like me, a lowlife hooker,” I finished for him. I stared up at Jamie and noted distractedly that his eyes were the same cerulean blue as his cousin’s. “I wish I had the energy to tell you to go fuck yourself, Jamie. I really do. But if you want to think I’m some parasite that’s somehow using your ex and your cousin, knock yourself out.”

  “Tell me I’m wrong,” he persisted. “I want to be wrong about this, for both Charlie’s and Kieran’s sake.”

  “What exactly do you think I’m using them for?”

  “Money, I assume. And this apartment. Charlie and Dante paid off the remainder of the sublet through the end of March when my lease is up, so you’re living here rent-free. That makes me your landlord, by the way, since Charlie was subletting this place from me.”

  I had no idea that my former roommates had paid off the sublet, and knew how that looked. I also knew how it would have looked if I’d ever actually borrowed money from Kieran. It really wasn’t a mystery why Jamie was confronting me like this. All he saw when he looked at me was a whore. And sure, a typical hooker might exploit kind, trusting men like Kieran and Charlie. Jamie had no way of knowing I wasn’t that kind of person, and I doubted anything I had to say would make a difference to him.

  Normally though, I still would have tried to defend myself. I would have told Jamie where he could shove his accusations. But right now, when I was already so raw, I just couldn’t muster the will to fight. I turned from him and crossed the living room, and started to pack up my backpack. “What are you doing?” Jamie asked.

  “I’m moving out of your apartment. You can watch me if you want, to make sure I don’t steal any of Charlie’s furnishings.” I packed my sketch pad and pencil, then went and got the notebook from the kitchen table and packed it as well, along with my crackers from the cupboard. I could go and find a cheap motel, the kind of place I’d lived in before Charlie asked me to be his roommate. I didn’t need Jamie to do me any favors by ‘allowing’ me to stay here.

  “Wait,” Jamie said. “I didn’t come here to kick you out. I just came to talk.”

  “No you didn’t. You came here to warn the whore away from your ex and your cousin. Well sorry, you can’t do anything about the fact that Charlie and I are friends. And I’ve already decided to break up with Kieran. So you could have saved yourself the trip over here.”

  That seemed to derail Jamie’s momentum. He trailed after me as I continued to gather my few possessions and asked, “Why are you breaking up with Kier?”

  “What difference does it make? You should be thrilled. Your cousin will be safe from the evil hustler who’s obviously just looking to cheat him out of his inheritance.” I had gone into the bedroom and pulled an old duffle bag from the bottom of the closet. I shucked off my sweat pants and put them in the duffle, and pulled on a pair of jeans.

  “I’d just like to know what brought this on all of a sudden.”

  “Your father made me realize how detrimental a relationship with me would be to Kieran,” I said. It was more complicated than that, of course, but that would suffice as an explanation for Jamie. I pulled off the layers of clothing I was wearing and exchanged them for a t-shirt and hoodie, then picked up the fisherman’s sweater and thrust it at Jamie. “This is your cousin’s. Could you please see that he gets it back?”

  He took it from me as he said, “Would you please stop packing for a minute and talk to me?”

  I sat on the floor in front of the open closet and pulled on my beat-up sneakers as I said, “There’s nothing to talk about. I’m getting out of your apartment, and I’m getting out of Kieran’s life. Yay, you win! Big day for Jamie Nolan.”

  “Does Kieran know you plan to break up with him?”

  And that was the sentence that finally triggered my breakdown. There’d been so much pain, so much hurt over these last two days, so much building up in me. And all of a sudden the dam just gave way, at the thought of how much being blindsided by me would hurt Kieran. I managed to say, “No, but I have to do it. It’s for his own good.” And then I burst into tears. I was furious at myself for crying in front of Jamie, of all people. But there was just no holding it back.

  When I started sobbing, Jamie crouched down beside me and pulled me into his arms, holding me securely. “Hey,” he said gently, stroking my back, “it’s ok, Christopher. It’s going to be ok.”

  “Stop being nice to me,” I managed after a while, when I’d calmed down enough to form sentences again. “You fucking hate me. Go away so I can act like a wuss in private.”

  He grinned a little at that. “You’re not acting like a wuss, and I don’t hate you. Though if you break Kieran’s heart, I might have to kick your ass.”

  I sniffed and said, “Anyone who hurts Kieran deserves to have their ass kicked.”

  “He’s crazy about you, you know. I called him on the way over here. You should hear the way he talks about you.”

  I dragged the back of my hand over my eyes, taking a couple ragged breaths and trying to calm myself. Embarrassingly enough, Jamie was still cradling me in his arms. And even more embarrassingly, I was letting him. “He deserves so much better than me,” I murmured.

  “Do you care about him? Really, truly care?”

  “God yes.”

  “Then you’re exactly what he deserves.”

  “A hooker with a boatload of personal issues? I don’t think so.” I sat up and took a few deep breaths, and Jamie rested his hand on my shoulder.

  “You really need to find another line of work, Christopher.”

  “As if I don’t know that.”

  “You know, when Charlie returns from his honeymoon, he’s going to be helping Dante run their new restaurant, so he won’t be coming back to work for me. That means I’m one waiter short at the bar and grill. Maybe you could come to work for me,” Jamie said.

  I raised my eyebrows at him. “Do you remember why you came over here in the first place? You don’t trust me. Why would you offer me a job?”

  “I think I worked in law enforcement just long enough to learn to question people’s motives. But just from talking to you for a few minutes, I can see I was wrong about you. You obviously care about my cousin, and breaking up with him would be devastating for both of you. You two should be together.”

  “I don’t know about that.” I leaned against the wall and repeated what Ray Nolan had said about possible backlash from Kieran’s fellow officers.

  Jamie asked, “Did you talk about that with Kieran?”

  “Yeah.”

  “And what did he say?”

  “He said he was willing to accep
t the consequences. But—”

  “But nothing. Kieran’s a grown man, he can decide what’s best for him. If he thinks he can deal with it, then let him deal with it. And my dad only said that could happen, not that it was guaranteed. My cousin has a lot of friends on the force, they’re not all going to turn their backs on him.”

  “Well, his family’s also going to be thrilled he’s dating a prostitute.”

  “It sounds like you’re making excuses not to be with my cousin. But you just told me you care about Kieran, so what gives?” I looked away, and he said gently, “I don’t know anything about you Christopher, but I’m guessing maybe you had it rough in the past, maybe that’s what brought you to prostitution. Maybe it’s not so easy for you to trust people. Is that it?” I shrugged noncommittally, even though he was right on the money. Jamie continued, “Whatever you’ve been through before, whatever it is that’s making you shy away from the idea of a relationship…let me just say that, if ever there was a person deserving of trust, it’s my cousin. Kieran is such a good guy, through and through.”

  “Well, you’ve certainly done a one-eighty,” I said, glancing at Jamie from beneath my lashes. “You went all the way from wanting to warn me away from your loved ones to advocating for a relationship.”

  Jamie grinned at me. “I can admit when I’m wrong. And I’m so glad I was wrong about you.”

  “I still don’t know what you’re basing that on.”

  “It’s just a feeling I get about you. And I’m usually right about people. You know – the second time.”

  “My first impression of you was wrong, too. You’re not actually a douchebag.”

  Jamie laughed at that. “You thought I was a douchebag?”

  “I thought there was a distinct possibility that you possessed certain douche-like characteristics.”

  Jamie was still smiling as he pushed himself to his feet. “Well, I’m sorry for whatever I did to give you that impression. But now that you’ve absolved me of my doucheyness, how about that job offer? I really could use a waiter, and you really do need a different job.”

  “Thanks, but no freaking way could I afford Sutherlin on a waiter’s salary.”

  “Have you looked into financial aid?”

  “Ugh,” I muttered. “Why does everyone assume I’m too stupid to have thought of that one myself? Yes, I’ve looked into financial aid. It’s not happening.”

  “Are you sure? You know, if you wanted me to, I could help you with your student loan applications. I was awesome at finding money when I was in college – grants, loans, scholarships, you name it. I even helped some of my family members by showing them how to get financial aid, too. I know you think you’re ineligible for some reason, but I’m telling you, there’s money available for all who need it.”

  But I shook my head and said, “No, I’m telling you, I’m not eligible.”

  “Sure you are.”

  “Jamie, I’m not.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because,” I admitted, “I’m worth about thirty-two million dollars.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You’re…wait, what?”

  “You heard me.”

  “Yeah, but I don’t get it. If you’re worth that kind of money, why on Earth would you work as a prostitute?”

  “Because I refuse to take a cent of my father’s money. I would rather do anything besides that. And given what I do to make a living, you can see how literally I mean that.”

  “So…I take it you and your father don’t get along,”

  “Uh, yeah. You could say that.”

  “And the thirty two million dollars…that’s where, exactly?”

  “In a trust fund under my name, which became accessible when I turned eighteen. Under my real name, I should say. Andrews was my mother’s maiden name.”

  “What’s your real name?”

  “Christopher Robin Longotti. My father calls me Chris, which is why I hate that nickname.”

  “You can’t possibly mean….”

  “Yeah, the Longottis. Reggie Longotti is my father.”

  Jamie sank onto the edge of the mattress and stared at me for a long moment. “Reggie Longotti? Head of one of the most powerful crime families in the eastern U.S.?”

  “Semi-retired. He’s lived on a horse ranch in Georgia for a while now. But he still keeps his hand in the business, even from the boondocks.”

  He absorbed that for a beat before asking, “Does your father know where you are right now?”

  “More or less. He probably knows I’m still in San Francisco. When I was younger, he used to send his lackey to drag me back to Georgia on a regular basis, and he never seemed to have any trouble finding me. But once I turned eighteen, I started threatening to have my father arrested for kidnapping, so he finally backed off.”

  “Does he know you’re a prostitute?”

  “I really doubt it. Jimmy – that was the lackey he always sent to bring me back home – he said he wasn’t going to tell my father he’d found me working the street. Which was smart, since it would have infuriated my father and I wouldn’t put it past him to kill the messenger.”

  “Does Kieran know any of this?”

  “No. So far, I’ve sort of avoided unloading all my baggage on him.”

  He exhaled slowly. “How do you think your father would feel about you dating a police officer?”

  “He’d hate it. But then, he hates everything I do. He hates the fact that I’m gay, and an artist, and that I refuse to take a cent of his dirty money. Dating a cop would go on the long list of stuff about me that pisses him off.”

  “Do you think it’d be dangerous for Kieran if your father knew about him?”

  I said, “I think my father may have finally given up on me, I haven’t heard from him in months. So no, I don’t think he’d pose a threat to Kieran.”

  “What’s a semi-retired gangster doing on a horse ranch in Georgia, of all places?”

  “My mother was from Georgia. She met my father on a trip to New York. He wanted her to stay with him, but she hated the city, so he followed her down south and bought her the ranch as a wedding present. He ended up liking the rural lifestyle and stayed on, even after her death. He’s breeding race horses now, which kind of figures. He always loved the track.”

  “This is all really surprising. I had no idea about your family.”

  “It’s not something I talk about a lot. And,” I added with a grin, “it’s such a TMI answer to your original question.”

  “Well, I can now see why student loans are probably out of the question.”

  “Yup. It might be a different story if I had a fake social security number. But as it is, on paper, Christopher Andrews doesn’t exist, and Christopher Longotti is loaded. And neither of them is getting a cent in financial aid.”

  “If it’s not something you talk about, why did you just tell me all of that?”

  “I don’t know,” I shrugged. “Maybe it was just one too many people asking me why I hadn’t gotten student loans. And it’s not actually a secret or anything. I just tend not to bring it up.”

  “When I was still on the force, I’d hear your father’s name mentioned periodically. He may not be as retired as you think. And the stuff he’s rumored to be involved in is pretty hardcore.”

  “Not surprising. I never directly witnessed him breaking the law, but I wouldn’t put anything past my father, up to and including murder.”

  “You know who the Longottis’ biggest rival is, don’t you?”

  “No. Who?”

  “The Dombruso crime family,” he said. “Your best friend’s new in-laws. Neither family has been content with just dominating the east or west coast. Both have always had bigger aspirations.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I wonder if that’s why your father always sent someone to retrieve you, rather than coming for you himself. If he set foot in San Francisco, it would probably trigger a major turf war with the Dombruso clan.
”

  “This is all news to me. I left home at fifteen, and even before that, I steered clear of my father’s business. So I never heard him mention the Dombrusos.”

  “You’re going to tell Kieran all of this, right?” Jamie asked.

  “Yeah. Like I said, it’s not a secret or anything.”

  “You know that my husband used to be involved in organized crime, don’t you?” Jamie said, and I nodded. “I think he and I are proof that you and Kieran can still make a go of it, despite your vastly different backgrounds.”

  “It’s not so much our backgrounds that worry me. It’s all the day-to-day issues, my job, his job….”

  “Yeah, you guys do have some things to work out.”

  “This is true.”

  Jamie got up off the mattress and said, “I need to get back to the bar, I’m supposed to cover the front of the house because one of my employees is taking the afternoon off. But look, if you ever want to talk, I really hope you’ll come find me. And the job offer still stands.” I walked him to the front door, and he turned to me and said, “I’m sorry for the way I came over here.”

  Impulsively, I gave Jamie a hug and said, “Just keep looking out for Charlie and Kieran. It’s great that they have you in their corner.”

  Once he left, I went and located my phone and dialed Kieran’s number. When he answered, I said, “We did this all backwards, you know. We skipped the whole dating thing and went straight to sex. I think we should rectify that situation.”

  “Ok. How do we do that?”

  “I want to take you out, Kieran. On a real date, one where we don’t just make a beeline to the bedroom. Are you free this evening?”

  “Most definitely. What did you have in mind?”