“So you’re admitting you have knowledge of criminal activity?” Jason’s dad said, immediately twisting my words against me. Damn, he was good.
“Dad, stop.” Jason reached out and captured my hand. “Natalie, you wanted out and this is it. I don’t want to see you covered in blood again.”
Either Jason didn’t realize the scope of what he was asking me to do or he didn’t care, but then again he didn’t know I killed a man, he didn’t know that I would never turn against my brother, especially since he was going to be a father. There was no way I’d take that away from Grant. Then there was Dominic. “Jason, is this really about me or is it about you? Is this your way of getting me all to yourself or keeping your record blemish-free so you can grow up to be a lawyer like your dad?”
“I’m doing this for you…for us!” Jason said, squeezing my hand, which I pulled out of his reach.
“For us? Are you saying that you’re going to be a witness too?”
“No, just you Miss Ross, that’s the deal,” Agent Phillips answered. I turned my head and focused my attention on the federal agent.
“What are the statistics for keeping witnesses alive once they make a deal like this?” I asked.
He regarded me with bloodshot eyes and was wearing the same gray suit with a cornflower blue tie as the last time I saw him. I briefly wondered if he had a whole closet full.
“Contrary to what you’ve probably been told, we actually have a one hundred percent success rate for WITSEC. It’s those who voluntarily leave the program and go back to their former lives that run the risk of being killed. People have a hard time adjusting to WITSEC because they have to leave their identity, family and friends behind.”
When I said I wanted to wipe the slate clean, I hadn’t meant like this.
“That’s interesting. Now, Agent Phillips, I had heard that Marco was murdered. Is it true there isn’t any evidence aside from bullets?” The last article I’d read online said the case was growing cold and that all the usual suspects had solid alibies.
His right eye twitched and I was surprised when he answered honestly and said there weren’t any leads or much evidence. This confirmed my suspicions that they were desperate for information. It also meant I could walk away and wasn’t backed into a corner.
“Mr. Fletcher, I’m going to pass on your offer because whatever information you think I have, I don’t. Besides, hypothetically, if I did have any information I sure as hell wouldn’t turn on my own brother.”
My statement silenced the room so I stood up and left the room. I sprinted upstairs to Jason’s bedroom. “Natalie, wait!” Jason called and his footsteps pounded on the hardwood floor behind me. Before I could shut the door, Jason was blocking it with his body.
“I don’t have anything to say to you,” I said as I threw my stuff in the overnight bag.
He stepped into the room, closing the door. He approached with his hands out like he was cautiously approaching an angry animal, which was fairly accurate. “Nat, I was only trying to help get you away from those people.”
“Those people?” I practically shrieked. “My brother is one of ‘those people’!”
“We can get him out too. Maybe?”
“There’s that ‘we’ again. You don’t seem to upset over the fact that if I did go with your father’s plan, that you wouldn’t see me again.”
“I’d be willing to make that sacrifice to keep you safe.”
“Oh please, you got scared. You know what, Jason? We’re done. I told you no cops and you went right to them. Did you think I was just going to roll over and show my belly? You don’t get to make decisions for me.” I angrily zipped my bag closed and flung it over my shoulder. Pushing past Jason, I left the bedroom. Agent Phillips was in the foyer with Jason’s dad and they both turned to look up as I thundered down the stairs.
“Miss Ross, there are still options for you,” Agent Phillips said, raising his hand as if to flag me down.
“Yes, this has been enlightening and my options are really clear now,” I said, not even stopping, as I bolted through the front door. I was so glad I’d driven last night and my red BMW sparkled in the sun like a beacon of hope. Within seconds, I was peeling out of the driveway, leaving behind a cloud of dust.
Chapter 40
It took close to forty-five minutes for me to get home and I cursed every asshole on the road. I checked my phone once I walked in the door and had a million texts from Jason. Okay, maybe that was an exaggeration, but there were a lot. Chelsea had texted me too since Jason seemed to go to her and Derek whenever we had issues. That just pissed me off even more. Some petty part of me wanted to be the one to tell my best friend first. After grabbing a diet Coke from the fridge, I dialed Chelsea and she answered immediately.
“So you heard already?” I asked.
“Yeah, I can understand why you’re upset.” I took a sip of soda, waiting for the “but”. It never came. “If I had known he was planning something like that, I’d have told him to stop. You would never do that to Grant, but what does an only child know about sibling loyalty?”
I smiled and sunk down on the futon, relieved that Chelsea had my back on this. She knew my relationship with Grant better than anyone else. “Thanks for understanding. I broke up with him.”
“Of course you did,” Chelsea said and she said it with a snarky tone.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It’s what you do, Nat. Things gets difficult and you run. Although, I will say you don’t have normal relationship issues.”
“Ya think?” I rolled my eyes.
“Jason was wrong and fucked up big time, so I’m not going to encourage you to work things out with him. I am going to tell you to chill and take some time for yourself. Live the single life for a while. It helped me become a stronger person. Now I know I can take care of myself and don’t have to depend on anyone. I don’t need Derek in my life, I want him in it.”
“Damn girl, when did you get to be so philosophical?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s from taking yoga?” she said with a snort.
“What are you doing today? Let’s get together for lunch.”
“I would love too, but Derek and I are looking at locations for our reception.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Why don’t you come with us?”
The last thing I wanted was to be the third wheel especially for a couple knee-deep in wedding plans so I declined. There was a voice in the background and I heard Chelsea cover her phone. “Hey, I have to go. Love ya!”
“Love you too.” I hung up, smiling. Talking to Chelsea had mellowed me out.
Since I had the afternoon to myself before having to head into work and face Jason, I went for a run and then spent the rest of the day shopping for a new sofa with the wad of cash from Gio secure in my wallet. Instead of buying a sofa, I saved money by getting a new mattress for the futon with a nice dark purple cover. Delivery arrangements were made for the following Monday and I left the furniture store all sorts of proud of myself. The futon frame didn’t need replacing so I saved money, leaving me extra cash to use towards my plane ticket.
When I pulled into the parking lot at Dirty, Jason’s BMW was noticeably absent. I had been prepared to be civil and professional…or to quit my job, but realized I didn’t have to do either. Callie was behind the bar, removing caps from all of the liquor bottles and wiping them down with a damp cloth. Her red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a black apron that was covered in dusty handprints.
“Hey Natalie, what’s going on with Jason?” she asked me when I walked in.
“Why, what did he say?”
“He called and quit over the phone - gave me some vague reason about family issues.” She set the cloth down and leaned against the counter. “Do you know anything?”
“He quit?” Feeling slightly relieved and deflated at the same time, I walked over and sat down on one of the stools across from Callie.
&
nbsp; She nodded and pushed away from the bar to get a cup of water. One thing I noticed about Callie is that she was constantly on the move and rarely stayed in one spot for long.
“We broke up this morning, but I didn’t think he’d quit. I’m sorry.”
“Please, it’s not your fault, but I’m sorry it didn’t work out between you two. Want to talk about it?”
I smiled at her and shook my head, looking past her to where Collin was setting up his area. She turned to look and gave me a knowing grin. “Well, if you need a private chat, come find me.”
“Thanks Callie.” I slid off the stool and left to go get ready for my shift. There was no way I was going to tell her how Jason tried to get me to turn myself in as a witness to the FBI. Not only did it sound ridiculous, but then she’d need to know more of the story. Chelsea and Derek were the only ones who knew the truth and it had to stay that way. If Grant, Dominic or even Victor found out what Jason had done, he’d be dead. I shook my head at the thought as I grabbed my tray and started taking drink orders.
The rest of the night was busy, lucrative and distracting - just what I needed.
***
As days went by, what surprised me the most about the break-up with Jason was that I wasn’t a weeping, hot mess. I missed him because he was a good friend, but I didn’t miss “relationship Jason”. His calls and texts, which I never responded to, stopped a few days after I left him and his legal dream team. I took Chelsea’s advice and focused on myself.
Chapter 41
PHILADELPHIA
DOMINIC
I met the realtor in front of the building. It was one of the first warm days of spring and the sidewalks were packed with people, mostly workers out for their lunch breaks heading to nearby restaurants and hot dog carts. There were a few cherry trees lining the street and they were in full bloom, loaded with light pink blossoms, a reminder of nature against the backdrop backdrop of commercial buildings. The realtor, a family friend of my dad’s, shook my hand, giving it an honest squeeze. Not one of those limp handshakes that makes me want to wipe my hand on my pants afterward.
“Dom, good to see you. How’s your dad?” Bill asked.
“He’s good. Busy with that casino project.”
“Oh I bet. Come on, let’s take a look. What are you thinking about putting in here?” Bill unlocked the glass door and held it open for me. I stepped inside the empty space. Aside from the door, two storefront windows that looked out onto Walnut Street provided ample natural lighting. Bill flipped a switch and the overhead fluorescent lights came on with a low hum. The space was one of several unfinished commercially zoned spaces on the first floor of a new condominium building. The ceilings were high and painted white like the walls, making the space appear larger than it actually was.
“If all goes well, this will be a gallery. How many square feet is this?”
“1,800 and we have another one that is 2,200 but it doesn’t face Walnut Street.”
“And this is $350,000 right?”
“Yes and you’d own the space. It’s not a lease option.”
I walked around, the soles of my boots scraping on the concrete floors. There was ample wall space, but my eyes were drawn to the windows and the amount of foot traffic passing by. Across the street a bistro and a coffee house were busy. The condo building itself was 90% sold. Putting a business in here was a no-brainer.
“I’ll take it, draw up the papers.”
“Cash as usual, I assume?” Bill asked.
“Of course,” I said and shook his hand. “Let’s do this.”
My next stop was St. Pius Elementary School a few blocks south of Broad Street in South Philly. I found parking across the street from the concrete and brick monstrosity. Upon seeing the school, I instantly flashed back to the day I was first punished by Sister Maria for getting in a fight with Tommy Santore on the playground. She had broken up the fight, descending upon us in her black suit like a dark bird, her hands held out like talons. She had correctly deduced I was the instigator so she dragged me to her classroom and forced me to clean every desk surface with bleach. I had to repeat the process at the end of the day after all of the other students had already boarded the buses and gone home. My eyes burned the rest of that night and the stench of bleach was stuck inside my nose for a week. My mom was pissed that I had ruined a school uniform. The navy pants had a torn knee and blood from my bloody nose had dripped onto the white shirt.
Sister Maria was now the principal and my generous donation to the school, that helped pay for field trips, paved the way for this meeting. I walked through the gray-blue doors into the main entrance. The school still smelled the same; a mixture of tater tots and crayons. I found my way to the administrative offices like it was yesterday that I attended school; the art work on the walls may have changed, but the layout was still the same.
When I entered Sister Maria’s office, she stood and walked around her desk, crossing the small room to shake my hand. She seemed genuinely pleased to see me, her smile replacing the scowl I was so familiar with when I was a student. With the exception of gray hair and a few wrinkles, she looked the same. It was slightly unnerving.
“Dominic, please have a seat,” she gestured toward two vinyl chairs facing her desk, which was covered with stacks of file folders and a large computer monitor that had to be at least ten years old.
Once we were both seated, Sister Maria didn’t waste any time with small chat. “Can you tell me why you’re interested in the particular position we spoke about? If you’re considering a career change, your background more than disqualifies you.”
“I know of someone who would be perfect, but she’s out of state right now. All I ask is that you hold off on hiring anyone until you meet her. She’ll be in the city in less than three weeks.”
Sister Maria regarded me from across the desk, her tapping fingers providing a rhythm for her contemplation. “Considering I haven’t even posted the position yet, I can wait,” she finally said.
“Excellent – thanks.” I stood up and prepared to leave.
“How did you find out about the job anyway?”
“I have my ways,” I said with a wink and left.
Everything was falling into place: the violence was slowing down and things were relatively calm, Marco loyalists had been dealt with, the feds seemed to have backed off, unless they were getting better at surveillance, and I’d lined up two enticing opportunities for Natalie. I only had to wait a couple of weeks to find out if either one would provide enough reason for her to stay.
Chapter 42
LOS ANGELES
NATALIE
It was the night before my flight back to Philadelphia and Chelsea was over helping me pack. Being the organization queen, she folded and rolled my clothes so they took up less space. Every time I went to add something she stopped me and refolded the item.
“I can pack myself, you know.” I said.
“Look at all the extra space you have now. Oh, you need to take these shoes!” She grabbed a pair of red stilettos that I had only worn once and it was for a special theme night at Crimson.
“Why do I need those?”
“Because they’re hot and they’d go great with that black and white dress we packed.”
“Is this why you wanted to help? So you can micro manage my outfits from afar?” I teased.
Chelsea feigned that she was hurt by gasping and dramatically placing her hand on her chest. I laughed at her and watched as she tucked the stilettos in a side pocket of the suitcase. I was truly grateful for her help since she was the one that got paid for her fashion sense. “That should do it,” she said and turned to me. Chelsea’s blonde hair was lighter from her time in the sun surfing with Derek and her usual fair skin had a golden hue, which was further accented by the ivory tank she wore. The glow was more than from the sun though; Chelsea exuded happiness.
“You’re happy, aren’t you Chels?”
My question surprised her and she frowned sl
ightly, biting her lower lip. “Yes, Nat, I am. Derek’s amazing and I love my job. The traffic here can suck it, but other than that I think I’ve found my place.” She smiled and her face lit up.
“I can tell. I’m so happy for you.” The tears snuck up on me and Chelsea pulled me into one of her bone crushing hugs. She rubbed my back and I held on tight.
“You’ll find your place, Nat.”
“I know and I’m not going to force or rush things. I’m good.” It was true. What a difference seven months made. I was no longer hiding out and looking over my shoulder. I also wasn’t dependent on anyone for help. I’d become a stronger more independent person and while I may not have found my place in the world yet, I was well on my way to finding myself.
“Good.” She gave me one final squeeze then let me go.
Chelsea left soon after that and I started getting ready for bed. Victor was taking me to the airport in the morning and I had to wake up early. Of course sleep was elusive as thoughts about what was waiting for me in Philadelphia kept my brain occupied.
The next day was sunny and clear, perfect for a trip. Victor arrived on time and loaded up my suitcase in the trunk of his Audi. The muscles on his back rippled underneath his t-shirt when he picked up my luggage.
“What the hell did you pack?” he asked.
“Are you saying I have a lot of baggage?” I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.
He grinned. “No, I’m thinking you’ve got a body in there.”
“You’re hilarious. I’m traveling across the country to attend a wedding. Of course I’m going to pack a lot of shit.”
“Your baggage fee is going to be insane.”
“I’ll deal with it.”
“So, are you ready?”
“Yes, I think so.”
Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2) Page 29