Page 94 of The Demons We Hide

“Wait a second.” Nolan pulls his pack back out and retrieves another cigarette. “I wanted to let you know since you were coming here, but I got a call from Savino."

I go still, my fingers on the steering wheel and gear shift tighter than ever before. “And?” I prompt him as he shoves the new cig between his lips and lights up.

Inhaling deeply and blowing out a long tendril of smoke, Nolan sighs. “Darrio is still out of town, but he wants me to head back to Eastpoint soon. His contact wants another meeting.”

“We have a game Friday night,” I say, as if I have to remind him of the fact.

“I know.” He sucks down another lungful of cancer, the bright end of his cigarette glowing slightly in the dark. “I’ll leave after,” he says. “I need you to take Juliet for the weekend.”

The request is a no brainer. "Done. Anything else?"

Nolan eyes me. "Don't stir shit up that I can't fix," is all he says.

I dip my head in acquiescence and back up out of the driveway. As I hit the highway, I dial Gio and request his presence as I prepare to find out what the fuck is going on under Ma-Ri's roof.

"I'll meet you there," Gio says, pausing for a beat. "Don't do anything we'll all regret."

My response is a grunt and then I hang up. Minutes later, I pull into the parking lot and jerk to a halt, shutting off the engine in front of the back door. Inside, the absence of sound makes everything else so much louder. There is no music playing over the club speakers, no conversation, no sound of feet shuffling, of anything.

I reach Ma-Ri's office and scowl at the man sitting across from her desk, looking for all the world like a greasy rat, waiting for his crown. He turns and glances back at me. Savino. And I know—I don't know how—but I fucking know, he has something to do with this.

* * *

GIO

I answer the call on the second ring, and Lex's voice fills my car as I put it on speaker and stuff it into the center console. "I need you to meet me at the Dionysus Lounge," he states.

"Okay," I say, frowning down at the cell before I take the turn away from home and back towards the highway. "Why?"

"Juliet was fired."

The rusted-out minivan in front of me slams on their breaks so fast that I nearly clip them. With a curse, I brake and veer to the shoulder of the road, but no sooner have I done so than they've sped up and switched lanes. Fucking dicks. Then, Lex's words come back to me.

"Wait, what?" My brow puckers. "Why the hell would Ma-Ri fire her? Did something happen?"

"Not according to Jules," Lex replies. "She was called into the office and let go." He pauses, one of those tense silences hanging in the air between us that tells me there's more. Lex doesn't disappoint. "Jules said that Ma-Ri tried to give her five thousand as severance pay."

Motherfucker.I hiss through my teeth and take the next exit leading onto the interstate, jamming my foot against the accelerator. "That's not severance pay," I snap. "That's fucking hush money."

"My thoughts exactly." Lex's tone is cold, and I urge the Firebird to go faster. There's no telling what he'll do if he reaches the damn club before I do.

"I'll meet you there, don't..." I suck in a breath. "Don't do anything we'll all regret."

Lex makes a noncommittal sound, but I pray to the god my Mama believes in that he'll keep himself at bay. At least until I'm there to stop him. He hangs up in the next second without so much as a goodbye, and I curse.

Just under twenty minutes later, after speeding around a few semis, I jerk the wheel into the half hidden back parking lot of the Dionysus Lounge and cut off the engine. Lex's SUV is pulled up almost directly in front of the back door and I hurriedly jog towards it, not at all surprised to find him not in the cab. I head inside, and the moment the back door swings shut behind me and I'm cast into darkness, I hear them.

Grunting, angry curses and threats. I break into a jog, growling as I come around the corner and find that Lex has a familiar figure plastered to the wall opposite of Ma-Ri's open office. The older woman stands in the doorway, watching the two of them with a creased expression. She looks both resigned and tired.

"Auntie." Her head whips in my direction as I approach.

"Oh, thank God," she mutters before gesturing to where Lex has my father's right hand man practically dangling from his throat off the ground and against the wood paneled wall. "Do something about them."

A bubble of amusement bursts in my chest. A tiny thing, Ma-Ri is, and yet she can't help but make her demands with that expectant air. Then again, she has to know that this is why I'm here—to rein in our, otherwise, too psychotic friend who will no doubt take apart anyone who threatens Juliet.

"Lex." I slide closer, but he doesn't turn around.

Savino catches sight of me over Lex's shoulder and starts struggling anew, emitting a litany of Italian curses. Much to my father's disgust, I've never really taken much with his side and prefer my mother's Spanish. So, although I'm sure he's demanding things and directing some of his vitriol my way, I only understand every few words.

---