Page 89 of Eyes in the Shadows

That’s the kind of man who uses a cleaning service.

I hope I’m right about this.

Owen wears a large diamond stud in his ear. I reach down and tear it from his lobe, and the move jostles his head, but doesn’t wake him. As I come around the side of the building, I have to avoid a new, fresh pool of blood that I had nothing to do with.

There are only about a dozen cars in the lot, and most of them are low to mid-tier sedans that probably belong to staff. Of the cars left, it’s not hard to pick out which one belongs to Rossi—the pearly white Escalade with a license plate that reads KING J. I use the diamond to carve TRASH into his window, then leave the earring stuck into the front of the driver’s handle.

I head for the mustang. I left my keys in my coat pocket and my coat at the table. I can’t exactly walk back inside and ask if they found it. I’m rumpled, probably blood-splattered and I definitely look like I’ve been in a fight. But if I were a betting man, I’d bet on Dimitri every time. And I find the key fob on top of the back right tire.

It’s only when I’m sitting in front of the steering wheel that I finally take a full inhale, which my stomach protests heavily. But there’s no time to catalog injuries. I have to get back to my girl. She needs me. She’s probably terrified, confused…

I place the key in the ignition and my foot on the brake. Then, I stop.

My urgency and panic around Eleanor is clouding my judgment. Dimitri got Eleanor out and I’m sure by now she’s home safe. But my blood is pounding so loudly in my head and the need to get my hands on her—to prove to myself that she’s in one piece—is so overwhelming that I’m not thinking clearly.

I need to stay. I need to watch to make sure he takes the bait and finds his men—both to know if we’re going to have trouble with the police and if he takes it as the message it was intended to be. I need to follow his car back to where he’s staying, since he’s clearly not at his home.

Eleanor or the job. The job or Eleanor.

No. That’s the wrong way to think about this. The job is what is going to help Eleanor. It’s notor, it’sboth. I can’t protect her without finishing this.

I put the car in gear and ease out of the parking lot, driving straight across two lanes to park across the street at the edge of the pharmacy’s lot. From here, I’ll be able to see him exit the restaurant and follow him.

It plays out like a fucking movie scene. Rossi and the mayor exit the building, clapping each other on the back, and the mayor places the end of a cigar into his mouth to chew on. Once he reaches his door, Rossi goes still, his back to me as he stares down at his window. The mayor circles around, sees it, and tilts his head back to laugh.

I smirk at that. I’d been going for subtlety, the “could have been a mistress” approach, in the very slim chance I’d gotten the wrong car. I know Rossi recognizes the earring, though—he pockets it, instead of tossing it aside, and turns his head. With one more handshake and a firm pat on the shoulder accompanied by a conciliatory expression, the mayor saunters off, getting into the back of the car that stops at the entrance to pick him up.

Rossi watches him go, the lines of his shoulders taut. As soon as the dark SUV turns off the lot, Rossi turns on his heel and heads for the back of the building. He stops and peers into the window of a black coupe on his way and I make a note of the make and model. It’s probably Owen’s.

He disappears from my line of sight for about a minute and when he comes back around, he’s red-faced and talking on the phone. What I wouldn’t give for a bug right now.

I’ve got to follow this hunch. I start my car as Rossi gets into his and I speed dial Felix.

“Yo.”

“Felix. I need your help.”

There’s a laugh. “Another favor? You are suddenly very bad at your job,amigo.”

“It’s just information this time.”

“Knowing me is becoming very expensive for you.”

I roll my eyes and navigate out onto the main street, leaving a car between me and Rossi’s SUV. “Just let me know if you got a cleanup request at Rouge Elephant. I’m not asking who, I just want to knowifyou were called.”

Felix runs his mouth sometimes, but he doesn’t ask questions—not ones he expects answered, anyway. It’s why he’s still in business. But I can hear thecuriosity in his voice when he says, “You know I don’t give out information about clients.”

Fuck. This is not a good idea. I could just ask him to clean the scene for me, but knowing if Rossi asked him to do the same is worth more to me. It tells us a lot about his connections. It also tells me a little more about Felix himself. And I can’t stick around to see if his team is the one that shows—I won’t recognize them anyway and I’ll lose my chance to follow Rossi.

“I’ll… owe you one.”

There’s a long silence—that’s probably only a few seconds—and a low laugh. “No shit?”

I turn on the same street Rossi did. “One favor, something that doesn’t put me or mine in danger, you feel me?”

“Done. Okay, I got the call like 30 fucking seconds ago. A cold one and two for the ER. I’ve got guys there in about two minutes.”

“Thanks, Felix.”

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