Page 6 of Maid of Dishonor
4
VERONICA
With some more instructions over the police radio, the officer that arrested us drives us around a bit before letting us go. He mumbles some half-hearted apology when he takes off the handcuffs.
“Can I go now?” I ask, rubbing my rough wrists from where the metal bit into my skin.
The officer looks from me to Dean, like he’s the one that gets to decide the fate of the rest of my evening.
“I’ll take it from here,” Dean says to him.
The officer nods and circles back around the police car, and drives off. Neither of us says anything until we both see him turn the corner. A part of me is still processing what's just happened. I was just handcuffed in the back seat of a cop car, and now I'm standing on some street off the Strip, free to go. The juxtaposition of this evening is giving me whiplash.
"Well, I'd say this was fun, but unless I get to slap you in the balls as retaliation, I think our time together is over."
Much to my annoyance, he chuckles and falls into step with me as I attempt to put some space between the two of us.
“I can’t let you go.”
I stop and turn to face him. “Sure you can. I’m going to head back to the club and make sure my friends are okay.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “My people are taking care of everyone in the club. I can’t let you go back in case the guys from my crew are still lingering around. They’ll start to ask questions if they see you. You are supposed to be on your way to get booked for assault.”
“Which you started,” I snap.
“I’m sorry about that, truly. If I could have thought of any other way to get arrested quickly without drawing suspicion on my cover, I would have.”
“This isn’t how I pictured my night going.”
"I know." He runs his fingers through his dark hair, and I don't miss how the movement makes his shirt tug against the hard muscles in his chest.
“What am I supposed to do if I can’t go back to the club?”
“We need a place to lay low. I can’t take the chance that one of Gio’s crew will see me out walking around when I should be locked up for the evening.”
“Who’s Gio?”
"He's—" Dean stops like he isn't sure that he should tell me.
“You said yourself you pulled me into this. You can’t expect to leave me in the dark.”
He doesn't say anything as his intense stare studies my face like he's looking for some reason not to tell me what's going on. But I'm not going to back down. I'm not some shrinking violet. I'm the daughter of Declan Mahoney, and in the circles back home, that means something to a particular type of person. Dean and my father may have been on opposite sides of the law, but I've toed the line between both worlds. I'm not going to stand by and take the word of a stranger. My father taught me to be smarter than that.
Dean sighs like he's resigned himself to explaining everything to me—at least what I need to know in this situation. He explains that Gio is the leader of a criminal organization that’s been running drugs and money through Vegas.
“I can’t tell you any more than that,” he finishes.
“Why not?”
“Because despite what you may think of me based on my actions tonight, I want to keep you safe. And telling you any more could put you in danger.”
“You probably be in trouble for telling me what you already did,” I say. When Dean doesn’t answer, I take his silence as an affirmative and decide not to push it. “So, you said we needed a place to hide out?”
DEAN
I don’t like the idea of heading back towards the Strip, but that’s where Veronica’s hotel is located. It’s a perfect place to lay low until enough time has passed until I can catch up with Frankie and Lorenzo.
Reaching for Veronica's hand, she tries to pull away from me, but I don't let her. I tug her close, and her body bounces against mine. I loop my other arm around her to keep her from trying to get away.
