Page 71 of The Woman in the Hollow
“Alright. I’ll head over there now. Want me to check out Hazel’s place too?”
“Fuck no.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s an invasion of privacy. And I’ve been to her place.”
“Not to look around.”
“What do you think you’ll find? She’s new in town. Didn’t seem to even know about the Family until yesterday.”
“Or she’s a good liar and she’s working with them.”
“And why would they hurt her?”
“She was turning on them? To sell it? Who the fuck knows. Just sayin’, it’s important to be open to all angles.”
“That’s not an angle I’m interested in investigating. At least not now. If something changes, I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good. I’ll get going then,” he said, draining the last of his coffee and leaving through the back door.
Alone, I answered all the calls from my brothers and boss before making the one I was dreading.
“I know you hate lockdowns, Ma,” I started.
“What? Oh. I don’t care about that. Is Hazel okay? Are you taking good care of her? Does she need anything?”
“Hazel’s fine. She’s asleep upstairs.”
“Inyourbed?”
“It’s the only bed in the house, Ma.” I closed my eyes and pinched between my brows. Only my mother would be curious if I was making a move on a woman who’d just been attacked.
“You know, I always love when one of you boys has to take a woman in. It just allows for a whole new level of intimacy right away. Emotional, I mean,” she rushed to add. “You learn so much about someone in a much shorter period of time. Is she very hurt?”
“She’s a little roughed up. It could have been a lot worse.”
“Thank God it’s not. She better not be lifting a finger.”
“I’ve already fed her,” I assured her.
“That’s the son I raised. And you’ll be keeping her there with you until the threat is over?” I could hear the silentAnd for the rest of your lives?
“Actually, I was thinking of sending her to stay with you.” No way in hell. I just wanted to get a rise out of her.
There were two full beats of silence. “Well, that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Well, I hear your sister and cousin will be staying with me. I have no room.”
“There’s my old room.”
“That’s, uh, set up for the kids.”
“What about Nino, Massimo, or Santo’s rooms?”
“They’re all… getting redecorated.”
