Page 135 of Fish out of Water
“Julia.” This time it was louder. More urgent.
Then I was being pulled up, lifted off the gritty floor.
Held tight against something solid.
Warm.
Familiar.
“You scared the shit out of me, Jules.” Grant gripped me so tight it was hard to breathe. “What in the fuck happened?”
“Vito sucks.” It was the easiest way to sum up the evening’s events.
“He definitely does.” Elaine’s hand pressed to my face, resting against my cheek before moving to my forehead. “You handled yourself very well, honey.” She gave me a soft smile. “I couldn’t be more proud of you.”
I struggled to breathe around a sudden tightness in my throat. “Thanks.”
Elaine rested one hand on Grant’s shoulder. “Get her out of here.”
He glanced around the space that suddenly seemed much fuller than I remembered it. “You got this?”
Elaine’s smile widened. “This isn’t my first rodeo, son.”
Grant kept me close, tucking me into his side as I managed to make my feet propel me toward the open door. Sylvia was grinning as one of the men I remembered seeing at The Sweet Spot untaped her from the chair. “You might want to look for that one’s nuts. I’m pretty sure I knocked them into next week.”
Michael stood at one side of the open door, his hands folded together in front of him like he was standing at the front desk of The Sweet Spot. He tipped his head my way. “Ms. Murray. It’s lovely to see you again.”
“Thanks.” It was all I could manage given the circumstances.
Whatever they actually were.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Grant
“I’M SO SORRY, Grant.” My mother sat across from me in one of the back rooms of The Sweet Side. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
I rubbed my eyes. I was exhausted.
Relieved, but exhausted.
“It’s not your fault.” My grandmother sat at my side, an ice pack pressed to one side of her face. “It’s my dumbass brother’s fault.”
“We knew Vito was a liability. I should have taken him more seriously.” My mother’s mouth pinched tight as her eyes turned to where Julia sat at my other side. “How are you doing, dear?”
Julia was pale and her eyes were glassy. “I’m okay.”
“She’ll be fine.” My grandmother leaned forward to look at Julia with her good eye. “She’s a badass bitch.” She held a fist out Julia’s way.
Julia reached across to bump her knuckles against my grandmother’s, like the good sport she was.
“We need to start a club.” My grandmother was acting like she didn’t just get backhanded by a local thug who thought it was a good idea to try to extort one of the east coast’s best known retired crime bosses. “Sharon can be in it too.” She pointed at my mother. “Did you hear she decked that panty sniffer right in his face?”
“I did hear that.” My mother sat behind a desk in what looked a whole hell of a lot like an office. “I will be sure to send her a floral arrangement.”
My grandmother adjusted the ice on her face. “Make it a nice one. I’m pretty sure she peed her pants when Grant shot the panty sniffer in the head.”
Julia’s eyes rolled my way but she stayed silent.
