Page 21 of A Dirty Business
“We’ll take her with us.”
Ashton never argued with what I proposed to her and for her friend, who I promised that we could get from the hospital if she wanted.
The friend was collected. Ashton’s family didn’t protest. They had not notified Nemah about her, so as far as he knew, she was gone to Dominic West. Nemah could bring it up to Stephano, but he wouldn’t because another silver lining about my uncle—he hated Nemah.
There was a strict order that if Nemah came into our territory, he’d be killed on sight. Made this even easier.
But it was the next day, the girls were taken to a hotel, and we left. Or we were supposed to leave. Ashton and I watched from our SUV across the road in another motel’s parking lot.
We saw the group arrive, the ones I’d reached out to. A few females slipped into the room.
Within minutes, they were all leaving.
They were fast and efficient, and they were good at their job.
They’d help those girls disappear. That was the point of their entire program, but they were not friendly to Ashton or me. Not as long as we were tied to our families. But I’d still approached, explained the situation, and they’d agreed as long as we weren’t around.
“If this gets back to either of our families ...,” Ashton started.
I gave him a look. “It won’t.”
Stephano would conclude that I’d had both girls “taken care of,” which was how the family business usually “took care of things.” He’d be satisfied.
He gave me a nod, sighing. “You ever actually consider not going into the family business? We both have cousins who aren’t involved. We could have that, you know. If we wanted it.”
Jesus. If that wasn’t the million-dollar question for both of us.
Stephano’s only remaining son had turned his back to the family business, and my uncle leaned toward the male-oriented way of thinking. My sister didn’t count and wasn’t considered to step in and take over. It was me and me alone to keep everything going.
Way I viewed things was tonotview things. That gave me ideas and options, and Stephano was my father in so many ways.
I couldn’t have those ideas or options.
I just shook my head. “We’ll cross that bridge when it comes, if it comes.”
He glanced my way, studied me. “And if it comes sooner than you think?”
I just held his gaze. “Then we decide then.”
He nodded. Like I knew he would.
That’s how we were.
CHAPTER TWELVE
JESS
I liked to think that I hadn’t thought about him, but that wasn’t true. I had, and I was still trying to suppress it, but he was always there. Always in the background. I felt like the idea of him was haunting me. I felt him touching me again at random times on Monday. Tuesday. By Wednesday it wasn’t going away.
If anything, it was worse.
I was heading to meet Kelly for lunch when I looked over.
A black SUV was there, parked on the side of the street, and I paused before opening the café’s door.
The SUV’s door opened.
I sucked in a breath of air because I was not expecting it, but he was there. And he was looking right at me.
