“Ziggy Stardust on a shower curtain?” I smile.
She draws the curtain back playfully. “Don’t even question my Bowie obsession. It will be a deal-breaker if you do.”
Climbing in the shower behind her, I watch her shampoo her gorgeous blonde locks for a moment before taking over and rubbing her scalp. She leans back. I can see the smile on her face from here. This feels nice.
“I never would’ve picked you for a David Bowie kind of girl.” I work her hair into a lather.
“And what does a Bowie kind of girl look like?”
She amuses me so much. “Not you. You look like a Celine Dion type of girl. Or maybe Lady Gaga.”
She peaks out at me between her dark lashes and grins. “Please! Don’t insult me. Lady Gaga maybe, but Celine Dion? Are you kidding me?”
I guide her head under the water and wash out the worked in shampoo. She smiles the whole time. It makes me smile. I could get used to this co-showering thing. I look down her body while she rinses the rest of the shampoo out. Yep, definitely could get used to this.
***
“I’ll wait until you’ve gone first and head out through the garage. Hopefully there aren’t any paps waiting for me out the back. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you over to work? Or at least you should get a cab today.” I slip my gloves on, now fully dressed.
She shakes her head. “No, I don’t care if they follow me. I have to meet with friends this morning. I meet with them every morning for breakfast … well, except for yesterday.”
She sheepishly closes the door on the spare room that has my shrine that she made. Despite her best efforts to keep it hidden, I know it’s there so I’ll just humour her and go along with the act of not taking notice. Pulling her coat on, she wraps a scarf around her neck. There’s my boring suit girl. I smile.
“Just call me if you need me to come and rescue you.” I pull her to me.
“You’d love that, wouldn’t you? I can handle the cameras, Pacer. I have a feeling this will all be over soon anyway.” She kisses my lips.
What are you up to, my honeybee?
“You’re up to something, and whatever it is, I’ll find out.” I have to warn her again. “There are a few things about the city that you just don’t understand. I don’t need you getting involved in something that could be dangerous. Leave that up to me.”
Her eyes search mine. “Tell me what’s going on, Pacer? What’s Jackson Reed got to do with all of this?”
I’m going to sort that asshole out before he comes after Chelsea. If he touches even a hair on her head, he will wish his death came fast.
I shake my head. “It’s nothing you need to worry about. Jackson Reed is bad, but his days are numbered.”
“Please be careful, Pacer. He has friends in such high places that even I won’t be able to help you if you get caught doing anything to him.”
Her words make me laugh. If only she knew the Jackson Reed I know—he has a lot of enemies in high places, too. I want to call a meeting with him today. This needs to be sorted before he gets out of hand.
“Okay, I’d better go.” She grabs her bag and sunglasses and stands at the front door.
“I’d really prefer it if you didn’t walk. Get a cab to your friends.”
She smiles and shakes her head. “It’s seriously just around the corner. I’ll be fine. They can take as many pictures as they want. Mick and Larry will love the attention. Don might have the shits though. He’s not much of a morning person. This could actually be pretty amusing.” She chuckles.
I’d be lying if I said the mention of these guys’ names didn’t make me a little possessive.
“Who are these guys? How do you know them?”
Her eyes narrow slightly as she smiles. “Pacer Fratelli, you sound jealous.”
My smile is hard to hide. I lean in and kiss her one last time. Slapping her on the ass as she leaves, I have one final playful stab. “Go. Enjoy your boyfriends.”
She giggles as she shuts the front door. I watch through a gap in the drawn curtain. Two photographers race to her, and she takes it all in her stride, talking and smiling as she walks. Watching her makes me less worried about how she’s going to be this morning. The last time I saw her with a face full of cameras I was in a fit of rage, so perhaps I underestimated her ability to handle all of this.
Checking for any looming paparazzi, I successfully make a quick exit out through the back garage.
***
Waiting at an old abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, I finish my cigar and watch the container ships load their cargo across the water through the gaps in the wall. A bang at the rear of the building turns my attention towards the sound.
Franco, Big Jim and Pete from the family flank Reed as he walks through the graffiti-covered space.
“What’s this all about, Fratelli? We had a deal.” His defiance is endless.
“Yes. We did have a deal, which you broke. Sit.” I point to the chair in front of me.
Now he starts to look concerned. “I have people on standby you know, Fratelli. The moment I go missing, they’ll come after you. Then you’ll feel the full force of the law. Everything will be exposed.”
Interesting. “Everything?”
Reed sinks into the seat, his eyes flicking between the three big guys that surround him.
I grab his throat and squeeze. Coming inches from his face, I speak. “I’m not going to kill you today, Reed. But if you stay in town, I will. Take some time off work and disappear. I’m giving you twenty-four hours to get your shit and leave town … for good.”
“You can’t threaten me like that.” His voice strains.
“I just did.” I watch his face turn red as I squeeze him tighter.
He holds onto my gloved hand, and his breathing splutters. I let go and step back.
He coughs and gasps. “I know every person you’ve knocked off. You’re a piece of shit, Fratelli. The whole city knows that. Have you seen your girlfriend’s old man yet? Word on the street is that he wants your trial brought forward so that you’re away from his daughter. A man like him won’t stop until you’re behind bars.”
I grab his throat again. This time I can’t control my anger and squeeze tighter. “You leave Chelsea and her family out of this. You hear me? I will fucking cut you into pieces if you so much as breathe a word to her.” His eyes begin to bulge. It excites me. “Get out of town, Reed. Or I will come after you.”
I force myself to let go just as his eyes glaze over and his consciousness slips.
“Take him back now, boys.” Big Jim and Pete pick him up and drag him out of the warehouse.
“Why don’t you just get rid of him now?” Franco hangs back to ask.
I shake my head. “I can’t. He would have the dogs after me the moment he goes missing. He needs to make his own way out of the city.” I shake my head. “Don’t worry. Once I’ve found all those missing documents, he’ll be gone.”
“What about Chelsea?”
I spin around and feel my temper flaring again. “What about Chelsea?”
My reaction to her name being mentioned makes Franco step back. “She may be able to get those documents for you. Then he can be gone.”
He just doesn’t get it. “She is not getting involved, Franco. Now drop it.”
“It was just a thought,” he says as he walks off to join the others.
It was just a thought—a thought that I keep asking myself about, over and over. But I don’t want to risk her getting involved. She’s a good girl. She comes from a different world, and doesn’t need my shit to cloud her judgement.
Once I find these documents that Reed has on me, he’ll be a dead man walking.
CHAPTER TWENTY