“Being a police officer is a job, sweetheart. It’s clear to everyone what you are to Bruno. You’re different. You’ve caged the beast. Done something no one else could ever do. That beast belongs to you now. He may not have done things the conventional way, but never doubt that he loves you.”
It dawns on me that she couldn’t be more right. Bruno might be this scary man that does what he wants, but the reality is that while he did take me, he sits in the palm of my hand. Something inside of me settles. She's right. I’m the only one who seems to have a concern with who anyone is. That’s the judgment I’m laying out.
“I love him,” I admit, wishing I’d said that before he left today.
“That’s all that really matters.” She leans down and kisses me on top of the head before she goes back to cleaning up.
It really is all that matters. Bruno loves me, and I don’t want to be anywhere but here. I go ahead and polish off the rest of my sandwich before I do a bit of exploring. The place is big, and there aren't a lot of personal touches around. Maybe I could change that.
Pikachu follows me through the house, meowing the whole way. He’s so persistent when he wants something. “Fine. We’ll go outside, but you’ll be a good boy,” I warn him. Letting him outside at home is way different from here. My place is so small that I always feel bad when he’s stuck in there all the time. Here, he has a giant house to roam around, but still he wants to go outside. Diva.
No one stops me when I open the front door and venture out. Pikachu darts ahead, chasing after a butterfly but missing it by a mile. I continue to walk down the long driveway. Pikachu is doing cat things but staying close by. I notice there is a gate that wraps around the front of the property.
I pause when I see something move. I take a step back, wondering if I should run back toward the house and tell Ali. I don’t want a repeat of the last time I was outside.
“Lucille,” a raspy voice I’d know anywhere calls out.
“Frederick!” I hurry the rest of the way down the driveaway. Old Man Frederick stands there with his hands in his jeans pockets, his revolver on his hip. “What are you doing here?”
“Me? You’re the one that’s been missing.”
Right. Oops. Forgot about that little detail. I guess I have some explaining to do.
“Sorry about that. I met a man, and he kind of swept me off my feet.” I shout, knowing Frederick has the worst hearing in the world. I have no idea how he’s still in charge.
“You’re telling me that Bruno Cavetti swept you off your feet?” He raises his overgrown gray eyebrows. “He’s a murdering drug dealer.”
Yikes. “Um, opposites attract?” I force a laugh.
“Not buying it. He got something on you?” He pushes as his gaze roams over the metal gate separating us.
“No, I’m in love.” I push right back. It would do no one any good for Frederick to be poking around here. He’s going to get himself hurt or worse.
“You know you can’t just take off. You have city property you need to hand over. Why don’t you come down to the station with me?”
I shake my head, stepping back from the gate.
“I’ll come by in a few days, Frederick. You need to go back home. This isn’t even your jurisdiction.”
“You’re my jurisdiction.” Frederick calling me his jurisdiction is not going to go over well with Bruno. Ever. “I’m worried about you. This isn’t like you, and I think you’re in trouble. Things aren’t right. I mean, you disappeared, and then not long after, one of the academy instructors went missing, too.” Frederick places his hand on the top of his revolver.
I’d be surprised if that thing still worked considering it probably hasn't been used in decades.
“Wait, who went missing?”
“Who you’ve been kissing?” He cocks his head to the side, trying to turn his ‘good’ ear toward me. “Well, I don’t rightly know.”
I shake my head. “Go home, Frederick. I’m fine.”
“I know you’re in danger. I can smell it.” He taps his gin-blossomed nose.
That’s probably his old-man aftershave, but I leave it alone. “Seriously, go back to town. I’m good out here. Bye!” I shout before I take off back toward the house.
I’m finally home. There is no going back now.
17
Bruno
I have Ali on the phone before I even get into my car to head back home. “Got your message. Are you fucking kidding me?”
Eighties hair band music plays in the background. “Boss, she was on the property. I was watching from a window so I wouldn’t be all up on her. Had eyes on her the whole time. The guy talked to her and left before I could get down to confront him. Then I followed him. He’s eating at an Applebee’s. Used his senior discount.”
“So let me get this straight. I’m gone for not even an hour, and you let a cop harass my woman?” I murder the steering wheel as I jet away from the restaurant.
“I know.” He groans. “Shit, he’s telling the waitress ‘If I were forty years younger…’ I have to go. He’s looking this way. I’ll stay on him.” He hangs up.
I want to chew him the fuck out. In fact, I want to fist fight him until he’s a bloody pulp like we used to do when we were younger. But at least he’s tailing the cop. And I suppose he did well by letting her have space. Fuck.
The drive home can’t go by quickly enough. I keep an eye out for any other cop cars, but it’s smooth sailing all the way back to my garage.
I hurry into the house.
“Where is she?” I ask Alice.
She points down the hall to my office.
My heart finally stops beating a goddamn banger in my chest as I realized she’s here, she’s safe. That’s all that matters.
When I walk into my office, she’s sitting at my computer, her eyes wide.
“A cop was here?” I ask it far more harshly than I intend to.
“Yeah.” She doesn’t tear her gaze from the screen. “You make so much money. So much. Drugs, real estate, more drugs, money laundering, illegal gambling, extorting politicians—where does it end? What else have you done?” Her voice shakes. “How bad does it get?”
“Love.” I walk around and pull her from the chair, then set her on the desk. “Listen to me.” I tilt her chin up so she’s looking right into my eyes. “I’m a bad man. I do terrible things. I prey on people’s vices and profit from them. It’s who I am. I can’t change that. But I swear to you, the true evils of this world—human trafficking, forcing women and children to do horrible things—I have never and will never do anything like that.”
“Do you swear?” Her eyes water.
I take her hand and place it over my heart. “I swear on my life, Love.”
She gives me a nod and blinks, a tear rolling down her cheek. I wipe it away and kiss the spot where it fell. The anger that burned me alive only moments ago has dropped to a lazy simmer. The moment I realized Love was upset, it’s like a switch flipped. All my emotion went straight to her, all my effort focused on slaying her demons, making her happy again.