“It wasn’t Colm, okay? Fuck, it wasn’t Colm.”
I stopped. Phillies was crying, tears mixing with his bloody nose. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Answer fast.”
“A rich guy sent us,” he said. “I don’t know who he is, but he’s involved with Colm and them, man. He said he’d pay us five hundred each to sit on this corner and sell like usual. I didn’t know it was your fucking turf, man.”
“A rich guy,” I repeated slowly. “What’s this guy’s name?”
“I don’t know,” Phillies said, sobbing now. “Please don’t kill me.”
I stood up slowly and took a deep breath. I kicked Phillies in the ribs twice before I moved away from them. “I’m going to leave now,” I said. “I’ll roll past here in five minutes. If you’re still here, I’m going to kill you. Do you understand?”
“We get it,” Phillies said.
“Good.” I walked to Ash and grinned at her. She looked at me like I was some ravenous beast, and I couldn’t blame her. She’d probably never seen anything like that before in her pretty, sheltered life. I shoved the gun in my waistband, took her hand, and pulled her along behind me.
We hurried back to the truck. I started it up and rolled off. The guys were already on their feet and limping away, bleeding and broken, but alive at least. Lucky fuckers.
“What the hell was all that?” Ash asked, blinking at me rapidly. “You almost got killed.”
“Nah, wasn’t that close,” I said.
“The one had a gun. He shot at you.”
“Wasn’t a good shot,” I said, shrugging. “I handled it.”
“Gian,” she said. “That was totally insane.”
I smirked slightly and kept driving. Sirens blared not far away and I put distance between myself and the cops. I figured some neighbor heard the gunshot and called 911. Didn’t always happen, but sometimes.
“I know you’re new to this, but that’s how it has to go,” I said, watching the streets ahead of me. I was keyed up from the fight still though the adrenaline began to fade. The places where those guys hit me started to ache, and it hurt to take deep breaths. Probably had a broken rib. Those fuckers.
“You could’ve waited for backup,” she said. “You took them three on one.”
“I wanted to give them a chance.” I sighed and shook my head when she stared at me. “They’re going to go back to their crew and tell everyone how Gian himself showed up and beat the shit out of them. They’ll tell some story and make me sound like I’m invincible and the best fighter in the whole city. It was a risk, but it paid off.”
“For good publicity?” She gaped then laughed with a sharp edge.
“Winning these wars isn’t only about killing,” I said. “It’s about making the other side realize they can’t keep going, no matter what. Scaring them into thinking I’m invincible is a very good way to do it.” I pulled the truck over on a quiet neighborhood street after driving for a little while and shifted toward Ash. “That one guy told me something important though.”
“What?” she asked. “He sounded too scared to say anything real. I thought you were going to kill them.”
“I was,” I said, and meant it, although I realized I shouldn’t do that in front of her. Fighting them and winning was one thing, but murdering them in plain daylight while she watched was another. I’d have to be careful.
“Why didn’t you then?” she asked, unable to look at me.
“Because I think Stuart sent them.”
She looked at me sharply. I knew that’d get her attention. “How?” she asked. “What are you talking about?”
“The guy in the Phillies gear said a rich man paid them to work on that corner,” I said. “What rich guys hang around the Healy family?”
“Stuart doesn’t have any connections to them,” Ash said, but her lips pulled into a frown.
“Are you sure about that?” I asked. “Absolutely sure?”
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I don’t think so. His family runs a hedge fund. I mean, they’re rich. Why would they need to work with a mafia?”
“For a lot of reasons,” I said. “Money laundering. Protection rackets. Muscle. Drugs. Sex. Gambling. Lots of reasons to work with the mafia.”
She chewed her lip, thinking. Her fingers tugged at the hem of her shirt before shaking her head. “Is that what you do? Sex and drugs?”
“Mostly drugs,” I said, “though sex is on the table if you want it.”
She made a face. “I don’t think that was Stuart,” she said, sounding resolute.
“Then let’s talk to him and find out,” I said.
It was like I slapped her. She recoiled from me and looked like she wanted to get out and run. “Are you crazy?” she asked. “No, you definitely are crazy.”
I held up my hands then gently touched her shoulder. “It’s okay,” I said. “He won’t hurt you. Not with me around.”