“Mom, calm down, we’ll figure it out.” For a moment, my problems seem less important. I knew things weren’t good; I knew they had debts, but not this. Not losing the house in a week. “You should have told me sooner,” I say, fighting back tears. “But it’s just money. We’ll figure it out.”

  “Oh, Esme, I’m sorry, I saw you called, and I just got the final notice...I think I was just pretending it wouldn’t happen. There would be some miracle. You say it’s going to be all right, but it’s not. I don’t have this kind of money.”

  “How much do you need to save the house?”

  “Too much.” She chokes out a laugh, and I can hear that it’s mixed with a sob.

  “How much?”

  “To save the house, we need to buy it back from the county at this point. It’s gone into foreclosure sale. We had four months to buy it back, but time is up. It’s two hundred and eighty thousand dollars. That’s the minimum payment. With all the medical debt and other past-due bills, I don’t know. It’s probably around seven hundred thousand by now. With no insurance, it could be a million by the end of the year. We are in a hole we can’t crawl out of, and it just keeps getting deeper. Besides that, now that there’s no insurance money, they are going to move your father out to a Medicaid-run home. He won’t get any of the therapy, he’ll just sit there. He’ll never get better.”

  “We’ll figure it out, Mom. Please, don’t cry.”

  “It’s so much money, there’s no way. I’m going to claim bankruptcy, but it’s too late to save the house.”

  “Just...don’t worry about that. Mom, I have to go. I’ll call you back. Just don’t give up.”

  “I love you, baby. I’m so sorry.”

  “I love you, too, Mom.”

  I end the call, and my heart is in my throat. I’m an unpaid intern living on the savings from a waitressing job. How can I possibly find that kind of money?

  I choke back the tears, trying to focus on what I need to do right now—which is to get as far away from Vito Vitaglia as possible.

  As I start dialing the number for A2B Taxis, I look over and notice a guy sitting in an open-top sports car just at the corner of the restaurant parking lot where I’m standing, staring at me.

  When he climbs out and starts to wander my way, I figure he’s going to ask me for a light or why I’m standing behind the restaurant with no shoes on, but instead, he meets my eyes and pulls his lips to one side looking concerned.

  “You okay?” he starts as I swipe away the tears running down my cheeks. Before I can answer, he adds, “Hey, I know you.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t think so.”

  He smiles, and it’s genuine when I expect it to be creepy. “Yes, I do, but you don’t know me. You’re Esme.” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Malcolm Fideri. I work with Vito. I saw a photo of you on Vito’s phone, but it’s good to meet you in the flesh. Hey, I’m so sorry, but I overheard you talking—”

  “Leave me the fuck alone!” I scream as I step back, throwing my arms up between us like they’re some sort of force field. My mind is spinning.

  “Hey. I’m not going to—”

  “You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Just get back, or I swear to God...”

  He throws his arms up. “Okay, okay, this is me stepping back. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m trying to help. I can help you. Vito can help you.”

  “I don’t want your help.” I turn and glance down the road. There’s a cab, and I stick my arm out, but it drives right past. “Damn it.” Turning back to the parking lot, I see Malcolm disappearing inside the back door of the restaurant, and I know where he’s going. I need to get out of here.

  Running in my bare feet isn’t much better than running in the heels.

  I just have to hope a cab comes along before it’s too late.

  11

  Vito

  “VITO, I NEED A WORD.” Malcolm leans down close to me at the table, and I turn his way, lowering my voice.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Just wanted you to have a friendly face nearby.” He glances around the table, smiling at Salvatore. “Besides, I’m hungry.”

  Salvatore laughs. “Hey, Malcolm, you know if you want to join the winning team there’s always a place at my table for a man of your...specific talents.”

  Malcolm shoots him a look but doesn’t respond. There’s no love lost between the two of them. “It’s Esme,” he says, quiet enough that only I can hear it.

  My hackles go up. “What about her?”

  “She’s was out in the back parking lot. I overheard her on the phone. It sounded bad. Sounded like family.”

  “What the fuck? Why didn’t she come in? Why didn’t you bring her in here to me? Why the fuck didn’t Hamilton let me know they were on their way?” Something feels wrong, and I need to get out of here.

  I scribble my signature on the handwritten paper in front of me, no longer caring if I could have negotiated something better. It’s not exactly a contract, but it’s as close as they come in my line of work. The courts may not think much of it, but the crime families will honor it to the end of their bloodlines.

  “I have to go. Sal, that concludes our business.”

  I was pissed already when Sal and I were halfway through with our chat and the two girls showed up and he let them sit down. Good thing we were done with our discussion, a signature and a handshake all that was left to do, but still. It was fucking disrespectful, and I know he was trying to throw his new business in my face.

  I turn to Malcolm, and he steps back when he sees the look in my eyes.

  “Hey, I tried, you know? She started screaming for me to stay away from her. What was I supposed to do?”

  A waiter walks up behind him holding a pair of shoes and a heel that’s broken off one of them. They’re the same heels I bought for Esme that she had on this morning.

  “Mr. Vitaglia? Sir, sorry, I think your lady friend dropped these. She seemed in quite a state—”

  “What the fuck?” I think I’m losing it. “Why the hell didn’t you bring this to me before?”

  “I—I—didn’t know what to do, sir. You were busy, and she told me not to tell you she was here—”

  “Fuck.”

  Something’s very wrong. I can feel it. Malcolm isn’t exactly a saint, but nor is he a monster, and he doesn’t look like one. For Esme to be scared of him means she’s scared of me, and the fact that she’s at this restaurant but told the waiter not to let me know says I’ve done something wrong.

  I grab my copy of the agreement off the table, foregoing the handshake and giving Salvatore a death glare. I scrunch the paper in my hand as I rush out through the kitchens toward the parking lot with Malcolm on my heels.

  Esme works for the DA. I’m not exactly the poster child for a law-abiding citizen. Maybe when she got to work today, she did some digging. Found out things...

  Fuck. I’m not losing her. I’ll turn my life upside down if need be, but she’s not getting away from me, especially after last night. My baby could be inside her right now. She’s bound to me, and I will figure out how to fix this.

  Outside, there’s no sign of Esme. “Fuck!” I grunt out, then turn to Malcolm. “Was she here? Right here?”

  “Yeah, she was trying to hail a cab.” He points toward the street. “Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

  I step out into the road and see a cab disappearing around the corner. It’s busy, and there are hundreds of cabs around here, but something tells me it’s her. As crazy as it sounds, it’s like I can feel her heartbeat from here—like we’re connected on some other level.

  “Go over to her place, wait for me there. If Esme turns up, don’t fucking let her leave.”

  I give Malcolm the address, and he doesn’t say a word before jumping back into his car. It's closer than mine, so he’s the first out of the parking lot. I’m only a split second behind as I tear out of there in my Suburban, ignoring the blare of horns as I join the traffic and speed down the road, cutting across the sidewalk as I take the corner.

  The traffic isn’t light, but I can see the cab a few hundred yards down the road. I weave around some cars traveling way too slow and then cut off another, hearing the screaming horn as I put my foot down. As I pull up behind her cab, I flash my lights and lean on the horn, then push forward, getting up close. I can see someone in the back of the cab, and when they turn around to see who’s behind, it’s like a weight is lifted.

  It’s her. It’s Esme.

  She tries to wave me off, but I shake my head and mouth that I’m not going anywhere. Esme looks furious, but she’s not getting rid of me that easily. I call her, but after one ring it goes straight to voicemail—either she has it turned off, or more likely she rejected my call.

  A second later, she holds up a sign to the back window. “Leave me ALONE. I know!” It’s written in her trademark red lipstick on the drawing pad she picked out yesterday. Even now, the thought of that red lipstick smeared down the shaft of my cock as she sucks me off flashes through my mind.

  I’m a fucking monster.

  I shake my head, then hold my hand up to my ear in the shape of a phone. A second later, I try calling her again, and this time she answers, but there’s fury in her voice.

  “Leave. Me. Alone.” Her voice slices through the silence inside the car on the speaker.

  “No fucking way, Bambina. I can’t. I’d rather die than live another day without you.”

  She chokes out a laugh. “Yeah, or maybe you’d rather I die instead, huh?”

  “What are you talking about? Has someone threatened you, Esme? Because if they have, they just breathed their last breath and they don’t even know it. I will chase them down in a heartbeat and break every fucking bone in their body.”

  “Sure. I saw you, Vito. I saw you with that guy from my interview the other night...never mind, doesn’t matter, I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want to think about the two of you comparing notes and—”

  I slam my fists on the steering wheel in a rage. Fucking Salvatore. I should have put it together, but she said she went to a restaurant to interview, not a seedy office in the back of a warehouse. Still, I should have asked more questions.

  The cab speeds up to get through traffic lights before they change to red, and I follow suit, running through the next light, but I don’t care. I’m not losing her.

  “Don’t act like you don’t know, Vito. You, him, Nadine, that guy from your house yesterday. You all looked pretty damn cozy. Nadine said it was just going to be a hostess job, but of course, all of you were planning to draw me in from the start, weren’t you? So was I just another girl, or did you look for me specifically? Did I fit some sick bastard’s requirements or—”

  “Esme, I didn’t have anything to do with any of this. We used to be in business together. Used to. I severed ties with him as soon as he said he was going to start running girls. I always said that was my line, and he agreed for a long time. As soon as he broke that pact, I called off our arrangement. We were finalizing things, that’s all.”

  “Sure, of course, you did, I’m really that gullible.”

  I grab the handwritten agreement off the seat beside me and slap it against the windshield. “This is an agreement. It’s a kind of contract between Salvatore and me. It says that I give up all claim to his parts of the business and he gives up any claim to mine. We’ve parted ways, Esme. That’s what that meeting was about. We settled everything. I don’t know those girls. Truth is, I was fucking pissed when they showed up and sat down. Fucking Sal disrespecting me is what that was, as his final fuck you.”

  She laughs. “This was all too good to be true. You had your fun with the stupid, naïve girl.”

  I let out a low growl. Fucking Salvatore. I don’t understand how he’s fallen so far so quickly.

  Once upon a time, we were childhood friends, and he was a decent man. Neither of us was always on the right side of the law, but we still had a code.

  I sigh, gripping the steering wheel with my left hand as I take the note down off the windscreen and drop it back on the seat, then meet Esme’s eyes. “Stop the goddamn cab and come back here and read it for yourself. Then decide.”

  12

  Esme

  “SURE, SO YOU CAN kidnap me. Is that part of your work?” I shake my head. “No, thanks.”

  “Do you really think I’d do that? Look at me, Esme, tell me what you really think.”

  I meet Vito’s eyes, and even with the space between the two vehicles, my heart melts. He’s so strong, but I can see the pain in his eyes.

  “Please read the note, Esme.”

  I let out a sigh. “Fine.” Hanging up without another word, I turn to the driver. “Stop the car, please.”

  “Are you crazy, lady? If I stop now, that guy’s going to run right into the back of us.”

  “No, he won’t. Just stop the car.”

  “If he runs into my cab—”

  “Stop being such a drama queen and stop the car!”

  He grunts, but I feel him tap the brakes, and Vito falls back behind us. A few moments later the cab driver stops, and I jump out.

  “Hey!” he shouts. “You gotta pay me!”

  “One sec. I’ll be right back, please just wait. I’ll pay you, just wait...” He rolls his eyes, throwing up his hands, but puts the cab in park at the curb. I don’t want him to leave because I’m sure I’ll be back in the cab and on my way in a minute.

  I march back to the Suburban and climb in beside Vito. He thrusts the handwritten note at me, and I start reading.

  The note says that he and Salvatore agree that neither has any claim on the other’s businesses, nor will they be liable for any bad debts or legal problems. It’s a clean break without prejudice or bad blood between their families.

  He was telling the truth.

  I pinch the bridge of my nose as I finish reading what’s written there. “Is this real?”

  “Of course it is, Bambina. I wouldn’t ever lie to you.”

  I nod. “Well, I’m glad you’re not who I was beginning to think you were. You seemed like a good man, and this whole fairy tale has been amazing. But it’s really just fantasy. I have a real life and people who depend on me. I work for the DA; you and I...we just don’t fit, and besides, I have things I have to deal with right now, and whatever this was between us...” I shake my head. “I don’t know, it’s just not the right time, I guess. Different worlds we live in.”

  The reality of that statement hits me hard. My mom and dad need me, and I have no idea how to help, but I do know I will do everything I can to try, including quitting my internship and moving back home... I’ll have to take any job I can. It might be too little too late, but I have to try. After everything else, they can’t lose their home. I won't let it happen.

  “I know that someone you care about is having money problems. That guy you met at the restaurant? His name’s Malcolm, and he’s a friend. He told me about your phone call.”

  “My mom,” I say, nodding. “The medical bills have just been piling up. Now they are losing the house.”

  “Your mom’s sick?”

  “No. My dad. He broke his back. He used to be her rock, used to always be able to pay his way, but then he had an accident. My mom used up all their savings, took out a second mortgage on the house. Now they owe so much they're on the verge of losing everything. On top of that, Dad’s still getting treatment at a rehab facility, but he’s being kicked out. The foreclosure is nearly done.” I shake my head. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, it’s not your problem.”

  “Yes, it is.” Vito taps at his phone. “How much do they need?”

  I choke out a laugh. “It’s too much.”

  The phone starts ringing on the car’s speakers as Vito turns to me. “This is your family, and that makes them my family. I’ve never had anything to use my money for that I really cared about until now. It’s just piling up in bank accounts and safes.”

  There’s a click, and an English-accented voice sounds over the speakers. “Vito, unusual to hear from you outside our scheduled meetings. What can I do for you?”

  “Hi, Andy, I’ve got someone with me. I need you to make a draw from the Cayman account.” Vito turns to me. “Andy is my accountant. Tell me how much you need.”

  I hesitate. It’s sweet that he wants to help, but when I tell him how much my mom owes, he’s going to tell me he can’t help. But when he takes my hand and nods encouragingly, something makes me blurt out the truth. “Seven hundred thousand,” I mutter, bracing myself for what comes next. “Almost three hundred thousand this week, or she loses the house.”

  Vito doesn’t blink. “Did you hear that, Andy?”

  “Sure. Seven hundred thousand dollars from the cash account. No problem, consider it done. Who shall I pay it to?”

  “Pay it to Esme...” A smile plays on Vito’s lips. “I still don’t know your last name.”

  I hear my voice as if from a distance, barely able to believe what’s happening. “Tremaine. It’s Tremaine.” My voice catches in my throat, and I realize I’m crying. “But don’t...I don’t want the money. Pay it to Elizabeth Tremaine, that’s my mom.” I give him the address of my mom’s house over the speakerphone.

  “Okay. She’ll have the money by the end of today. Is that all you needed, Vito?”

  “Could you also look up the best facility in the country for physiotherapy and make inquiries about transferring a patient as soon as possible? I’ll be paying for the treatment, as well as a rental close by for Esme’s mom. And set up an account in her name with another five hundred thousand to start, then we will go from there.”

  “Of course. No problem. I’ll get on it now.”

  There’s a click, and the line cuts off, and Vito and I are left alone again.