Crane was the fucker her ex owed money to. Some small-time outfit. Marco had someone scope them out earlier. Even before Lila boarded the bus to his city, he’d already sent Gino to where she lived. Gino had been shadowing her since she quit her job. He’d kept Crane and his goons from harassing her.
Lila didn’t need to know those details, however, at least not yet. The last thing Marco needed was Lila being spooked. She was already wary of him and yet he could see her warring emotions. She wanted him, too. He was an expert at reading body language. Lila wasn’t ready to admit the truth to him yet but she would soon.
“When John skipped town, Crane came over to my place and told me about John’s money problems. That John owes them ten grand and since they couldn’t get hold of John, they went to me. It didn’t seem to matter that John and I are broken up.” Lila looked and sounded tired.
All Marco wanted to do was stand up and pull her into a hug, except the last time he did that, she’d shoved him away. Besides, men like him didn’t normally offer comfort to anyone.
The thought of some low-life bastard knocking on her door and demanding money from a woman like Lila pissed him off. He wished he’d sent Gino earlier. Then again, if Crane hadn’t appeared at her door, Lila wouldn’t be back in his city, begging for his help. The dark, twisted part of him had wanted this to happen, for Lila to be in this position of weakness.
Otherwise, she never would have come to him, and he was a bastard. He’d take what fate landed at his doorstep. He’d accept this gift and in return, he’d make sure nothing ever happened to Lila again. Men like Crane would think twice before approaching her, what rightfully belonged to him.
She thought she understood what she was getting into, but she knew nothing about him or his plans for her, for them.
“Crane was persistent. Going to the cops was useless. I was desperate. Then the incident at work happened. Crane came to the dealership. I guessed he traded some words with Jim, my manager. That led to me getting fired. Jim said he didn’t want someone like me working there.”
“This Jim sounds like a real stellar character,” he said drily. Marco could send Gino there again. The old mafioso saw Lila as the daughter he’d never had and would be glad to teach this old manager of Lila’s a lesson in treating women.
“Jim’s old news. Crane’s the real problem. I can’t even contact John.”
Marco didn’t give two fucks about Lila’s ex, although he had someone looking into John Marsden. Seeing if that bastard left some kind of trail. Eventually, everyone did.
“You need protection,” he simply said. “You have it. This city is my playground. If Crane and his wannabe little gangbanger friends step foot here, they’re dead meat. You don’t need to worry about owing him money. That’s John’s problem, not yours.”
Marco wasn’t really worried about Crane and his buddies. They were walking dead men. So was Lila’s ex, John. They hurt his woman and they would pay for their mistake with their lives.
Lila looked visibly relieved at those words. “In return?”
“To use your words, I’ll cut to the chase. You know what I want, Lila.” Marco might have plenty of money at his disposal, but money couldn’t buy what he’d desperately wanted since setting his sights on her five years ago.
“Mr. Severin? May I have a word?” a new voice interrupted.
Marco glanced at that familiar voice, irritated. Both Sal and Dario rose from their seats and blocked the speaker’s path.
“I’m the chief of police. Let me through,” Chief Miller grumbled.
The policeman had two other uniforms with him. Seeing the trio gave him a headache. Marco was tempted to tell Miller to fuck off, but then he remembered his father Giovanni’s advice about working with the police.
The police were in their pocket, but their working relationship was a mutual one. Still, Marco had already told them about a large incoming shipment of cocaine from the Bratva, their competition. They had the exact time, date, and location. All Miller had to do was handle a few arrests and earn a medal from the mayor in the process.
“Chief Miller, I’ll speak to you once this private conversation is over,” he said.
Miller and he had worked for years together now and the copper was wise enough to understand his tone of voice. Miller stopped pushing against Sal and Dario and left with his two men, looking unhappy as hell. Marco could feel his cell phone vibrating in his pocket. Must be connected to the reason why Miller approached him.
Marco really should handle this. Lila wasn’t going anywhere. He had her where he wanted. Still, he didn’t like the fact Miller and those two other cops had seen her. What did it matter? Marco realized more people would be seeing her with him either way.
“You must be busy,” Lila said. “I don’t want to take any more of your time.”
All Marco wanted to do was spend the entire day with her.
“There’s some business I need to take care of.” He sounded pissed to his own ears. Marco normally had better control over his emotions than this but it was good finally seeing and speaking to her. “But I’ll see you tonight at seven.”
“Seven?” Lila sounded confused.
“Our agreement starts now,” Marco said, rising to his feet.
“You’re asking me out on a date?” she blurted, standing as well.
“A date? Sure. If that’s what you want to call it.”