Antonio watched as I started pulling the rug around the body. When I got up toward his head, I glanced down at him, and I had to agree with DeLuca. It was a waste. He looked like a good kid who was just trying to make a name for himself, and I had no doubt that Antonio took advantage of it.
I finished wrapping him in the rug, then tied it off. He didn’t appear to be all that heavy, so I didn’t bother asking for help. I just knelt down and picked him up, rug and all, then tossed him over my shoulder. Without saying a word, I walked out of Antonio’s office and headed down to the van. A couple of his guards followed and were nice enough to open the back door, so I could put the body inside.
Once I was done, I headed back inside and back to Antonio’s office. While most of the blood was located on the rug, I still needed to do a full wipe-down and spray the area. When I got back upstairs, Antonio was waiting for me, and he looked just as disgruntled as he did when I first got there.
He had something on his mind, but I didn’t give a damn.
I could care less about what he had to say. I just wanted to get the job done and get the fuck out of there, so I grabbed my things from my bag and got busy with my wipe-down. I could feel Antonio watching me, and I couldn’t help but wonder if his odd behavior had something to do with Everleigh.
But that was impossible. I’d been careful. There was no way he could know that she was alive. It had to be something else. Antonio wasn’t the kind of man to keep his thoughts to himself, so I knew it was only a matter of time before he laid it all out.
With that in mind, I finished the job and put my equipment back in my duffle bag. Once I had it all put away, I removed my protective gear and shoved it back into my bag. I looked over to Antonio and said, “That should do it.”
“Good. I’ll follow you out.”
I could feel the tension radiating off of him as Antonio followed me out of the office and down the stairs. I kept expecting him to say something, but he remained silent as we made our way through the front door and out to my van. With him hovering over me, I threw my bag in the back, then turned to face Antonio.
This was the point of the night when he should’ve offered me payment for the job I’d done. Instead, he simply stood there holding the envelope in his hand as he stared at me like an arrogant prick. After several long moments, he finally said, “I’m going to let you in on a little secret.”
“Oh, and what’s that?”
“There’s a reason why I’ve been so successful in all of my endeavors.” His eyes grew intense as he said, “It’s because I know firsthand just how fragile trust can be. I know how difficult it can be to earn it. I also know that it doesn’t take much to lose it, and once you lose it, there’s no getting it back.”
“There a point you’re trying to make here?”
“Just want to make sure we’re on the same page.”
I had no doubt that there was more to it than that, but I was alone and in no position to get into a confrontation with Antonio DeLuca, especially when I was unarmed and his guards were just a few feet away. I gave him a nod. “Yeah, I’d say we’re on the same page.”
“Good. Glad to hear it.” His tone turned threatening as he motioned to the back door of the van. “’Cause I’d sure hate for you to end up like my friend here.”
“I think you best remember who I am and what I’m capable of.” I took a menacing step toward him, closing the gap between us as I warned, “I’m not a man you want to threaten, Antonio.Not now. Not ever.”
Without giving the asshole a chance to respond, I took the envelope from his hand, got in my van, and pulled out of his drive. On the way home, I thought about my odd encounter with DeLuca, and there was no doubt in my mind that there was something up with him. It could’ve been the fact that one of his own had betrayed him, or he truly was suspicious of me. I just had no idea what it was.
But there was one thing I did know for certain.
I’d done my last job for Antonio DeLuca.
When I got back to the house, I pulled around back and parked next to the basement entrance. I went inside and turned on the incinerator, then headed back to the van to retrieve the body. I’d opened the door and had just gotten a good grip on the rug when I heard, “Billy?”
I dropped the body, and when I stepped back, I found Everleigh standing in the dark just a few feet away. “What are you doing out here?”
“I was on the porch and saw you pull up.” She tucked her hair behind her ear as she leaned to the side and tried to get a better look at what I was doing. “I thought I would come and see if you needed a hand with anything.”
“Go back inside, Everleigh.”
“Why? What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Just do like I said andgo back inside.”
A wounded expression marked her beautiful face as she lowered her head and muttered, “I was just... Forget it.”
With a frustrated shake of her head, she turned and disappeared into the darkness. I’d upset her, but I didn’t have a choice. I had a job to finish, and I couldn’t do it with her around. I waited until I was certain she’d gone back inside, then I grabbed the body and tossed it over my shoulder. Once I’d unloaded it into the incinerator, I went back out and started on the van.
It took me some time, but I got it done. After I’d locked everything up, I headed upstairs. As I’d hoped, Everleigh was in her room, and the lights were out. I figured she was sleeping, so I tried to be quiet as I headed to my room and closed the door.
I was wiped and ready to call it a night, but the second my head hit the pillow, my mind drifted to Everleigh and the look on her face when I sent her inside. Seconds later, I was thinking about Antonio and our brief exchange. And before I knew it, I was back to thinking about Everleigh.