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“Come on,” she slurs. She’s so drunk it’s a miracle she’s able to keep her balance. “Let your mamma in.”
Tyrone’s door opens, and when he sees Mandy, his features tighten with anger. “Enough, Mandy. Go find somewhere else to sleep.”
“Shut up! Some of us are trying to sleep,” Mrs. Wendall shouts from the end of the hallway.
“You shut up,” Mandy yells back at her before she gives me a dazed smile. “I’m visiting my pretty daughter.”
Having had enough, I grab hold of Mandy’s arm and drag her down the stairs so I can throw her out of the building.
“Hey, hey, hey,” she slurs while struggling to keep up with me. “Be a good kid and let your mamma crash on the couch. It’s cold outside.”
I pull Mandy out onto the sidewalk and almost have a heart attack when I see Junior, one of Frankie’s men, parked in front of the entrance.
Shit.
Is he here because Tyrone mouthed off to Frankie?
Junior climbs out of his car and scowls at Mandy and me.
My stomach churns, and my muscles tense up with fear. Mandy, on the other hand, takes one look at the gangster, yanks free from my hold, then runs away like the coward she is.
Shivering from the cold, I wrap my arms around myself, while keeping my eyes on Junior.
Knowing words won’t stop him, I still say, “We’re not looking for any trouble.”
“Just keeping the apartment safe,” he mutters. “It’s cold out here, ma’am. Go back inside.”
What. The. Hell?
Did he just call me ma’am?
With my jaw dropped open, I stare at the dangerous gangster.
Stunned, I stumble over the single word. “W-why?”
“Just taking care of our people.” He jerks his chin toward the entrance. “Go.”
Since when does Frankie’s gang care about ‘our people’?
Confused as hell, I keep glancing at Junior as I walk back into the building. When I reach the third floor, Tyrone’s still standing by his open door.
“So, something weird just happened,” I say. “Junior is parked out front, saying he’s keeping the place safe because he’s,” I make quotation marks in the air with my fingers, “Just taking care of our people.”
A dark frown forms on Tyrone’s forehead. “What are the motherfuckers up to?”
“Beats me.” I walk to my front door. “Mandy took off running when she saw Junior. I don’t think she’ll risk coming back tonight.”
“Thank you, Jesus, for small mercies,” Tyrone mutters. He gives me a chin lift. “Go back to bed.”
“Don’t confront Junior,” I say while giving him a serious look.
“Yeah-yeah.”
I wait until Tyrone shuts his front door before I go back into my apartment. Locking up behind me, I rush back to bed and quickly kick off my sneakers. I dive beneath the covers and curl into a ball so I can warm up again.
Within seconds, my thoughts are consumed by Dario again, and with the memory of him kissing me, I drift off to sleep.
Chapter 15
