AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She immediately nodded in understanding. “Of course.” She smiled kindly, then pointed towards the back of the store. “There’s a restroom for customers in the far back right corner.”
“Thank you so much,” I replied, blood rushing through my ears, my hands beginning to sweat.
“Not a problem,” she replied.
Moving out of the way, I turned back towards Constantine. “I need to visit the restroom really quickly,” I said. “I’m sure that I needn’t explain.”
He grimaced a bit. “Of course.”
I did my best to control my breathing as Constantine followed me towards the restrooms, and when I opened the door to the women’s facilities, I had to immediately school my features when I saw what I’d been looking for.
A window.
Turning towards Constantine, I said, “Just give me a…a few moments.”
“Of course,” he repeated.
As soon as I locked the door behind me, I removed my heels, then stepped on top of the toilet lid, pushing at the window as soon as I could reach it. Tears began to sting the back of my eyes as the glass slid upwards, and ever so slowly, I inched the window up, thanking God for my slim build. Though it was going to be a tight fit, I had no doubt that I could get through.
Once the window was opened as much as it possibly could, I got down off the toilet, then flushed it, hoping that Constantine could hear the normal sounds coming from inside the restroom. After flushing it a second time, I stepped back on top of the lid, then tossed my purse through the window, praying that no one was on the other side. I didn’t need anyone bringing any attention to what I was doing or making off with my damn wallet.
Next, I threw my shoes, then going feet first, I forced myself through the window, not even caring what awaited me at the bottom of the drop. This was my only chance to get free, and I had no plans on letting anything stop me. I needed to get to Ashton before Aurelio did, and I had no problem running all the way to O’Brien territory to make that happen.
When I finally made it out of the window, I was able to land on my feet, immediately putting my shoes on, then grabbing my purse. With only minutes to spare, I raced my way through the back alley, making sure not to come out until I was three blocks in the opposite direction. If I had the time, I’d call a cab or Uber using my burner phone, but I didn’t. I needed to get myself some breathing room before I stopped running because I knew that Constantine was going to have no problem breaking the restroom door down once too much time had passed.
As I raced through the back street, I couldn’t help but think of Kasen Sartori’s advice, and it was amazing how easy things became when you had no other choice. She’d told me to un-trap myself, and that’s exactly what I was doing.
Chapter 29
Aurelio~
Whenever a meeting was called, we all had enough respect for one another to meet on semi-neutral ground. If we were dealing with the Irish, then we met at Meriam’s on Holland Street, Holland Street being the border between our two territories. If we were meeting with the Russians, then we met them at Cuppa’s on Lavender Avenue, which was the border that we shared with them. Luckily, both restaurants knew who we were, so they always had a spot available for us to speak in private, away from the other patrons.
“So, let me get this straight,” Declan O’Brien said as he leaned back in his chair. “You want permission to come into my territory to kill a congressman’s son?”
“Don’t say that like it wouldn’t benefit you for us to throw the Oliver family into personal chaos,” Nero retorted.
Declan grinned. “I wasn’t implying that at all.”
“There’s no way to kill Ashton Oliver without us getting questioned for it,” Noah chimed in.
While Declan O’Brien was the head of the Irish Mob, Noah Murphy was his right-hand man. Much like I was Nero’s consigliere, Noah could be considered second in charge of the O’Brien family. There was also the fact that Noah was Declan’s cousin, and anyone that knew anything about that family knew that family was very important to the Irish. While Italians took their blood seriously, the Irish had a different kind of brotherhood, and even relatives of relatives were considered family among these people. Declan and Noah were related through their mothers, and that was enough of a connection for them. It was also well-known that Declan had four brothers, but it was Noah that was always seen with him. However, whenever I thought about Elio, it was possible that Declan had stupid brothers, too.
“Since when do you give a fuck about being questioned by the police?” Nero asked.
“How about we just get down to the brass tacks, lads,” Declan said, calming the waters. “What’s in it for us? We’ve already allowed you to come into our territory more than once.”
Nero sat up straighter in his seat. “Of which we received permission before just showing up,” he reminded him coolly. “Something that can’t be said for you, O’Brien. I distinctly recall you showing up at Monroe’s a while back without permission.” Nero’s voice hardened a bit. “I also recall Mr. Murphy showing up at my wife’s place of work without my permission.”
Declan’s back straightened, matching Nero. “Ta which we made amends bae the tune of a hundred-thousand dollars,” Declan shot back.
“Then I’ll write you a fucking check if that’s what you want out of this,” Nero fired back.
“I have more money than I need, Sartori,” Declan replied evenly, not bragging but just stating a fact. “And even if I didn’t, I know how to make more.”
Nero leaned back in his seat, recognizing that a pissing contest wasn’t going to get us anywhere. “We’re already giving you what we’ve found on Stewart Oliver so far.”
“I don’t want what you have on Stewart Oliver,” Declan remarked. “I want Stewart Oliver in my pocket. I want that motherfucker keeping company with all the other fuckers that I have under my thumb.”
