Risking it All (23 page)

idea of him fighting, looked distinctly

upset about the possibility. “If I did fight

for you, it would be the first time I’d

ever used my fists for something

worthwhile.”

Guilt shone briefly in her eyes.

“I’ll be right back.” He gave a

warning look to every male within

spitting distance. “Be good.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sera took a sip of her martini and tried

not to gag. It tasted exactly as the name

implied. Dirty, like it had gone past its

expiration date or been left in the sun too

long. Aware of the attention being paid

to her, she didn’t so much as flinch as

the liquid burned down her throat. God,

she’d kill for a Snapple to rid herself of

the taste.

She noticed a group of men sending

her covert glances. They looked drunk

and bored, a dangerous combination. In

fact, she had a suspicion they were

nominating someone to come talk to her.

She didn’t want to see how that would

go over when Bowen came back.

It would be foolish of her not to

believe he’d meant every word. His

jealousy,

his

possessive

attitude

concerning her, only grew by the hour.

And in turn, so did her desire for it to

keep
growing, which didn’t make any

sense when the thought of him fighting

bothered her immensely. When Bowen

kissed her, when he talked to her as if it

were them versus the world, she wanted

it to be true. The more time she spent

with him only made her confidence grow

that he was the man she’d never known

enough to hope for. He didn’t belong in

this world. He was a victim of his

circumstances.

Could she save him as she’d resolved

to do, or was she a victim of her

circumstances, same as him? Were they

doomed to part ways as enemies once

this ended?

Today had been incredible. Possibly

even the best day of her life. When

they’d just been two people without

deadlines or agendas coloring the air

around them, she’d been Sera with him,

not a nurse, or a cop, or a grieving

sister. Just herself. After the strictness of

boarding school and not knowing how to

connect with her uncle on the odd

occasion she saw him, being herself had

been impossible. She didn’t know who

she was. How ironic that while

pretending to be someone else, she

finally felt comfortable in her own skin.

“Buy you your next drink?”

The words were slurred to her right,

issued from the apparent nominee of

Drunk and Bored Central. She smiled

politely and shook her head, already

having learned while waitressing that

reasoning with a drunk man usually

meant a convoluted or inappropriate

response.

“Bowen and I are friends. He won’t

mind.”

“If that were true, I think you know he

would.”

“You talk pretty.”

Berating herself for opening her

mouth, she scanned the bar for Bowen,

but hadn’t seen him since he disappeared

into the back room a few minutes ago. A

group of young women standing outside

the ladies’ room caught her eye, though.

The last thing she wanted was Bowen to

come back and find this guy talking to

her, and the nearby ladies’ room looked

safe and close enough.

She slid off her stool. “Excuse me.”

Trying to blend into the wall, she got

in line behind the group of women, her

eyes immediately tearing up as their

abundance of flowery perfume hit her.

They sent her a few furtive looks, then

lowered their voices and huddled

closer. Fortunately, they appeared to

have knocked back a few drinks, much

like everyone else in Marco’s. Their

voices weren’t half as quiet as they

seemed to think.

Walks in here like she’s the first lady

of the United States or something.

Maybe, but
he
won’t be the president

for long.

Thinks he’s better than everyone…

we’ll see who’s better real soon.

He’s

gone

soft.

Now

there’s

something I never thought I’d say that

about Bowen Driscol.

My Nicky says after that score on the

ninth, everything is going to change
.

Denial thundered through Sera as she

absorbed

their

snidely

whispered

words, the implications of them. The

ninth…the ninth. She’d overheard that

same date mentioned in the hallway

above Rush when Hogan was still in

town. Combined with the women’s

conversation, it could only mean one

thing. Bowen and his crew were

involved in whatever Hogan had

planned for May ninth. It connected the

dots, finally answering the question as to

why

Bowen

and

Hogan

were

associating. But now a bigger, horrifying

picture came into sharp focus.

They planned to take Bowen out.

The shaking started in her knees and

moved up, higher until she trembled

against the wall. Paralyzed, her heart

seized in her chest at the image of a

vibrant Bowen lying lifeless on the

sidewalk. The trained fighting hands that

painted murals and brought her body to

life, never to be used again. Until

hearing his life was in jeopardy, she

hadn’t known exactly how deep she’d let

herself sink.

No, she couldn’t let it happen. She

hadn’t been able to save her brother, but

she could do something about this.

A sparkly pink cell phone twinkled at

her from inside one of women’s purses.

She murmured a quick prayer and asked

forgiveness

for

stealing.

Possibly

coveting, too. Then she snatched the

phone out of the purse. While they were

engrossed in a conversation that had

turned to which bar they would head to

next, Sera slipped away. Even as she

made sure to maintain a casual air while

walking through the packed bar, she

knew Bowen would be back any minute

and she needed to be quick. She didn’t

even want to envision what he would do

if he came back and found her gone,

although since every eye in the place

was watching her leave, he’d have no

trouble locating her. Hopefully they

would assume she was popping out for a

cigarette, instead of making the phone

call that would save Bowen’s life. A

phone call that could very well put the

kibosh on her investigation.

Thankfully she found the sidewalk

outside Marco’s empty. It wouldn’t stay

that way for long, though, so she needed

to get her nerves under control. The jig

would be up once she placed the call.

Her uncle would know what, exactly,

she’d done without his permission.

Would attempt to convince her it was an

overzealous crusade, possibly even try

to bring her out against her will.

Didn’t matter. Bowen’s
life
was at

stake. Her choice was clear. Sera

centered herself with a deep inhale and

dialed her uncle’s desk line at the

precinct. On a weeknight, he would be

working late, probably getting ready to

order Chinese takeout for anyone

working overtime.

True to form, he answered on the first

ring. “Newsom.”

The phone felt heavy in her hand.

“Uncle. It’s me.”

Silence. “Seraphina. What the hell is

going on?”

Something in his tone felt off, but she

didn’t have time to mull it over. “I don’t

have a lot of time, so try to keep the

lecturing to a minimum.” When she

tossed a look at the entrance to Marco’s,

a car idling at the curb caught her eye.

She squinted to make out the driver,

surprised to find Connor watching her.

Her hand went up automatically in

greeting, but he didn’t return it. An

uncomfortable feeling spread in her

midsection when he pulled away and

turned the corner at the end of the block

without so much as acknowledging her.

“Sera.” Her uncle’s impatient voice

brought her back to the present. “You

take last-minute personal vacation time

t h e
week
before Colin’s birthday and

don’t even check in? Where are you? I

demand a goddamn
answer
.”

“I didn’t plan this around Colin’s

birthday, but…” She closed her eyes.

“It’s fitting because I’m undercover with

Hogan.” The line crackled with static,

but her uncle said nothing. No shouting,

like she’d expected. “The ledger. I’ve

seen him with it. We know he’s good for

my

brother’s—
your

nephew’s
—

murder.” A touch of hysteria changed her

pitch. “So I’m here to get what we need.

Everyone else seems to have forgotten

what he did. Not me. Not—”

“Seraphina.” His voice was cold. “Do

you have any idea how reckless you’re

being?”

She waited for the order to come

home, but it never came.
Think about it

later.
Protect Bowen.
“May ninth,” she

rushed to say. “I don’t know what the

date means, but something substantial is

happening. Enough to warrant an

increase in bodies around Hogan…put

him on edge. I would increase

surveillance of the usual locations in

North Brooklyn.” A lump stuck in her

throat. “South Brooklyn, too. I’d suggest

putting out some feelers or tapping any

low-level informants you have. I’m

working on nailing down specifics.”

His anger crackled down the line.

“I’m just supposed to respond with ‘how

high’ when you say ‘jump’? This

department didn’t even
approve
this

vigilante investigation.”

“Bowen Driscol is involved,” she

added, before she could talk herself out

of it.

“Really,” he answered slowly.

Again, not the reaction she’d been

expecting. “Yes.”

A laughing couple spilled out onto the

sidewalk, holding each other up. Sera

walked a little farther away, ducking just

inside the alleyway running alongside

Marco’s. “Listen, I know it’s asking a

lot under the circumstances, but I need a

favor. Just agree to it without any

questions. Can you do that?”

“That’s asking quite a lot from

someone like me. I could have your

badge for this stunt, young lady.”

Her shoulders tightened at the

condescending endearment, but she had

to let it slide. She needed Bowen taken

off the street and arguing wouldn’t

accomplish that outcome for her.

Furthermore, she’d known going into this

her badge would be in jeopardy, but

relating that to her uncle would only

exacerbate his anger. “Just agree to it. I

wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t extremely

important.”

A long-suffering sigh greeted her.

“What is it?”

Relief rushed through her. “Pick up

Bowen Driscol for something, anything,

on the afternoon of the ninth. Whatever is

going down, he can’t be there. They’re

planning a hit. I only want him kept

overnight. No longer.”

Silence. “Since when do you concern

yourself

with

the

livelihood

of

criminals?”

Since I fell for one
. “Isn’t it our job to

protect people? Would you willingly

send a man into a situation when you

knew his life was in danger?”

He

scoffed.

“Sera,

you’re

too

idealistic for this job. Just like I’ve

always said.” A loud slam reverberated

down the line. “I should pull you out of

there tonight. Find a safe house and keep

you out of sight until the job can be done

right
.”

“You wouldn’t.” The hard edge to her

voice surprised even her. “You want

Hogan too badly and I’m close enough to