Page 22 of Because I Need You
“God bless you,” he said, taking the box, “You don’t know how much this means to me. Please give my regards to the mister.”
“The mister?” I’d already started putting my window up again but stopped. “What mister?”
“Mister Bonetti.” He nodded at the truck. Shit. It hadn’t even occurred to me that my father’s truck would be recognized, but now that he’d pointed it out, I wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing.
“He died.”
“What?” His eyes widened. He lowered the pizza box a little, but opened it and took out a slice, taking a big bite of it. Over his full mouth, he asked, “When?”
“Two weeks ago.” I searched his eyes, which were clear blue, and the cleanest thing on his face right now. “Did you know him?”
“Of course.” He nodded. “Everyone did.”
“Did he…how did you know him?” I asked, unsure of what to even ask this man.
“He came by the shelter every month. Brought us blankets and stuff. Sometimes he brought me coffee and donuts.” He signaled to the corner of the plaza, where I saw black trash bags and a sleeping bag. “Sometimes the shelter closes before I make it there, and I sleep here. He had me under his care.”
“What does that mean?”
“No one could kill me.” He shrugged both shoulders, kept eating. “Now, I guess I better get myself a gun.”
My eyes widened. Oh, Jesus. I had nothing against protecting yourself, but something told me this man wouldn’t really know how to properly use a gun. What did I know, though? He could’ve been a veteran for all I know.
“Who do you need protection from?” I asked, because I couldn’t just leave it.
He laughed. “Everyone. We’re getting killed left and right out here.”
I frowned. “Who is we? You mean homeless people?”
He nodded gravely, taking another bite, then looked inside the truck. “You wouldn’t happen to have anything to drink in there?”
I frowned. It felt like he was pushing his luck with me, and yet, I reached over and grabbed one of the two bottles of water I’d gotten inside and handed it to him.
“Thank you, thank you.” He bowed his head, then asked, “Were you his mistress?”
“His daughter.”
His brows hiked up. “Oh, shit. You should use that. His name holds weight around here.”
“I’m not planning to stick around.”
“I wouldn’t either.” He pressed his lips together. “I’m Devon, by the way.”
“Nice to meet you, Devon. Enjoy the pizza. And the water.” I finished putting the window up and reversed the truck.
The polite thing to do would have been to tell him my name and introduce myself formally, but I wasn’t about to be polite. Out here, I wasn’t William Hamilton’s girlfriend or middle school teacher of the year at MS54. Out here, I was my father’s daughter. A gangster? I shivered thinking about it. I’d known plenty of gang members growing up, but even though they’d been heavily involved in illegal shit, they looked out for us because we all came from the same neighborhood. Rival gangs from other neighborhoods were bad news, though. I’d had enough traumatic experiences to prove it.
My phone buzzed in the middle of the car as I drove, and I eyed it suspiciously. No one called me in the middle of the night. Unless it was Will, but even he didn’t typically do that. We usually had our last call around nine o’clock, and that was usually a FaceTime, where we’d have sex. It was his thing. I just went along for the ride. I picked up the phone and saw Luke’s name on the screen. My hands instantly got sweaty. The bar was something I’d been worrying about lately. Keeping it, getting rid of it. Luke and Noah were the only ones holding it together and keeping it now felt pointless. I answered the phone with a shaky hand and set it on speaker.
“Is everything okay?” I asked upon answering.
“Sort of,” Luke said slowly. “Someone broke into the bar.”
“What?” My heart stopped. “When? What did they take? Was anyone hurt?”
“It must have happened right after we closed for the night. No one was hurt. I have no idea what they could have taken. All of the liquor is intact, even the boxes in the back.”
I frowned, grateful to stop at a red light right now. “Did they turn the place over?”
“The office, yes.”
“Fuck.” I slapped the steering wheel.
“Was there anything in there that they could’ve been looking for?” That was Noah, which meant I was on speaker phone.
“No. I mean, the physical deed, maybe? But that’s in the safe.”
They were quiet for a long moment.
“Hello?” I said as I started driving when the light turned green.
“The safe is gone.” That was Luke. “What else was in there? Money?”
“Only whatever money you’ve put in there. I don’t go there, Luke.” My voice was getting quieter and quieter as the conversation went on. Who would steal the safe? Giovanni? He had been there the other night and he was looking for something, but he’d been so…understanding about it when we spoke at his club. I didn’t think he’d do this, but then again, I didn’t know anything about him.
