Page 59 of Romancing the Rumrunner
Finally, they reached an outer tunnel that was rarely used because it led to an exit very close to the shop. Under normal circumstances, using such a close exit would be avoided, but this time Jessie needed to see what was happening with her shop and she didn’t want to have to run several blocks to do it.
They reached the door that led to the outside. Jessie pulled back the eye portal panel and took a quick look outside. The alleyway beyond the door was dark and empty and she pushed open the door, slipping into the alley. She prayed that Willie didn’t have anyone watching the shop. They had a decent shot since they knew she and Tony had both been inside when it had been firebombed. And she was the only one who knew about the tunnel leading from the shop into the speakeasy.
She stepped around the corner and got her first glimpse. Her shop. The front of the building was gone, destroyed in the explosion. The flames were spreading to the upper floors, pushing out the windows as they climbed. Her knees gave out as a wave of despair washed over her and she slumped to the ground. Her father’s shop, the reason she’d been doing all of this in the first place, was gone.
The orange haze made the night sky glow. It would have been pretty if it hadn’t been her heart and soul going up in flames. The wind blew in their direction, bringing the acrid scent of smoke and flame. In a few moments, the shop would be nothing more than a pile of cinders. The last connection she had to her father would be gone. And she’d be completely alone in the world.
Yes, her father had been gone awhile. But somehow, being there in his shop had made his loss a little more bearable. Like some part of him was still there. Still with her. That shop was the only home she’d known. The only place she’d known happiness. Love. Whenever she missed her father, all she’d had to do was look around. She could see his touch everywhere. Every nook and cranny held some memory of him.
The first floor ceiling caved in to where the main shop area had been, raining sparks and fanning the flames anew. Overwhelming desolation rose up to choke her and she hunched over, trying to huddle against the pain. It was like losing him all over again. She couldn’t do this. It was too much. She couldn’t bear any more. She moaned, the sound erupting from her lips like the keening of a wounded animal. Finally, the tears pushed past the lump in her throat and she let them come.
“Jessie.” Tony sat beside her and pulled her onto his lap and into his arms, holding her while she sobbed.
He rocked her, his hand tangling in her hair as he pressed her head to his chest, his lips brushing her forehead, kissing the top of her head. He held her, caressed her, murmured soothing nonsense in her ear until she cried herself out and just lay against him, exhausted.
“You’ve got to let me help you,” he said cautiously. “I know you don’t want to do this, but you’ve got to give up any information you’ve got on the Phoenix and the club. There’s no reason to protect anyone now. You need to worry about your own safety. Give up whatever you’ve got, the location of the operation,anything, and the Feds will put you under protective custody. You’ll be safe—from Willie and…anyone else who might mean you harm.”
Jessie let out a bark of laughter.
“You think they’ll protect me? Sure, until I give them everything I’ve got to bargain with and then they’ll hang me out to rot.”
“Jessie, I promise you, I’ll make sure you are protected. I’d never let anything happen to you. But my hands are tied if you don’t give up…”
“Who? The Phoenix? Thereisno Phoenix!”
Tony stiffened, his face going rigid, his eyes unreadable. She pushed away from him, at the end of her rope.
“Don’t you get it?Iam the Phoenix. It’smyclub.Irun it.I’mthe boss. Thereisno one else.”
Tony stood and stared at her. His face was pale but not surprised. He already knew. Had probably known for a while now.
“There is no Phoenix. And there is no operation. I wasn’t lying or hiding anything. I’ve told the Feds that a hundred times. I’m not making the stuff. I never needed to. My father made gin his whole life. You saw the cellar, and that was only a portion of what there is. I was just selling it so I could pay off my father’s debt to Willie. Then that would have been it for The Red Phoenix. So I’ve got nothing left to bargain for my safety. If I go to the Feds, they’ll arrest me for bootlegging. If I stay put, Willie will bump me off. My life is over any way you look at.”
Tony was breathing as though he’d run twenty miles, his nostrils flaring and his eyes wide. Jessie just watched him and the fight drained out of her. There was nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. And she’d lost Tony, too. He’d betrayed her, turned her over to Jameson to save his sorry career. There wasn’t anything left to fight for.
“Leave me, Tony. Leave me in peace. You’ve done enough damage for one day.”
Tony shook his head once and hauled her into his arms, his lips pressing against hers. Jessie struggled against him, shoving him away. Her depression evaporated, replaced by a fury so great she could scarcely breathe. She reached back and let her arm swing, her palm connecting with Tony’s face. The impact rang through the alley and shuddered up her arm, leaving an ache to match the one in her heart.
“Don’t ever touch me again,” she whispered, too furious and soul-sick to force the words louder.
Boots crunched on the gravel as the officers came running. Jessie backed away from Tony though her gaze remained riveted on him.
“Put your hands where I can see them!”
“Jameson, wait…” Tony said, moving to stand in front of Jessie.
“Get out of the way, Solomon, unless you want to be arrested along with her.”
Jessie stood and held out her hands. Tony didn’t move; he didn’t try to stop the officer who came over to cuff her. Jessie ignored Jameson, ignored the officer, though she cried out when he tried to wrench her arm behind her back. She just watched Tony.
His hands were balled into fists at his side, the vein in his forehead jumping. “Jameson,” he ground out through gritted teeth. “You can’t arrest her. She needs to be taken to the hospital. She was hurt in the explosion.”
Jameson didn’t look concerned in the slightest. “She’ll be taken care of, don’t worry.”
The officer started to lead Jessie away but Tony reached out and took her arm. “I’m going with her.”
Jameson’s face darkened and he clamped a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “You’ve done good work, Solomon. Now get out of the way.”
