Page 128 of When She Falls (The Fallen)
“A friend owns it.” I follow her in and lock the door behind us.
A moment later, Orrin comes out from the back dressed in a black turtleneck, with an empty gun holster strapped across his chest. “You got here quickly,” he says, giving me a nod before moving his gaze to Gemma. His eyes widen.
Gemma presses into my side, and her instinctual reaction to seek safety with me makes warmth spread through my chest. I wrap an arm around her shoulders.
Orin raises a brow. “Who’s this?”
“Gemma.”
“As in Gemma Garzolo?”
“Yes.”
His eyes narrow. “Ras, what the fuck. What happened to her face?”
Gemma tenses beside me.
“Stefano Garzolo happened,” I mutter. “Do you have a change of clothes? Something she can wear?” Gemma’s still dressed in the yellow party dress from the night before and my suit jacket. I wish I’d remembered to take her winter coat when we left Garzolo’s house, but it wasn’t the biggest thing on my mind.
Orrin runs his fingers through his hair. “Yeah. Give me a minute. But then you better explain what the fuck is going on.”
I nod at Orrin and watch him disappear into the back room. The half-hour drive gave me some time to think, and no matter how I look at it, there’s only one move that makes sense.
I have to get Gemma far away from here.
Garzolo might be off the chess board for the next few hours while he deals with his arrest, but by evening time, someone’s bound to come looking for Gemma. And if they don’t find her by tomorrow morning, it’ll be all hands on deck.
We have to be somewhere far away before that happens. Garzolo and Messero have too much reach in New York, maybe even in the entire country, so we need to get off their turf.
If we manage to get to Europe, I have connections I can use, but I’ll have to be careful not to go to anyone who’ll go straight to Dem. I can’t risk him finding out where we are, not after he made his position on Gemma clear.
A heavy weight presses on my shoulders as I think about him.Cazzo.I had to do what I did, but the guilt is already creeping in.
Gemma leans against me like she’s struggling to hold up her weight. I snake my arm around her waist and use my other hand to pull out a chair. “Sit down. You shouldn’t be on your feet.”
Gemma sinks into the chair, wincing in pain. Seeing her like this makes my heart clench. I dig inside my pocket for her meds and hand her the pill bottle. “Stop being stubborn and take two of these. You trying to win an award for being tough?”
She laughs weakly and winces again. “Don’t make me laugh. It hurts.”
I get her a glass of water and watch her swallow the pills.
“Happy?” she asks, giving me a shaky smile.
I squat down in front of her and cup her cheek. She’s trying to put on a brave face, but I can tell she’s still shaken up, and who can blame her?
That family doesn’t fucking deserve her. Thinking about what they’ve done to her stirs up my simmering rage, so I force myself not to ruminate on it. I need to keep a clear head.
“I’ll be happy when I know you’re no longer in pain,” I say as I brush her hair out of her face.
When I stand up, I see Orrin in the doorway of his back office watching us. He’s got a bundle of clothes in his hands and a pair of white sneakers. My body tenses when I see that his holster is no longer empty.
Is he going to give us up to Garzolo or Messero? I’m putting my trust in him mostly because of my history with his cousin, and because my gut tells me that I can, but it’s a gamble.
Orrin walks over and hands Gemma the clothes. “It’s a uniform. The only thing I have close to your size.”
“Thank you,” Gemma says quietly.
“Should she get checked out?” Orrin asks. “That bruise looks like it’s going to be nasty.”
