The Criminal

Ch. 18: You're gonna get us all killed.

Once Torin and his men arrive, it's business as usual. Three guys in suits scope out the area while Torin, Hunter and I discuss strategy. That is—of course—after Torin teases Hunter about his vegetable garden. It's nice to see the two lighten up, despite the situation, and although this is a nice conversation between three people in a cosy living room, the atmosphere is still a little tense.

"I'll have Jerad stay with you tonight while Hunter goes to the club," informs Torin, addressing me.

"Wait. You're working tonight?" I ask Hunter.

He nods. "Not at the bar. I have a fight."

"Will Murphy be there?"

Torin stands by Hunter's large bookshelf, casually scouring each novel as though looking for clues. "It's likely."

I seize my opportunity immediately.

"I'm coming!"

Both men look like they want to laugh.

"Fuck hiding," I insist. "Your defence tactics are shit."

Torin scoffs.

"You're a mafia boss, for fuck's sake! What good is that if not to fight back?"

Hunter relents. "She's got a point."

"It's risky," warns Torin, hardly putting up a fight.

I perch on the end of Hunter's coffee table, deliberately positioning myself between both men. "It's a power move."

"It'll make Murphy look weak," warns Hunter, elbows resting on his thighs.

I know I shouldn't—because now is hardly the time—but I can't stop thinking about how nice Hunter's home is and how sexy he looks sitting in it with me.

"He won't like that," offers Torin, abandoning his need to look through Hunter's repertoire of hardbacks.

"Good," I state. "Let's bruise his ego and offer him a deal he can't refuse."

"What kind of deal?" asks Torin. "You can't testify against George. That'll make Lowes want to kill you and then we're back to square one."

"Exactly!" I state. "That won't work. We'll have to offer Murphy something better. Something he really, really wants."

I stare at Torin, hoping that by insinuating it enough, he understands what I'm getting at.

He nods. "You want to offer him me?"

"On a silver platter."

"How?"

"I'll tell him I have dirt on you. That if he gives me enough time to gather the evidence, he can take you out of the running. By then, we'll have enough ammo on Lowes to fuck him over," I switch my attention between them both, hoping my enthusiasm is coming across. "You rise to the top, gain more power, Murphy can't touch you. Eventually, you fuck Murphy over, Hunter can leave the mafia and I go back to my old life. Happy. Fucking. Days!"

Hunter intervenes. "Your plan is held together by a lot of what ifs, Nicole."

"What great plans aren't'?" I ask. "I know it's complicated, but we've got to make moves, Hunter. Big ones."

"She's right," offers Torin. "It's shaky, but it works."

Hunter groans, hands rubbing his eyes. "I don't like that I like this."

I smile, playfully throwing a cushion at his head.

"You're gonna get us all killed," he teases.

"I'll try not to."