Page 50 of Never Say Never

"Yeah?" I asked, clearing my throat as I clicked off of the files on my computer.

"Why don't you go home? I can give you a ride. I'm sure the girls are waiting for you," he insisted when I shook my head.

"No, I have more work to do. I already told Shelly to get them ready for bed."

His frown deepened. "Are you sure? You haven't eaten all day. Let's grab dinner and talk about the case."

"No, thank you," I said again. "Sorry, but I need time to think. Alone."

Slowly, Paul nodded. "Okay, well let me know, all right? I'm a text message away."

"Paul," I called as he started to walk away. He turned back to me. "Thank you. Really. I appreciate you looking out for me. For us." I cleared my throat. “It means a lot.”

A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "Of course."

When he exited, I was left alone with the sound of silence. There were other people on other floors still working, but mostly everyone on mine was gone. They were off with their families, friends, and lovers while I was stuck trying to figure out what the hell to do next.

Maybe I need a walk. Something to clear my head.

Paul was right, I hadn't eaten all day. My coffee had grown cold long ago. I needed at least a sandwich and some fuel to keep going. Hopefully, if I pushed hard enough and long enough something would become clear to me.

I snatched my keys off the desk and stuffed my wallet into the back pocket of my slacks. This morning's brand of fun was long gone, but the urge remained. Paul helped me to forget things, to relax when my head was always full of noise. But I knew I couldn't have him, not tonight.

My mind stayed on the situation as I made my way to the bodega. I had gone to Marianna’s house to look around, but of course, there was no evidence. No fingerprints, no video footage, nothing. These assholes were always careful. There was one singular black hair, but that would have to be run through the database to see if it belonged to someone in the house or someone they knew. The whole time, all I could think about was that I had failed Marianna’s children. I had promised her that we would keep them safe if she just cooperated and now? They were alone in the world.

I sucked in a deep breath as I made my way to the stand and paused. A familiar sight caught my eye, a man that I was used to seeing in the dark now. Maybe I wouldn't have recognized him before, but we had spent entirely too many nights together for me not to make out Paul among the throng of people. I'd thought that he'd gone home, but as his eyes darted back and forth, I saw him dip down an alley and disappear from view.

Where the hell is he going?

I abandoned my search for food and found my feet carrying me in his direction. It was probably nothing, I knew that, but I still couldn’t stop. Paul was probably doing something that was his own business, but I still couldn't reason with myself to stop following him. His eyes had been too shifty. He had to be up to something, right?

Maybe he’s meeting someone?

That thought made my stomach tighten. I moved through people, tucking my wallet away again as I reached the entryway of the alley. I stuck my head around the corner, peering down it until I caught sight of Paul moving around a corner.

"Where are you going?" I whispered under my breath.

I moved through the alleyway as well until I reached the end. Around the corner was the sound of talking. I followed them, hearing Paul's distinct voice until it changed. I wasn't even sure if it was him, but I made my way there and peeked around the corner. There. Paul stood with a man with dark hair, dark eyes, and a beard and mustache. He looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place him, not in the darkness that we were shrouded in.

"What's going on?" Paul asked.

"Things are rough right now. They can't even call you anymore without fear that someone is listening in. We're trying to work around this shit, but we're stuck."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Get your shit together. No one can make a move with that man breathing down our backs!"

I stiffened. What the hell was Paul talking about? Whoever the man was with him, he seemed serious. Dangerous. I heard them speak again, but this time it was in a different language. I caught a few words, enough to identify it was Italian, but that was it.

Paul knows Italian?

I didn't think about it, hadn't even realized that he had a background in Italian. Of course, it might just be a language he picked up in highschool or college. However, it felt more fluid than that. Choppy, but known, as if he spoke it more than sparingly. My stomach tightened, a ball sitting in the pit of it as I sucked in a sharp breath. What the hell is he doing? There has to be some explanation for this.

"Listen, I'm trying my best," Paul snapped. "Why don't you?—"

His words faded as my ringtone cut through the air. Navy. Her ringtone was always from a video game while Nyra's was from her favorite cartoon. They had set it up themselves and no matter how many times I changed it back, they found a way to fix it. They were smart like that. My intelligent, beautiful girls.

They would have no one when I died.