Page 9 of Daddy's Mad Love
There had been no sign of Joe or Bruno when I’d left Mrs. Cunningham’s boarding house, to my relief. It had been hard to see in the dark, so there was always a chance they’d been watching, but I hadn’t looked… hadn’t cared. Tonight, I was going to show all of them they couldn’t change me.
Sure, I needed to escape quickly, and I planned to do that as soon as possible, but in the meantime, if Giacomo’s men were watching, they’d report back to him that I was living my life as usual. Perhaps he would even see it as a sign of acceptance, which would hopefully make any watchers lax in their surveillance. I doubted Giacomo DiNardo had ever been openly defied before, but I was far more afraid of living the life my grandfather had chosen for me than anything else.
A couple of drinks helped take the edge off, and I was feeling much more relaxed. Enough so, I finally told Clara the truth about my past, about DiNardo’s demands, even if I didn’t tell her exactly what he’d done to me and about the chief letting it happen.
“I can’t believe the chief fired you,” Clara said, shaking her head.
Like me, she was dressed fashionably in a beaded frock that went to just above her knees. Unlike me, she had bobbed her hair. I, on the other hand, had twisted mine up, so it almost looked bobbed, but the heavy locks were actually held in place with pins and my beaded headband. Eventually, it would give me a headache, but for now, I cared more about fitting in.
“He didn’t fire me exactly.”
“It amounts to the same thing. What are you going to do?” Concern flitted through her dark eyes, her brow wrinkling.
“I don’t know yet,” I said, which wasn’t entirely true but wasn’t a lie. I only had a very general idea of what I would do next. Even without specifics, it was safer if no one knew my plans, for both them and me. I trusted Clara, but she still worked for the chief, who was clearly under Don DiNardo’s thumb.
Chewing on her lips for a moment, Clara reached out to touch my hand.
“Tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.” Despite the drinks, her expression was somber, her eyes serious. It made my chest hurt. Either she thought us closer than I had realized, or she was incredibly naïve. Either way, I couldn’t justify putting her in danger.
“Right now, this is helping.” Lifting my glass, I smiled to push away the seriousness of the conversation. “I needed this tonight.” More than ever because I had a feeling this would be my last night with Clara. Any more than tonight might put her in danger. Everyone at the station knew we had plans tonight.
“Did Bruce say anything after I left?” I asked, keeping my voice casual. I don’t know why I cared. I’d already seen his true measure, but he was the only one other than the chief who knew what happened in the interrogation room—even if he hadn’t stayed to watch Giacomo bring me to climax, thankfully.
Clara made a face, and my heart sank.
“He’s a rat,” she said stoutly. “He called you a liar, but that was all he said.”
“Technically, I did lie.” Sighing, I took a sip of my drink, letting the buzz, the warmth flow through me, soothing the hurt. Clara rolled her eyes.
“You lied about your last name, but you never lied about who you are. You’re still you.”
“Unfortunately, I don’t think everyone will see it that way.”
“Because they’re rats.” Clara nodded sagely, and I found myself giggling, actually giggling, despite everything.
Putting my drink on the table, I threw my arms around her, hugging her as hard as I could. She hugged me back, some of her drink sloshing onto the back of my dress, but I didn’t care.
“You’re a good friend, Clara.” Better than I’d known, even if some of it was due to naivete.
“So are you. Don’t worry, Hailey, we’ll figure something out.” Pulling away, she downed the last of her drink and grabbed my hand, tugging me toward the dance floor. “Come on, let’s go dance!”
Grabbing my drink, I tipped it back and finished it off, then followed Clara to the dance floor. Something wild hummed through my blood. There were a million things I should be doing instead of dancing in an illegal bar, but right now, I didn’t care. The world had given me so little since it took my parents. Tonight, I was going to take what I wanted, and I wanted to have a good time with my friend.
Jack
There she was, dancing in another man’s arms as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
I watched her from the shadows for over an hour, more than a little confused by what I was seeing. Far from the angry, independent, buttoned-up worker at the precinct, Hailey looked every inch a daring flapper, though her hair was not actually cut short. Only the thinnest threads seemed to connect her to the traditional young woman I’d seen earlier today.
The song finished, and she found her friend again, a pretty blonde with a slim figure and a wide smile. She’d been at the precinct, though I hadn’t realized it until Gio whispered the information to me. I think she’d caught his eye, but I didn’t pay attention, my focus on Hailey.
Unpredictable Hailey linked her arm through her friend’s and threw her head back, laughing at something the little blonde flapper said. She was beautiful when she laughed, something I doubted she’d do anytime soon with me.
That was what had stayed my hand and kept me watching. Hailey didn’t know it, but this was her last night out like this, so she should enjoy it. I was enjoying watching her. My crew was already packing up her things at her boarding house to take to my father’s home, where she’d be staying until our wedding this weekend.
Once we were married, she wouldn’t have the same kind of freedom. While I might take her out to a club like this, once I was assured she would behave herself, she wouldn’t feel the same kind of freedom. She definitely wouldn’t be dancing with other men. Whether or not her friend would still want to talk to her… well, I supposed that depended on if she had the same puritanical streak Hailey did. Going by her slightly shorter skirt, sassy haircut, and flirtatious demeanor, I didn’t think she did. Hmmm, perhaps she could be useful to me as well.
I gestured to Gio, and he leaned in.