friend, and because I’m also buzzed, I ask him teasingly, “So how do you know so much about the seedy underworld? Bookies, and taking dives and bribes. You seem so normal and . . . I don’t know . . . like too suave to know about that stuff.”
He doesn’t answer right away, but stares reflectively into his glass. Then he tilts it to his mouth and drains it, and I know he’s got to be feeling the effects by now. When his gaze lifts back up to mine, I’m taken aback to see them flooded with pain and anger. “I was very much a part of that world for a while. Married into it, actually.”
“Oh,” I say on a small gasp, not shocked by his revelation because he wears a wedding ring, but by the anguish I still see on his face. And although I know it’s nosy, I can’t help but try to appease my curiosity, since he’s opened the door and become infinitely more interesting to me than he was just five seconds ago. “Is her family mob or something?”
“Close enough,” Dennis says, and starts to lift his glass again to his mouth before realizing it’s empty. He frowns and stands. “I’m going to get another drink. Want one?”
Beck shakes his head and Dennis turns to the kitchen, but I continue to pry, because just . . . wow. Dennis married into the mob?
“You should have brought your wife tonight,” I say impulsively. Because I like Dennis and I’m betting I’d like his wife too. I know Beck likes Dennis . . . they’ve formed an easy friendship these last few weeks. I mean . . . maybe we could all double-date or something.
“She’s dead,” Dennis says softly, and his eyes actually shimmer with kindness over my suggestion. “Three years ago.”
“Oh God,” I say, my hand coming to my chest, where I rub at the dull ache that’s appeared. “I’m so sorry. That was so insensitive of me—”
Dennis holds his hand up to cut me off, even as Beck’s hand goes to my lower back to soothe me. “It’s fine, but I suppose this is relevant to why I’m helping you. She was killed as a vendetta against her father. It’s a dangerous life and she suffered for it.”
“You suffered for it,” I whisper.
Dennis nods with a sad smile. “Yeah . . . I did. Lost the most precious thing in my life. The only way out of that life is through death, and when Rosa was killed, it released me from the family as well. But I still have contacts and ties that I used to help you. I also understand vengeance and the need for justice.”
“Was her killer brought to justice?” I ask, because I have to know. “Is he in jail?”
“No,” Dennis says, even though light shines from his eyes. A light that shimmers and sparkles with satisfaction and pleasure. “He’s not in jail, but justice was served.”
A tiny shiver runs up my spine over his words as I understand their meaning. I nod at him in solidarity, because now I know that Dennis and I share something very much in common. We both believe that death is an appropriate sentence for someone that would dare to hurt either of us. While that might not be my ultimate goal anymore, it’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who fantasizes about murder as the best means of retribution.
As much as I care for Beck and know how much he feels for me, I know now that Dennis is probably the only one who would truly understand what my initial motivations were, and how hard it was for me to give up that quest to kill JT so that I could have peace.
Chapter 20
Beck
I knew it would happen sometime soon, but just not this soon. Sunday afternoon, less than sixteen hours after VanZant lost to Mariota, JT called me.
From the hospital. Sela and I were actually cleaning up the condo and putting the Christmas decorations away. When I saw JT’s name on my caller ID, I didn’t think that he’d be calling me about the money he owed. It was too soon for anything major to happen, but I was instantly alerted to what this was really all about when he said in a rough but weakened voice, “Beck . . . I’m at Marin General in Greenbrae. I need you to come get me.”
“What happened?” I asked with as much fake concern