The Venetian and the Rum Runner - L.A. Witt Page 0,62

with relief just like always, both that he wasn’t blind anymore, and also because he was away from Carmine. Away from that odd conversation and those looks. Those long, lingering looks that felt like… that seemed like… Hell, he had no idea what they were, only that his heart still hadn’t slowed down. And talking over brandy about their pasts and his brothers’ deaths—what in the world was going on?

He didn’t know, but it was definitely time to get out of here.

Danny tucked the bundle of cash into his overcoat, pulled the coat around himself to ward off the crisp wind, and he strode away from the butcher shop as fast as he could. He wasn’t afraid of Carmine like he’d been in the beginning. Wasn’t as hostile toward him. But he was definitely nervous around him in ways he hadn’t been before, and he needed to get away and—

“Hey. Hey!”

It took Danny a second to realize the woman’s voice was calling to him. He turned around to see a petite Italian woman jogging toward him in a black coat and a blue cloche hat. “Me?”

“Yeah, you.” She halted and beckoned for him to follow her down a stairwell into a mostly enclosed alley. He glanced around uncertainly, but curiosity won over his nerves, and he followed her.

As soon as they were alone, she faced him, and he stiffened. “Giulia?”

Her eyebrows jumped, but then she laughed. “I suppose my brother told you my name."

“He did. What’s… What’s this—”

“I want to know if it’s true.” She dropped her voice to nearly a whisper. “That you’re running liquor in from the ships for my brother.”

“I’m…” He blinked. “Why?”

She glanced past him, as if making sure they hadn’t been followed, then met his gaze again. “I heard Carmine saying he had a new crew running booze for him, and someone said there was Irishmen bringing it into the warehouse.” She looked him up and down. “Didn’t realize it was you until now.”

He studied her. “So, what’s this about, then? You going to turn me in, or—”

Shaking her head, she laughed. “Turn you in? Pfft.” Her eyes gleamed. “I want to join you.”

“Join—” He stared at her. “Join my crew, you mean?”

She nodded. “Yes.” With a sigh, she gestured toward the butcher shop. “My brother doesn’t even want me running my bar because it’s too dangerous right now, but I’m bored. And I did some runs with the last crew he had. I was good at it, and I loved it, and I want to do it again.”

Danny’s first instinct was to say absolutely not. Carmine would kill him! But the fact that she’d been on a crew before intrigued him. Hadn’t he thought on New Year’s that a fearless and fast thinker like her was exactly what his crew needed? Hadn’t he even wished she’d want to join a crew of Irish thieves? And now…

“You say you’ve done it before?”

Another nod. “Drove the speedboat a few times too. Talked the Coast Guard into leaving us alone.” She shrugged. “I’m good at what I do, and I miss it.” With a huff, she glared back in the direction of the butcher shop. “Especially now that I’m not running liquor or running my bar.”

Danny considered it, but he reluctantly shook his head. “Your brother will have my head.”

She smiled mischievously. “He doesn’t need to know.”

“Except he could find out. He found out we were in that suite at the Plaza Hotel!”

“He did, but he never caught me with the other crew. And I mean it—now that my brother’s got me out of my damn bar, I’m going to go out of my mind.”

Danny cocked a brow. “He really ain’t letting you run the bar?” Though now that he asked, hadn’t Carmine said something about that?

“He’s…” She seemed to consider it for a moment, then exhaled. “I don’t own it. I can’t because I’m…” She gestured at herself. “But we agreed when he bought the place that it’s mine, and he’s let it be mine until now. But the il Sacchis started making more trouble, and… Anyway, he’s got some of Pulvirenti’s boys running it until he’s sure it’s safe, and he convinced our mother to talk me into not going, and…” She waved a hand.

Danny grimaced. He didn’t blame Carmine, but to his surprise, he felt a certain sense of protectiveness over Giulia himself after what happened on New Year’s. She was clearly smart, and she could handle herself in a crisis, but if anything