Page 83 of Above ’N’ Beyond

“Take this.” He tugged Marco’s gun from his waistband and handed it to Jenkins. “It’s unloaded. I took it from Ianetti.”

Jenkins took the gun, then clicked on a flashlight, examining the weapon. “Serial number’s filed off. I’ll have our lab fire it and see if anything pops in the ATF database.”

After the agents had driven off, Jamie looked up at the top floor of the house. Bella had turned out the living room lights. The only one on was in the bedroom. He wondered what she was doing. What she was thinking and feeling. The only answers he came up with weren’t good.

Anything she felt for him would undoubtedly be null and void, but she wasn’t a cruel person. She had to know if she dimed him out, he was a dead man.

Did he regret what he’d done to her? Yes. In spades. If given the choice, would he do it all again? Yes. Because his father’s life depended on it. The only thing he’d do differently was not fall in love.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

For a Thursday afternoon, the Bistro was busier than usual. Bella didn’t worry. Between Sierra, Lori, and Rebecca waiting on tables, and with her regular bartender back, they had it covered.

Pots and pans banged in the kitchen, and dishes clinked in the dining room. The scents of roasting meat and marinara wafted into Bella’s office. She loved all the sounds and smells of the Bistro. To her, it was comfort. To her, it was home.

Somewhere in her life she’d come to realize she was born to the restaurant world. Preparing menus and selecting fine wines. Creating a warm, inviting atmosphere where people could relax and enjoy good food.

She stared blindly at the Bistro’s bank account balances on her computer screen. In the last twenty-four hours, someone had withdrawn the mysterious two hundred grand she’d discovered in the primary account. There was no doubting what had happened to it.

Paola.

Hesitant relief swept through her. Whatever the source of that cash, it had to have been illegal, and she was glad to be rid of it. Although the stain it left behind would be one the government would surely find.

The government. Jimmy—no, Jamie, she corrected herself—was the government. He was working for the FBI. Her stomach twisted and rolled as she thought back to their conversation last night. Not a conversation, really. If anything, an argument.

Now that he wasn’t working the bar, would she ever see him again? Or would the Bistro just get raided one day by him and an army of FBI agents? Most importantly, did she even want to see him again?

Her head told her no, but her stupid, naive heart looked for his SUV in the driveway when she’d left this morning. It hadn’t been there, and she hadn’t heard him leave.

Where was he? What was he doing now?

She shouldn’t care, but she did.

Despite his life-altering admissions, she still loved him. Loved and hated him. Why was it those two powerful and contradictory emotions could be twisted together in a bloody, hurtful, and confusing mess?

Bella lowered her head into her hands. No matter his deception…no matter his lies, she could never tell Paola or Tony he was a cop. If she did, they’d kill him. She didn’t doubt he could handle himself, but one could only look over their shoulder for so long. Even he couldn’t outrun a bullet.

She’d once considered he might be using her to get closer to Paola, to rise in the Mancuso Crime Family ranks. Turned out he had been using her, but for entirely different reasons she hadn’t seen coming. After everything she’d gone through with Paola, somehow she’d missed the signs. If there’d actually been any. Perhaps not.

Jimmy-Jamie was good at what he did. It sucked, but in the long run it was for the best. It couldn’t have worked out between them if he was a mobster, and no way could it have worked out now, even knowing he was one of the good guys.

She made a pfft sound in the back of her throat. A good guy. When he’d said he wasn’t a good person, she’d countered with all the reasons she believed he was.

He was good. Good at his job. And he was bad. Bad for her.

She lifted her head, second-guessing her decision to move Gnocchi and all his things to her house. She could sorely use a little of his snuggly puppy magic right about now.

“Salad?” Lou stood in the open doorway, holding her usual lunch, a plate loaded with fresh greens, tomatoes, peppers, and whatever other rabbit food he had in the kitchen. “All healthy ingredients and a splash of Italian vinaigrette.”

The smell of salad dressing wafted to her nose, and her belly lurched. “No thanks, Lou. Maybe later. Would you mind putting it in the fridge?” If she ate anything right now, she’d throw it up.

“Sure, no problem.” Lou eyed her with concern. “You don’t look so good. You feeling okay?”

“Just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.” Because she’d been up half the night crying and the other half worrying over the decisions yet to be made. She looked like crap, and she knew it.

Lou pursed his lips. “I’ll put it on the top shelf of the walk-in.”

“Thanks.” She smiled. The second he was gone, her smile faded. The first big decision to make weighed the most heavily on her conscience.