Dean let out a full belly laugh behind me.
I frowned at Asher and reluctantly took his hand. We took the stairs slowly. There was a light at the very bottom, but it didn’t help much. Once at the bottom we walked down a stone hallway with strung up lights that gave off underground bunker vibes. At the end of the hall was a door. It was open and inside were two goons sitting on top of a giant wooden box. The room was small. In the center was a metal table and built into one wall was a giant safe.
Finn ordered them to open up the box and start pulling out the drugs. One of the goons grabbed a crowbar that had been on the table and he used that to pry open the top. The smell of strong coffee hit my nose. I leaned closer to look inside the box and found it full of loose coffee beans.
Finn caught me peeking inside. “Colombian coffee beans. It’s how we smuggle the drugs in. Once we’re done unloading, we’ll take the beans to the coffee shop down the street.”
I watched as the goons began digging through the beans until one of them pulled out a taped up block and tossed it onto the table. I picked up the block to examine it. “I didn’t know we owned the business down the street,” I said as I thought back to the time Dean and I had sat in my car for hours, parked in front of that coffee shop, spying on Mark, the enforcer I'd executed at my first family meeting.
I tried to peek past the thick silver duct tape to see inside the kilo but was worried about ripping it and spilling it everywhere. So I put it back on the table.
“We don’t. It belongs to a widow. Her husband used to be part of the family until he was killed by a De Lucaduring Giovanni’s reign. We give her the beans as a way to help out. It isn’t much, but it’s all she’ll accept,” Finn explained.
That’s nice,I mused and continued to watch as the goons began pulling kilo after kilo from the box and tossing them onto the table to be stacked in a row by Finn. One of the kilos in the box had a tear in its packaging and, as fate would have it, one of the goons tossed it a little too harshly. The kilo landed further than the others, on the table right in front of Dean and me. A cloud of white hit our faces. Startled, I inhaled. We both did. And everyone stared at us in horror.
“Oh, fuck,” Finn said, gaping at us.
Dean and I turned to look at each other. His face was covered in white dust, making him look like a clown.
“Oops,” I said before bursting into a fit of giggles. “You should see your face.”
Dean glared—I meant really glared—at me. “This is far from funny, Maura. We just inhaled a fuck-ton of cocaine.”
Shit, he’s right. Stefan’s going to kill me.
Asher and Finn took charge while the two goons stood off to the side, unsure of what to do. Dean and I were ordered not to breathe and to close our eyes while they wiped the excess coke off.
“I’ve never done coke before,” I admitted. “What’s coming? Oh, shit! I took oxy less than an hour ago.”
Finn and Asher glanced at each other, exchanging a worried look. “Help me get them upstairs,” Asher said to Finn and it didn’t feel like a request. “I trust that you can handle the rest of this shit from here?”
Finn nodded and turned back to the goons. “Finish unloading. I’ll be down here to help lock it up into the safe.”
Asher and Finn ushered Dean and I back upstairs. By the time we made it into the kitchen my heart rate had picked up speed and I felt kind of euphoric. “Oh, wow.”
Asher put his giant hands on my shoulders and steered me back into the pub. “Thank fuck,” Asher said from behind me and urged me toward the bar where Louie was waiting.He stayed!
“Hi, handsome!” I beamed. Louie swiveled around on his stool. I grinned and wrapped my arms around his neck. His body stiffened for a second before he circled his arms around my back. Sighing with relief, I burrowed my face in the curve of his neck and inhaled his delicious clean scent. I’d missed him so much. Louie stiffened again and grabbed me by my upper arms to hold me away from him.
He stared into my eyes, searching. His eyes widened and drifted to Dean and Asher. Finn, I guessed, had gone back to help lock up the drugs. “She's fucking high!” Louie whisper-yelled.
Asher leaned closer to whisper in his ear, most likely telling him what had happened. Louie had yet to let me go and I took that time to check on Dean.
He was staring off into space. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” he mumbled, absently. I didn’t like the look in his eyes that came with those words. It was almost as if he was…scared.
I broke out of Louie’s hold and wrapped my arms around Dean. I squeezed him tight. “Shh, it’s going to be alright. I’ll protect you, okay?” I told him. “You’re one of my best friends and I kind of fucking love you. If you need me to kill someone, I will. Just tell me who.”
I heard someone snort behind me. Glancing over my shoulder, I found Asher looking ready to burst. “You should see his face,” he said in a strained voice. “He’s stiff as a board and doesn’t know how to handle your admission of love.” Then Asher threw his head back laughing, unable to hold it in any longer.
I released Dean. His forehead was scrunched, and he seemed at odds on what he should do. I patted his arm.“It’s okay. I don’t expect you to say it back.” That made Asher laugh harder.
Louie put his hand on my shoulder. “We need to get you home.”
Asher sobered himself and wiped at the corner of his eye. “Come on, man,” he said to Dean and steered him toward the door. The four of us made our way out of the pub. Asher retrieved my purse from the Escalade and handed it to Louie.
“You’re taking me home?” I asked Louie. He gave me the slightest nod and ushered me to his car.
During the drive back to Quinn Manor, my body became really hot. Sitting in the passenger’s seat, I pointed the vents at me. It wasn’t enough. “Why is it so hot?” I was burning up.
