Chris shook his head, thinking that sounded too easy. “Okay… just be careful. Don’t let any of the cops look at your phone. Maybe you should talk to Manetto about getting a burner phone for stuff like that.”
He couldn’t believe he was advising me on how to avoid getting caught by the police so I could keep my job. I walked a fine line between the cops and Manetto, and it was getting thinner and thinner. If I wasn’t careful, it would blow up in my face.
“Yeah… I see that, but I’m being extra careful. And you’re right about the burner phone. I thought about it too, but, once this is straightened out, I shouldn’t need one. By then, Uncle Joey should be out of the business, and I won’t need to be so secretive.”
Chris just nodded, hoping it would happen, because staying on this path could have dire consequences, and I could end up in jail.
Just hearing that sent a cold chill down my spine. “There was one other thing that happened… but I’m not sure you’ll want to hear it.”
He braced for bad news. “What is it? Just tell me and get it over with.” His mind raced with all sorts of imagined things, including one where I had succumbed to Ramos’s allure and had kissed him or something. It made his stomach queasy just thinking about it.
My brows drew together. “No… it’s nothing like that. There was an undercover cop who saw me tonight, so I’m concerned that he’ll want to know what I was doing at a drug deal. But… he doesn’t have any proof, and he doesn’t even know that it was a drug deal, so I should be fine.”
“How the hell did that happen?”
I winced at his harsh tone, and my chest tightened. Shouldn’t he be relieved that I wasn’t having an affair with Romeo… uh Ramos? Guess I was wrong. Not sure I wanted to answer him, I squeezed my lips together and frowned.
Chris closed his eyes and took a breath. “Sorry. I’m not mad… well… that’s not exactly true. It just seems crazy that an undercover cop was following you. I mean… this could come back to bite you. So what happened? Did he see you with the drug dealers or what?”
“No, he didn’t.” I explained that he’d followed me to the health-and-nutrition store, but it was too dark for him to see anything. I sort of left out the part about going to the bar, since Chris was already mad, and finished up.
“I just caught a glimpse of him. So I think I can fix it. At the precinct tomorrow, I’ll tell Bates I met up with an informant, and then I’ll give him the info about the kid, only I’ll say most of it’s from a premonition I got while talking to my informant.”
Chris nodded, thinking it sounded a little convoluted, but it could work. “Okay, good. Don’t tell them any more than you need to.”
“I won’t.” Geez, did both Chris and Ramos think I was an idiot?
“If you’re serious about becoming Manetto’s successor, maybe you’d better stop helping the police… at least until all this is settled.”
“Yeah… you might be right.” Hadn’t Ramos just told me that? They were both right, but how was I supposed to help people like Sophie and Mack Haywood without the police? Maybe I should just turn Uncle Joey down. But how was that any easier?
Chris could see that I was starting to get stressed out, and he didn’t want to add to it, so he pulled me into his arms and held me close. “I’m sorry I got upset… I’m sure it will all work out. Trust yourself. You’re amazing. You’ll figure this out.”
“Thanks, honey.”
He kissed the top of my head. “I’m lucky to have you, even if you make me a little crazy sometimes.”
I huffed out a breath, but he held me tight, so I couldn’t smack him. He chuckled and relaxed his hold. I sighed and snuggled closer to him and the warmth of his love, grateful he’d stuck by my side through it all.
Still, I couldn’t stop the worry that kept me awake. Even telling myself that nothing bad was going to happen didn’t help, and it was a long time before I fell asleep.
The next morning, I woke to find a wet nose sniffing my face. I opened my eyes to see Coco staring at me. His front paws were perched on the bed, and his tail wagged. He woofed, and I heard, get up. “Do I really have to?”
He woofed again. Yup. Now. We go.
“Where?”
Walk. Come.
“Okay. I’ll take you on a walk, but I have to get dressed first.” Coco ran out of the room like he was on a mission, and I wished I had some of his enthusiasm. I slunk out of bed and pulled on some shorts, a t-shirt, and some walking shoes. At least having a dog meant I was actually getting some exercise, so that was positive.
Chris was just leaving for work. He gave me a quick kiss and wished me luck. I picked up his worry about the drug deal last night. He fervently hoped I didn’t call him today because I was in trouble and needed a lawyer. But, if I did, at least I had him, and he was damn good. He flashed me a smile before shutting the door.
I just shook my head and waved, grateful he was on my side. Coco and I left right after that, and it was nice to get in a walk and figure out my next move. It was hard with so much on my plate, but taking care of the undercover cop was probably the first place to start.
We returned home, and I put in a call to Dimples.
“Hey Shelby, I was just going to call you.
