Free Enforcer: A Prequel Novella to the New Mafia Trilogy by E. J. Fechenda Page A

added.
              “He’s being paranoid and overprotective.”
              “Why? What does he want?” I asked.
              “He wants you to escort me to and from work.”
    I liked Marco’s line of thinking, but for than one reason.
This provided an opportunity for me to get to know her better outside of the
club. “Consider it done. I take it this starts tonight?”
              “I don’t want to interrupt your date with Nicki,”
Miranda said with a snippy tone.
              “We’re not dating,” I clarified, pushing off of
the wall and standing up straight. “Ready to go?”
              “Oh.” She tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“Yes, I’m ready.” She grabbed her bag off of the desk. I recognized the “C”
pattern and it reminded me of how I gave Natalie a Coach wallet for her
birthday and she freaked out over it; actually squealed.
    I held the office door open for Miranda and then waited
outside the club for her to set the alarm on the exterior doors. We walked side
by side to the employee lot which was cast in a bluish light from the bright
neon sign for “Blue”, the after-hours club located next to Crimson. A few
people were hanging about smoking and the bass from the club pulsed at a sonic
level.
    As we approached Miranda’s forest green Jaguar, I noticed it
was leaning more to one side. Taking out my phone, I clicked on the flashlight
app and pointed the light at her car, revealing two extremely flat tires.  It
didn’t require a forensic scientist to determine this wasn’t an accident.
Puncture wounds from a sharp object were clearly visible.
              “What the hell?” Miranda burst out.
              “I think your dad knew something was up and it
isn’t coincidence that he wants me to escort you.”
              “Shit, it’s always something!” She kicked at the
deflated rubber and let out an adorable, frustrated growl.
              “Come on, we shouldn’t be standing around like
this. I’ll take you home and we’ll deal with this once the sun’s up.” I placed
a hand on the small of her back and guided her to my car. Holding the passenger
door open for her, I did a quick scan of the parking lot looking for anything
unusual. The light bulbs for the two lights at the back of the lot had been
shattered. I made a note to have those replaced and security cameras installed
to cover this area.
              “Who do you think did it?” Miranda asked as I
pulled out onto Columbus Boulevard.
              “I’m not sure, but I bet your dad has an idea.”
    Miranda sighed and leaned her head back against the
headrest. “I’m sure he does.”  She yawned and turned to look at me. “I’m glad
you were there. It would’ve sucked having to dealing with two flat tires by
myself.”
              “I’m here for you, not just because we work
together, I hope you know that.”
    She gave me a faint smile and nodded her head. “I know,
Grant. I like you, but you know it will never work between us. My dad would
probably cut off your balls or something.”
    It was my turn to sigh as I started my car. As much as I
liked Miranda, I liked my balls more. The rest of the ride was quiet and I
parked a few doors down from Marco’s house. “What are you doing? I don’t live
here anymore,” Miranda said when I went to get out of the car.
              “Either you stay here tonight or I stay with you
at your place. After what happened to your car, you can’t be left alone.”
              “Overreact much?” she huffed, but didn’t get out
of the car. “Fine, you can sleep on my sofa. I really don’t want to deal with
my dad right now and next time, ask me first don’t just assume.”
    Miranda lived in a two story brick row home on Bainbridge
Street, one block over from South Street and several blocks away from her
childhood home. Most of the businesses on