At Doubles that night, Maggie sat with Emma in the dressing room. Emma had been through a lot of bad things in her life, and as Maggie told her about Colby, she listened intently. Later, in the bar, unbeknownst to Maggie, Emma explained the “Colby situation” to Vincent and Tony.
“Yeah, Rae Harker. We know ’bout him. Never met him, though. We got some cops we know. We’ll ask around about him,” Tony offered.
“Good. Thanks,” Emma said. “But remember, she’s vulnerable—she’s a sitting duck—so don’t let on why you’re asking. I don’t want that asshole Rock to find out.”
A few nights later, Tony confirmed that Rae Harker had checked out with their source inside the police department.
“The guy works wit’ some other people who work on the streets. Our source said this Harker guy is one of the good ones. Devoted his life to helpin’ kids after his own daughter was taken and killed, a real fuckin’ shame. They didn’t know no guy named Colby, but I’d tell Maggie to find a way to get him to admit that he works with Harker. Otherwise, there ain’t no way of knowin’ if the guy is for real,” Tony explained.
Vincent added, “If there’s anything we can do to help, ya need to let us know, Emma. Maybe we could get her away from that Rock-head fella. You know, we can be pretty influential when we wanna be,” he joked.
“Yeah, I know you two could make a mother turn on her own children,” she retorted.
“Now, I wouldn’t go that far. Tony and me here are just two nice guys that take care of what needs to be taken care of,” Vincent bantered.
“Uh-huh,” Emma retorted, eyeing them as if she were a mother hen. “Well, this needs to be Maggie’s call. She’s got a young boy she takes care of, so you have to be careful.”
An hour later, Emma pulled Maggie aside as she was leaving the lap dance room.
“Hey, girl,” Emma sang. “I did some investigating about that Colby guy.”
Maggie’s eyes widened.
“Relax,” Emma cooed. “It’s all good. It was very discreet. Anyway, I found out that Rae Harker guy is for real. He’s been helping kids ever since his own daughter was taken. They found her dead, and he’s been an advocate for missing kids ever since. Anyway, he works with undercover people on the streets. So, if you can get Colby to talk about Harker, I think you can feel safe that he’s for real.”
“Where did you get all this information?” Maggie asked, still skeptical.
“That doesn’t matter, Mags. All that matters is you got something to go on now,” Emma told her sternly.
“Wait! Did you just call me Mags?”
“Yeah. Why? You don’t like it? I won’t call you that if you hate it,” Emma said.
“No, I love it, actually. My friend, Cali, who I told you about, she used to call me Mags. It feels like a hundred years since I’ve been called that,” Maggie said, feeling the pain of losing Cali all over again.
“Oh, OK. Well that’s what I’ll call ya, then,” Emma responded, feeling awkward that she’d brought up memories of Maggie’s past. “You sure it ain’t gonna make you sad?”
“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks for checking things out for me. No one knows I was asking, right? Rock will kill me if he ever found out what I was doing,” Maggie said with desperation in her voice.
“No one knows shit, Mags. Just do what you gotta do. It’s all good,” Emma reassured her. “I got your back.”
Maggie didn’t know what “I got your back” really meant coming from Emma, but a sense of security washed over her. She knew that Emma hadn’t shared everything about her own life. Maggie was certain there were details that Emma kept to herself, secrets that she’d never want anyone to know. Maggie was right.
As Maggie left Double Visions that night, Tony and Vincent trailed behind her. Armando peered through the open window of his car at the two men who were walking behind Maggie as she approached the car. As the two mafia men passed Armando, they glared at him with contempt. Tony couldn’t help but make a comment just loud enough for Armando to hear.
“Hey, Maggie, if ya ever need help, ya know we’ll be there for ya!”
“Um, thanks, Tony. Have a good night,” Maggie responded, feeling Armando’s anger rise as she stepped into the car.
Armando looked over at her. “What the fuck did those two Guido’s mean by that? What kind of help are you tellin’ them you need?” he asked, leaning in closer to her.
“Nothing, Armando. They didn’t mean anything by it. They’re probably drunk,” she rambled.
But Maggie had never seen Tony or Vincent get drunk in the bar. Sure, they had a few beers, but they were always in control of what was going on around them. Maggie respected them for that, not realizing that in their line of business, the only time they’d dare to catch a buzz would be in the company of other mobsters. In public, they remained in control at all times.
“Yeah, well, ya better keep your shit together, bitch, and that means keeping your fuckin’ mouth shut. Rock will cut those two pricks down in an instant. Then their deaths will be on your filthy hands,” Armando threatened.
As Armando put the car in drive and left the parking lot, Tony and Vincent watched his taillights disappear. Through the open car window, they’d both heard the conversation between Maggie and Armando.
Finally, Vincent turned to Tony. “Hey, Tone, ya think that was a threat? That lousy, low-life, rotten spick bastard doesn’t know who he’s fuckin’ wit’.”
“Yeah, I know, Vin. But remember, the family comes first. We can’t go startin’ shit wit’ out talkin’ to Salvatore first. I don’t see him bein’ too agreeable ‘bout us takin’ up arms over one of the girls that works here. Ya see what I’m sayin’?”
Vincent let out a long sigh. “Yeah, but don’t forget, Salvatore met Emma here. He might be more understandin’ than you think.”
“Yeah, maybe. Let’s just keep dis to ourselves for now. OK, Vin?”
“Sure, Tony. But I don’t like that asshole.”
“I don’t like him much either, but like I said—”
“I know, I know,” Vincent interrupted. “The family comes first. Always has and always will. That’s what we’re all about.”
“Right, Vincent. That’s exactly right,” Tony confirmed. But it didn’t stop him from worrying about Maggie’s fate at the hands of the prick that had just driven off with her.