Read KNOX: Volume 2 for Free Online Page B

him. He was covered in her blood. There was no denying he did it. But he tried to use my dad’s name in his statement to the police, saying that my father ordered the hit.
    Lenny Pastore was one of the few guys my father ordered to leave the neighborhood after Tony escaped from the courthouse. Lenny spent a lot of time with Tony before the murder and my father didn’t want anyone around if he didn’t trust them one-hundred percent.
    I stop pedaling and step off the machine. “Hey, Lenny. How are you doing?”
    He looks way too excited to see me. His thinning brown hair is slick with sweat. His brown eyes are wide with anticipation.
    “Hey, you look great!” he says. “I heard you were in Manhattan now, but I didn’t know you were right here in midtown. Where are you staying?”
    “Hell’s Kitchen. Where are you staying these days?”
    “Oh, you know. Here and there. I just got back from the Bahamas. My wife wanted a summer vacation. You know how it is. You’re married, right?”
    I grab my towel off the machine and drape it over my neck. “No, I’m not.”
    “Really? I could have sworn I heard you were with some hotshot guy … Knox … Knox Savage?”
    “Where did you hear that?”
    “Oh, just around. I heard his company was handling the security detail for your dad’s bond.”  
    I squint at him, unsure if I’m hearing him correctly. “I don’t know anything about the conditions of my dad’s case or his bail. I haven’t spoken to him in years. And I don’t know anything about Knox Security.”
    “But I didn’t say anything about Knox Security.”
    Shit.
    “Well, I don’t know anything about them, but I’ve heard of Knox Savage. I mean, everyone has, right?”
    He cocks an eyebrow as if he’s caught me in a lie. “Yeah, right. Well, it was good seeing you. Hope I’ll see you around again.”
    I nod as he walks away, cursing myself for making such a stupid mistake. What if Lenny is still in contact with Tony? What if that whole conversation was just Tony fishing for information on Knox?
    I’ll have to tell Knox about this conversation during our date tonight. Somehow, I don’t think this will elicit the good kind of punishment.

12

    “Where are you taking me? I’m beginning to wonder if I should be afraid of that devious smile.”
    “You have nothing to fear tonight,” Knox replies as the car whisks us across Manhattan. “I’m taking you to Coney Island.”
    “Coney Island? But — should you be anywhere near Brooklyn?”
    “Relax. There’s a reason you didn’t recognize me when you saw me in that garage four weeks ago. I’ve had some work done.”
    “Yeah, but your eyes give you away.”
    “To who? Do you think any of the guys from the neighborhood spent hours dreaming about my eyes the way you have?”
    He smirks and I smack his arm. “You think that’s funny?”
    “No. I think it’s beautiful.” He leans across the backseat and holds my chin as he lays a soft kiss on my jaw. “But not as beautiful as you.”
    I press my lips together to hide my stupid grin. By the time we get to Coney Island, I’m on hyper-alert for any of our old friends and neighbors. Most of them are married with kids now. So Sunday night is probably not the most popular night for them to come to Coney Island. But I’m still very nervous.
    The instant the car pulls into the parking lot at the Brooklyn Cyclones ballpark, my nerves subside. This was one of my favorite places to go as a kid. My dad would always take me to a couple of games in the summer. Until the shakeup in 2004. But I don’t ever remember Marco coming with us.
    Knox helps me out of the car and keeps a hold of my hand as we walk toward the park entrance. “You once told me about how your dad used to bring you here. You said it was your favorite place in all of Brooklyn.”
    “I did?”
    He laughs. “Yeah, the time I came to the shop and you were stealing some soda cans out of the cooler. You held the cans against your cheeks. You