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And if he isn’t aware yet, he will be by the end of the night.
Swallowing, I look up at the building. It’s huge, a sign hanging on the side with rusted letters. A small light is glinting overhead but even with it I can’t make out what the words were supposed to say.
I see a dark car parked a couple of feet away from the entrance and I know it has to belong to Dox or Diamond.
“Remember, you’re not to say anything,” Giovanni tells me as he looks over at me. He keeps his eyes on me until I give a quick nod of my head. He opens his mouth but hesitates before looking away from me. “I’ll make sure you remain safe,” his eyes flit back to mine and I can’t quite describe the emotion in them, “just remember that.”
The intensity to the words isn’t lost on me and neither is the weird feeling that it evokes in my stomach.
So, this is what it feels like when everything has already gone to hell.
Can’t say I love it.
Giovanni pushes his door open and I take that as my cue, opening my own door. It hasn’t quite cooled down yet, fall just barely starting, but there’s a slight breeze in the air and I let it wash over my skin as I remind myself one more time not to worry too much.
Giovanni moves over to my side of the car, his eyes moving around the space as if he’s expecting a sneak attack. Seeming satisfied, he reaches out, grabbing my elbow without looking at me. The touch is firm, his fingers warm, but it doesn’t hurt, even as he more or less drags me in the direction of the entrance.
He pulls the door open and with how deftly he moves through the building, I can’t help but wonder how many times he’s been to this place.
We met at a different place the last time I accompanied him to a Seven Quad meeting.
I look around, taking in the long hall. There’s a few doors but they’re all closed, and I think maybe at some point this was an office space. With the way some of the lights flicker I don’t think it’s used for that anymore though.
Giovanni finally comes to the last door and he spares me one final look before pulling the door open.
I expect someone to jump out at us after the buildup of anticipation but that doesn’t happen. Instead, we find Dox sitting at a wooden table and surprisingly, Diamond isn’t with him.
I feel it when Giovanni tenses ever so slightly and I know he must be noticing the same thing. But he quickly masks his surprise, moving into the room.
I follow him, my eyes moving over the strange man sitting next to Dox. He’s young with brown skin a shade lighter than my own. He has pretty, black curls on his head, and a neck tattoo of some type of flower. It should make him look soft, but somehow it only gives him an edge as his brown eyes move over us.
Dox is reclined in his seat, his gold walking stick laid on the table in front of him. For a moment there’s nothing but silence in the room, but then Dox is standing, the smile of a snake on his face. “Giovanni,” his gaze moves to me, “Winter.”
“Dox,” Giovanni says.
There’s two seats across from Dox and his associate. He gestures to them. “Take a seat.”
Giovanni doesn’t move. “There a reason you want our backs to the door, Dox?” he asks instead.
Dox’s smile widens. “I don’t know, Giovanni, you’re the one with plans to stab me in mine, right?”
And just like that, it’s all out on the table. Dox’s smile drops and his associate stands, but no one makes an aggressive move.
Instead, it’s the most intense stare off I’ve seen in my life, and I try to sneak a look at Giovanni, wanting to know what his next play is. His face is blank though, his head held high as he holds Dox’s gaze.
“If you want to talk about stabbings, let's talk about the way you gutted my father.”
My heart pounds faster in my chest and I look at Giovanni again but despite his words, his face is blank as he speaks casually of his father’s death.
Dox jaw tightens before he relaxes. He grabs his walking stick off of the table, slamming the bottom of it onto the ground as he leans on it. The gesture is something you’d see a frail older person do but when a slow, vicious smile spreads on Dox’s face I know he’s anything but fragile.
“Figured you’d realize the truth eventually,” he says with a shrug.
Holy fuck, the people in this room are a little too casual with their lives for me.
Only someone ready to meet their maker would shrug at Giovanni Costa.
“So you’re not going to try to even deny it?” Giovanni asks and his hand that was still on my elbow leaves.
