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“It’s time to get our day started, soldier,” he says, tapping his fingers along his thigh.
“What are we doing?” I ask hesitantly, stepping out of the bed. I’ve never been a fan of people hovering over me, and only an idiot would be dumb enough to not be at attention with a man as frightening as Maximo in the room.
His eyes flit over me, moving from my face down to my bare feet, which I suddenly feel self-conscious about. When his eyes move back to mine, it’s accompanied by a smirk on his lips. “We’re going to a poker game.”
I blink, glancing at the window. Morning rays of light beam into the room. “This early?” I ask in confusion.
“Of course, the best things happen in the dark, but money is made in the light,Enzo.” There’s a certain lilt to the way he says my name. As if he knows everything about me, from the first person I kissed to the nightmares I lived through in the middle east.
It’s… unsettling.
“Okay.” I look down at the t-shirt and flannel pants that were left for me before bed last night. “I need-”
“Something to wear,” he cuts me off. “Irena!”
A short woman comes bustling into the room and I have to wonder if she was waiting outside of the door.Is everyone at Maximo’s beck and call?
The woman’s eyes don’t lift from the ground as she holds up a suit on a hanger. It’s black, the fabric pressed to perfection. “Give it to him,” Maximo tells her shortly, his voice holding more of an edge now.
The woman hurries to me, her gaze still on the ground. Somehow, she doesn’t run into me. “Thank you,” I tell her, taking the hanger from her hands.
She doesn’t respond.
“Leave,” Maximo orders and she does so, hastily. His gaze returns to me. “There are shoes under the bed for you.”
That catches me off guard. I know for a fact that I took in every corner of this room last night, including under the bed, and there wasn’t a thing under it. Not even a speck of dust. Which means someone was in here while I slept.
I tense up. “Someone was here while I slept?”
“Just me,” he says too casually, and he must catch the surprise in my face because his grin widens and he moves closer. “You’re not the only spook around here, Enzo.” He moves close enough to tap me on the chest. “Now let's go, temptation waits for no one.”
***
My gaze moves around the alley that we pull into, my brows pulling together. When I catch Maximo watching me, I relax, not wanting to give anything away. But from the way he smirks, I’m guessing he’s seen all that he needs to see.
The brick walls of the alleyway are covered in graffiti and the thick layer of trash lining the gravel makes it nearly invisible.
There are a few cars already pulled in at the end of the alleyway, closer to a door sitting just above a ramp. All of the cars look likethey cost more than I made the entire time I was in the military. Audis, Mercedes, even a bright red Ferrari.
Maximo puts his car in park in one of the vacant spots. “Come on,” he says to me before getting out and I have no choice but to follow him.
I step out of the car, frowning at the putrid stench.
Maximo walks toward the ramp and I follow, keeping my eyes peeled. It may be bright daylight, but something about this place just feels so… shady.
The sound of a door opening catches my attention, drawing my eyes up to the now open door. I pause, taking in the woman standing in the doorway.
She’s absolutely stunning.
Her jet black hair is pulled back into a tight bun that emphasizes the sharp lines of her face. Black paints her plump lips and as we get closer, bright green eyes snap in my direction. As her gaze moves over me, I continue my inspection, pausing as I take in the dark ink running up and down both of her arms. She’s wearing a short sleeve tank top and dark jeans.
Finally, her gaze moves away from me to Maximo. “Cousin? You brought a snack to the game?”
Cousin?
Maximo’s head tilts back as he laughs, “It depends on if you’re hungry, Lucia.”
The woman, Lucia, is the one to laugh this time and as we get closer to her, she draws Maximo into a hug. She says something too low for me to hear before pulling away.
