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Lisa jerks her head toward someone. “Do you guys know the man who’s obviously wearing a red wig?”
“Baldy McDougal of the Irish mob,” I tell her. “A Boston gang with some of the oldest old farts on the East Coast.”
“He looks more like Ronald McDonald than a dangerous gangster,” she says with a cute giggle.
“This is kinda fun,” Leo says, and then Bobby shoots him a look from hell. “Not that I’m not watching after you, boss man.”
I don’t want Enzo getting on to me, so I shake off the chill vibe I accidentally slipped into and get back to business. “Time to work, Lisa. You keep your head on a swivel and alert me to anything out of the ordinary.”
“I get to do some guarding too?” she asks with a little squeak in her voice. “Cool!”
I feel a smile tug at my lips and quickly get my mouth back under control. But knowing she’s into this makes me like her that much more.
She’s not a chicken, that’s for sure. She’s got guts, and what’s more, she’s willing to go along with anything.
I couldn’t have picked a better woman for me if I had asked God to make her for me.
“I think that’s an actor,” she whispers to me. “That one from all the gangster movies. You know the guy.”
Looking in the direction she is, I see a Hollywood actor and laugh. “You’re right. It’s him. I guess he got some don to let him come as his guest. Genuis, really.”
A loud sound comes from overhead, and then a voice comes over what seems to be a PA system. “Dinner is being served in the great hall if everyone will make your way there now.”
“I didn’t know there would be a dinner too,” Lisa says with excitement.
But I’m not nearly as excited as she is. Forcing us to eat could mean bad things. Poison comes to mind and how easy it would be to kill off all the competition. One family could end up taking over everyone’s businesses.
“Make sure not to eat anything that tastes odd,” I lean up to tell Enzo in his ear.
He nods and leans in to tell his wife the same thing.
must have heard me because she ,“You think something might be wrong with the food?”
“I doubt it, but you can’t be too careful.” The place is filled with notorious criminals, so anything could happen.
“What if it’s really good?” she asks. “Can I eat it then?”
I want her to have a good time. “If it tastes fine, feel free to eat all you want.”
Nodding, she smiles. “I bet there’s going to be some super fancy food. Maybe lobster and caviar.”
Finally, we get into the great hall. There are five long tables in the middle of the room. We take a cluster of seats together, with me sitting right next to my brother and Lisa on the other side of me.
Domed silver trays are in front of everyone, and once we’re all seated, the same voice from before comes from above us again, “Please remove the lids from your trays and enjoy your first course of this seven-course journey into a culinary event you won’t soon forget.”
Great—seven fucking dishes that could be poisoned!
Seeing my expression, Lisa leans over and kisses my cheek before whispering in my ear, “I know you’re worried, but I don’t think they would poison anyone. If one person becomes sick, all hell would break loose, and everyone in this place would probably end up dead. I don’t think anyone wants that to happen.”
“Then relax and enjoy the meal,” I say and kiss her lips softly. “Have I told you that you’re really good for me?”
“No, but I like to hear it. For the record, you’re really good for me too, babe.” She takes the dome off her plate, revealing a bowl of chowder. “Yum, New England chowder. I bet this is going to be magnificent.”
“You’re magnificent.” I can’t help but gush over her a little. “And you look like a movie star.”
“Aww, and you look like my handsome costar.” She kisses me, making me feel at ease.
Not that I should let my guard down for a moment!
