The girl that wakes up at dawn and drinks more coffee than she should. The girl that collapses into me the second I’m home. Honey Martinez is kind and soft, the sweet that I never should have started it with.
The woman that I was powerless not to once I’d gotten a taste of her.
I watch the trio on the dais. Honey is all Vlahos now. She looks like she’s made of steel. She’s watching her mother with an unflinching stare. She’s speaking calmly while her mother gets more and more agitated and when the woman screams and points at her, Honey doesn’t flinch.
She smiles while Zeus looks on in approval. I don’t know this woman at all.
“What the fuck was that?”
Connie shrugs, shoulders raising as she grins at me. “Justice, I’d say.” We’ve just finished watching a scene worthy of a Greek tragedy unfold in front of us. Honey, Zeus and Rosario. All three of them are oblivious to the world around them, but that doesn’t mean the world has turned a blind eye to them.
The club goers are watching. Those close enough to the dais are watching the trio with interest, especially when Rosario starts to scream and throws herself at the guards. Honey doesn't move, she doesn’t so much as twitch a finger out of place, as she looks on as calmly as Zeus. They look like twins, cut from the same cloth to be sure. Anyone that looks at them would know they’re related.
I glare when Honey turns to glance at Zeus. He says something to her, something that has her inclining her head to him. She’s agreed to something. But what?
Rosario is dragged away, kicking and screaming. Spitting, the whole fucking nine-yards. but I can’t hear a word of what she screams at Honey. The music is too loud and before long the crowd swallows her up and she’s gone. Honey isn’t watching her when she vanishes. She’s staring at Zeus like she’s seen a ghost.
“What does he want with her?” Whatever she’s agreed to, the price is more than she was expecting. I can tell from the way she’s holding herself. How she’s biting her lip, the way her chin is tilted down so that she’s not looking directly at him. It’s the way Honey looks when she’s overwhelmed. I look at her hands and see they’re gripping the arm rests of her chair tightly. She’s about a second away from bolting from Zeus.
“I don’t-”
“Cut the shit, Connie. You said not to leave her here and now you’re lying to me.”
She purses her lips and sighs. “I said that I hadn’t been lying to you, but you did catch me there. This party isn’t just a birthday party, Law.”
“Gathered that as soon as I got my invite,” I grit out between clenched teeth. I feel like I could snap my molars in half with the effort of not going to Honey. I want to cross the room and knock Zeus on his ass before I take her into my arms. I want to carry her right out of this club and take her home where she’ll be safe. Where I can watch over her and put everything back to normal. But I can’t. Not yet.
“Yes, but probably not in the way that you think.”
“Meaning?”
Connie turns back to me and gestures for another drink. She gets this one much faster than the first and when someone bumps into her she glares. It’s a man twice her size, but all it takes is a single look to send him scrambling back and offering her apologies.
“No manners in these fucking idiots. He better not be one of them.”
“One of who?” My eyes are still on Honey. I don’t want to look anywhere else but at her, even though I know I should be sweeping the area. It’s not safe. There’s no doubt someone is tailing me, even though I’m with Connie. I’m not safe here, doesn’t matter who I’m with. But even knowing that doesn’t change the fact that I can’t look anywhere but at her.
My girl.
“It’s an engagement party,” Connie says.
I turn to stone. “What the fuck?”
“Zeus is looking for a husband for her. He’ll make her pick one tonight.”
“Fuck.”
“It’s what she just agreed to,” Connie tells me and throws back her drink. “I knew he was going to dangle Rosario in front of her for it. Didn’t think Honey would go through with it, but I won’t lie and say I didn’t enjoy watching it.”
I move to start toward the dais but catch myself. I take a deep breath and smooth a hand down the front of my coat. “What’d they do to the bitch?”
“Took everything. At least, I’m going to assume so if the look on Zeus’ face is anything to go by. He had plans to do it, but wanted Honey to be the one to say it.”
“He bankrupted her mother to force Honey to marry someone?”
“Yup. He’s getting old I guess. Wants grandkids. He’ll have her pick someone tonight and-”
“She’ll never agree to it,” I cut in. Honey wouldn’t. She’s a romantic. She’s not made for arranged Mafia marriages and political alliances. She’s… she’s the woman that was meant to wearmy ring.
