Page 6 of Roman

“Look, Mr. Roman, whatever your beef is with her, I can’t help you.”

I tried not to smile at her salutation. It was rather adorable.

I hated adorable.

“How do you know it’s a beef?” I asked.

“I highly doubt you came in here to sing her praises. If she ran over your dog or stole from your liquor store, you have my deepest apologies. But I can’t fix it.”

I had to tamp down the urge to laugh.

Liquor store?

“That’ll be four fifty,” the blond girl said, handing me a cup and a bag.

Effie pushed the food my way. “On the house. I’d appreciate it if you would leave.”

I didn’t take exception to her words. In fact, I was proud of her. She recognized me as dangerous. Wanted nothing to do with me. I could respect that.

I pulled out my wallet and took out a fifty. I pushed it into the tip jar on the counter.

“If your sister comes to you, say no,” I instructed Effie.

She frowned. “What?”

“Just say no,” I repeated.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but if you’ve met her, then you know that rarely helps with Marianne,” she said dryly.

“Do it anyway.”

I picked up my food, and I left before I could say anything else.

My bagel was tasty and the coffee hot and strong. The surprise was the small, wrapped cookie in the bag. I hadn’t ordered a cookie—in fact, I never ate sweets. I looked at it, noticing it was shaped like a sunflower and decorated perfectly. I ate and sipped as the car sped along the highway toward Toronto. I gave in to temptation and had the cookie. It was decadent, tasting buttery and rich, the icing adding to the flavor. Why I consumed it, I had no idea.

I watched the skyline appear, the downtown core almost invisible with all the growth the past few years. My building sat among the skyscrapers, a place of play for people in the city and its visitors.

I couldn’t get Effie out of my mind. Those eyes. The lips that smiled naturally. The sweetness of her expression. The sheer unworldliness that surrounded her. I forced down the rage that continued to rise up. The image of the innocent woman Marianne Warner was so eager to use to help settle her debts kept reappearing in my head. I shuddered, thinking what some men would do to Effie. How quickly that innocence would be replaced by pain. How fast her life would be destroyed.

Something in your world, Marianne had said.

Effie Warner wasn’t my type. Nor did I pay for women and sex.

But many did. And they wouldn’t care anything about her. Her life before or after wouldn’t matter a thing to them.

The casino, Maple II, came into view, and I admired the building. Different from the Maple in Niagara Falls, which followed the flow of the land around it, this building was tall and thin, but still eye-catching and formidable.

My phone buzzed with a text from the men I had trailing Marianne to tell me they still had her in their sights. She was sitting in a bar, drinking and talking to someone on the phone.

I rolled my eyes. Running up a tab she would skip out on, no doubt.

I pushed the thoughts of Marianne and Effie from my mind. I had a meeting to concentrate on. Carlo opened my door, I stepped out of the SUV, the doormen and staff immediately jumping to attention. I strode through the large doors, stopping at the front desk, bypassing the line waiting.

“Mr. Costas. How good to see you,” the manager greeted me. “What can I do for you?”

“My suite and my table at seven.”

“Your suite is ready as always, and I’ll make sure your private booth is cleared and waiting.”

“Send up some scotch.”

“Immediately.”

I headed to the private elevator, ignoring the looks and the obvious attempts to get close by a few women. I wasn’t in the mood for company. I dismissed Carlo, knowing I was safe in this building. He would stay close, but out of my way.

I was in the mood for physical release, but not of a sexual nature. I didn’t want a stranger around me right now, and I never kept anyone on “retainer,” so to speak. I texted the trainer at the gym located downstairs. When he replied he was there and up for some sparring, I smiled.

Since sex was off the table, then punching someone would have to do.

I hoped he was ready.