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“It’s good on most days,” I reply with a small shrug, averting my gaze from hers.
“Your boss sends flowers,” Beth says quietly.
My head snaps up in surprise. “He does?”
“He does,” Beth replies, entrapping me with her eyes. I know that look... It’s the same one she gets every time she figures out one of my secrets. “He even adds little notes wishing Mom a healthy recovery. So I guess you two are getting along better than I thought.”
“He’s such a gentleman,” I say, resisting the urge to bite my fingernails.
“He’s a mobster, Abby,” Beth says in a gentle tone, but I can hear the frustration in her voice.
“He’s much more than that,” I tell her, hoping she will understand. “He’s good to me and to others around him too. He’s good despite the place he comes from. That says a lot, B.”
Beth quietly studies my face for a few tense seconds then leans back in her seat with a resigned sigh. “You really like him, don’t you?”
“I do,” I reply with a jerky nod. “I know I shouldn’t, but I do. You don’t think I’m doing the right thing, do you? You think I’ll regret this.”
“Honestly?” Beth asks, shaking her head slowly. “I don’t know, Abby. Are you happy, though?”
“I am,” I reply with a shaky smile. “These days, I’m so happy I don’t remember what it feels like not to be.”
Beth leans forward and places her hand over mine on the table. “Then, I’m happy too, sis,” she says with a reassuring squeeze. “Whatever happens, you have my support.”
Relief floods me at her words. And it suddenly feels like a pressure has been lifted off my chest.
This time, I can’t do anything to stop the tears that slide down my face.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Carlos
Don Pablo is a surprisingly small man with sleazy looks that complement his sly nature. He has worked his way up to the top with only his brains and sly tricks.
Despite his deceptively frail looks, the Don is widely feared – and for a good reason, too. Despite trying to hide behind an impassive mask, I can see the surprise in his calculating gray eyes. That only confirms one thing; the Don didn’t orchestrate the second attack.
Don Pablo quietly holds my glare, refusing to back down either. I let my mouth pull up in a slow smirk as I fling the whimpering man in my grip at his feet. He was the last man standing.
“I wonder why your house is creeping with so many guards,” I say with a taunting smirk. “You must have a lot of people after your life.”
“Not as many as you, Rodriguez,” Don Pablo replies tonelessly, keeping his expression as inscrutable as always. “Why am I not surprised you’re alive?”
“Seems your men missed my heart by a few mere inches,” I reply, picking up a napkin from his table to wipe my bloody knuckles.
“What brings you here this fine afternoon?” Don Pablo asks. “Tired of playing dead?”
I pull a seat at the other end of the long table. I lean back and cross my legs easily. “I believe we have some scores to settle.”
“I’m unaware,” the Don replies with a slight shrug.
“The attack on my base,” I say. “It was completely unprovoked. That’s against the unwritten rules of the hood.”
“What gives you the impression that I ordered the attack?” Don Pablo asks with a wide-handed gesture. “I don’t believe we have any pending business.”
“You’re the only one coveting my title as King,” I say with a slow smirk. And you're honestly the only one who’d dare to cross swords with me, I don’t add
“I’m more befitting, to be honest,” Don Pablo replies with a dry snort. “As you can see for yourself. Your absence wasn’t even felt. That’s enough indication that you don’t belong in that position in the first place.”
“I hear you contacted Cross for a deal,” I say, pointedly ignoring his snide remark.
Don Pablo shrugs lightly. “It’s a profitable business. It’s what we are all about, isn’t it?”
“That shit is all mine,” I say in a cold tone. I hold Don Pablo’s gaze, ensuring that he sees the threat I’m relaying.
“I’ve got a contract that says otherwise,” Don Pablo insists.
“Was that why you sent your men the second time?” I ask.
“There was no first time,” Don Pablo says. “Neither was there a second. I’m an honorable man as far as honor goes among our kind. Of course, we aren’t friends, but I never ordered a hit against you. At no point did I even entertain such a thought.
It was hard to tell if he was speaking the truth – he most likely wasn’t. “I don’t believe you,” I say simply.
A slow smile spreads across Don Pablo’s face. “There is nothing I can do about that, ” he replies with a shrug. “I know how persistent you are, though, Drago. Unfortunately, your next visit isn’t going to be so easy.”
