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“Or you can quit and stay in my house at all times.” He pauses. “Or you can die. Honestly, Mariella,” he says with frustration, standing up and walking toward a door to the left.
I stay on the floor as I hear the sound of water running from the room he disappeared into. He’s gone for about ten minutes, giving me time to think over my options. Dying, not one I’m interested in. Staying in his house as a captive without the ability to go to school or work is also not high on my list. Having a bodyguard isn’t that appealing but it’s the best of the three, I suppose. I can tell Autumn he offered one of his guys to protect me from the stalkers I’ve been having. I can also lie and say that whatever I heard before was something else. I could tell her it was actual club business and maybe someone was drunk and fighting. She doesn’t have to know about the murder. I can still protect her.
When Vicente struts back in, he’s got most of the blood off of his skin. He walks to the cabinets behind his desk and takes another shirt out.
“So, what’s it gonna be?” he questions.
I get up and sit back on the couch, straightening my back. “I don’t want it to be Jian or Tommy.”
He eyes me carefully. “Okay.” I watch as he buttons his shirt up, hiding the tattoo on his chest. “But I have conditions. You will quit working at the casino, in both locations.” My brows shoot up and my lips part to argue, but he puts a hand up to quiet me down. “Instead, you’ll work directly for me, so you’ll still get a paycheck, and I’ll be able to keep an eye on you.”
“But, I’m in culinary school and I need the connections from The Blue Chip so I can hopefully be hired there once I’m done.”
“I have connections.”
“Legal ones?” I ask, wishing I hadn’t.
His lips curl up. “Nobody is gonna say no to me.”
Yeah, I get that.
“What will I have to do?”
“Whatever I tell you to,” he snaps.
I jolt back. “Okay.”
“You’re not going home tonight. I’m gonna give you your phone and you’re going to call your friend and make up a lie. Make it believable.”
He pulls my cell from his pocket and tosses it next to me. As soon as I power it on, I’m flooded with notifications from both Autumn and Noah. I have dozens of texts and missed calls, begging me to respond, threatening to call the cops, and then questioning whether they should. Autumn knows I’m in Briton, and if she ended up tracking my location, based on the timestamp, she could be here within fifteen minutes.
I look up at Vicente who watches me with a stern expression, and then I inhale deeply and call Autumn.
“Jesus Christ, Mariella. Where are you? Are you safe? Me and Noah are freaking out. I wasn’t sure if I should call the cops. I didn’t know if you died or what happened. The phone cut off and—” Her breath quivers before she exhales.
“I’m sorry. I’m fine. Remember, I told you I was going through the exit doors? Well, my phone just lost service. I got all the way out of the building and then had to figure out what I wanted to do. I called my mom and as I was on the phone, Vicente came out.” He watches me, his eyes narrowing. “Turns out I was overreacting,” I say, forcing a laugh. “I guess there was a drunk customer who was crossing some lines and they were trying to talk to him and calm him down, but he was trying to fight everyone. I don’t know,” I say, trying to act casual. “Vicente was worried when he didn’t find me in his office and came out and found me to explain what was going on.”
“Is he there right now?” Autumn asks.
I stare straight into Vicente’s eyes. “No. He’s off talking to someone.”
“Are you staying with your mom tonight or are you coming home?”
“I don’t want to bother her, but the thought of traveling all the way back to Luzington makes me wanna die.” I pause. “One sec, I think my mom is calling me back.”
I mute the phone and look at Vicente. “Where do you live?”
“I have a condo in the city and a house in Cannon Grove.”
“Should I tell her I’m staying with my mom? She has my location and I can’t just turn it off now.”
“You need to tell her the phone will die soon. Turn it off and she won’t know where you are.”
I nod.
“Okay, I’m back. Turns out my mom does want me to stay with her. So, I guess I’ll stay here for the night, but I don’t have my charger or anything, so I’m going to shut it off and save some power for tomorrow when I start making my way back. Don’t freak out. I promise I’m okay. I’m sorry I worried you earlier.”
Autumn sighs. “Honestly, I didn’t know what to think, but I’m glad you’re okay.”
