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“Apple Crown with Sprite. Hey, Fred. What do you want?” I call out.
He turns around. “Oh. Sorry. Umm, just a beer is fine. Budweiser.”
Luca gets our drinks and I slip him a twenty. “Thanks.”
I walk to the other side, wanting to get as far from the ballroom as I can, but giving myself the opportunity to see someone coming.
It doesn’t take long before I see Vicente rush out of the room and desperately seek me out, his head whipping from side to side as he searches the rows of slots where I just was. The guy that spotted me was the one who got me a shirt from the boutique when I spilled coffee all over myself. He was the one that I thought looked too young and sweet to be in the mafia. Apparently, he’s also a snitch.
I slink into the shadows, trying to hide myself behind other patrons. A small part of me is happy to see him so frantic to find me.
“Thanks for the beer,” Fred says, holding his bottle to my glass so we can clink them together.
“It was only fair. You paid for the cab.”
We smile at each other before we take our respective sips. When Fred steps to the side, I find Vicente staring straight at me, his eyes moving to Fred before he spins around and disappears.
At first, I think,Ha! Good. Be mad.But then I remember who he is and how I might’ve just put Fred at risk by being around me. He acted so coldly toward me at our last encounter, so why would he care if I was with another guy. Did he expect me to never date again? And it’s not like this is even a date.
“Maybe we should go,” I say with a slight panic in my tone.
“Huh? Why? We just got our drinks.”
“I don’t know. I just think…I’m…” I trail off, unsure what to say since I can’t tell him I think I may have just angered my ex-lover, a mafia underboss, by standing near him in a casino the mafia underboss owns.
My eyes keep flickering toward the ballroom door as I nervously spin the glass in my hands.
“Are you okay?” he questions, following my gaze. “Is someone bothering you?”
“I’m fine,” I say, forcing a smile before I put down my glass and reach for the phone in my purse.
Autumn:Something happened. One of the guys came in and talked to Vicente.
Autumn:He stormed out. Shit. Is he looking for you?
Autumn:Mariella, what happened? He just came back. He’s fuming.
Autumn:Oh fuck. He’s talking to a couple other guys.
Me:He just saw me with a guy at the bar. He’s just a neighbor. Hardly even a friend.
Autumn:A couple guys slipped out the other door. It leads to a back hallway that’ll take them to the offices and such.
Me:Oh shit.
Autumn:Good. Let him be jealous.
Because I continued to lie to her, she doesn’t realize how dangerous this is. I’ve convinced her he’s not a murderer. I’ve told her he’s gone legit. She wouldn’t think he would kill Fred or threaten me.
“I have to go,” I tell Fred. But I don’t want him to be left here alone. “Will you come with me? I hate being out at night alone,” I say, hoping it works. “I can buy you another beer on the way,” I offer with a forced smile, hoping he falls for it.
His face marks his confusion with furrowed brows and creases in his forehead. He slowly glances in the direction of the ballroom, finding nothing.
“Okay.”
ChapterTwenty-Nine
Ispeed walk out of the building, forcing myself to not look behind me but imagining Vicente rushing up to grab me by the arm.
