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It was definitely Heidi inside the spacious single-stall bathroom. Heidi kicking the shit out of a trash can. Definitely not what I’d been expecting.
Obviously, she didn’t hear me come in, so it was only by chance that she looked up and caught sight of me in the bathroom mirror.
She froze for a second, then spun to face me and stood up straighter.
“What on earth are you doing in here?” she asked with that tone I fucking loved coming through even in the midst of whatever meltdown she was having.
She looked incredible. The slit in her dress was parted, her hair was mussed, and her cheeks were flushed.
“I was about to ask you the same question,” I said, leaning back against the door.
“Well, don’t. Feel free to leave, though. This is theladies’room,” she said, motioning around the small room.
“What’s going on,perla?” I asked, undaunted.
“What’s going on is I’ve made a terrible mistake.”
I looked at the trash bin that was looking like it had seen better days. “I’m sure it can be replaced.”
She huffed, then shook her head, her shoulders sagging just a little. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“They’re not that bad, are they?” I asked. I mean, as much as I complained about Greta and the others, they weren’t actually evil. If they’d said something unkind though…
“No, of course not,” she said, shaking her head. “Or at least, I don’t think so.”
There was more; she was holding it back under the guise of washing her hands in the sink.
Since it appeared the thud had come from her wreaking vengeance on a trash can and she was in no immediate danger, I waited patiently for her to answer.
She looked up at me in the mirror, her eyes a little wider like a cornered animal. Eventually, her lips parted and words fell out.
“With everyone yelling to be heard over the music, their voices get muddled together to me, so I can’t make out what they’re saying. And when people yell, it makes lip-reading more difficult because it changes the way facial muscles move to produce speech.”
Well, Christ, I hadn’t even considered that. Not that I knew a great deal about lip-reading.
“It’s very frustrating to feel like I’m just a kid again, trying to navigate with no ability to communicate.” She sighed. “I think I’d just like to go home.”
“I’ll take you,” I said. It’s where I’d wanted her anyway, but I felt very little victory in it at the moment.
She stared at her own reflection in the mirror for a moment, then her gaze shifted to mine. She nodded to me and turned to leave, but then paused long enough to straighten the trash can.
It didn’t surprise me at all to find Nico Costa, don of the Costa family, outside the door the moment we stepped out of the bathroom. Aldo would have gotten in contact with him seconds after handing me the key.
Nico was leaning against the opposite wall, his arms crossed over his chest, but his green eyes were devoid of the ice that usually inhabited them.
“Is everything all right here?” he asked as he pushed away from the wall and his gaze moved from Heidi to me. The music was still loud back here, making him raise his voice to be heard.
“Everything’s fine. This is Dr. Heidi Dawson,” I told him, then turned to Heidi. “Heidi, this is Nico Costa—Raven’s fiancé,” I said in a normal speaking tone.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Dawson,” Nico said, following my lead and speaking normally, which did surprise me. He held out his hand, and she took it, shaking briskly before dropping her hand back to her side.
“And you as well,” she said, just loud enough to be heard over the music like she was adept at adjusting her own volume accordingly even if she didn’t hear the world the same way we did.
“I’m going to take Heidi home. I’d appreciate it if you passed the message along to Raven and Greta.”
“Of course,” he replied, motioning to the rear exit of the club, saving us from having to navigate back through to the main entrance. Clearly, he’d read the situation correctly.
“Grazie, Nico.”
