Chapter 74

I wait anxiously on a bar stool as the evening shift begins at Lupa, my eyes on the door, my back ramrod straight.

It was a fight, of course, last night, when we walked in the door and Frankie cheerfully announced to Christian and Nico that I was a dumbass who set another date with Edward for tonight. Violetta, luckily, was in the shower. Christian, obviously, immediately had a meltdown and forbade me to go.

Nico, however, pointed out that me not going was going to be more obvious. Christian stormed off then, slamming his bedroom door behind him in his anger, and then Nico stormed into my room and picked out the outfit that I’m currently wearing. A fashionable black dress, as usual, but with long sleeves and a high turtleneck. He tried to make me wear some very puritanical low-heeled shoes with it, but I drew my line there. Instead, I picked out some little ankle booties that make my legs look about a mile long in this short skirt.

But now, as I look down at my stockinged legs in those cute little boots, I wonder if I’ve made the wrong choice. I mean, fashion-wise, it was definitely the right one. But considering what Edward did yesterday, with his hands on my legs…

I mean, do I want to tempt him again?

And as I truly consider it, I realize anew that it is absolutely not a rhetorical question, and I do not instantly know the answer.

I’m utterly distracted from figuring out the answer, though, when Frankie appears from the service area dressed in a very fashionable, very expensive suit, of all things. I look at him in surprise as he walks to my side, because all day – until five minutes ago, in fact, when he disappeared back there – he’d been dressed in a sweater and jeans.

“What’s this?” I ask, my eyes wide as I gesture to his outfit.

“Well, Marino’s going to take you somewhere nice, Bambs,” he says, frowning at me as he leans against the bar. “I should at least try to fit in.”

My mouth pops open in shock.

“What?” he asks, frowning at me.

“Frankie,” I whisper. “I mean, you can’t come –“

“The fuck I can’t!” he says, giving a little laugh and looking towards the door. “Do you seriously think that I’d let Marino take you somewhere alone? Or that Christian would?”

“Frankie!” I hiss, grabbing his lapel and making him look back at me. “You don’t think it’s going to be suspicious? That Romano would send one of his slutty girls out on a date with a mafia contact and send a bodyguard along with her?”

Frankie frowns at me, obviously considering this for the first time.

“Do Christian and Nico even know you’re doing this!?”

“Well, Christian does,” he murmurs, flicking my hand off of his lapel and straightening his suitcoat, buttoning it down the front in preparation to leave. “We didn’t tell Nico.”

“For a reason!” I hiss, starting to get mad. “You knew he wouldn’t let you!”

“Two against one,” Frankie murmurs, frowning at me. “Nico would have been outvoted.”

I groan, putting my face in my hands, knowing that I can’t stop Frankie if he’s intent on following Edward and me to the restaurant and knowing that Edward’s going to have about a thousand questions about why he’s there.

“What’s this?” I hear Andre ask, and both Frankie and I turn to see him standing behind us, his arms crossed.

I quickly explain, and as I do Andre turns his angry gaze on Frankie alone. “Absolutely not,” he snaps, shaking his head at his brother. “Bambi is right – you’re blowing everyone’s cover if you go along, Frank. You stay here, with me.”

Frankie’s jaw drops. “But Christian said -!”

“And Romano said,” Andre growls, stepping forward to challenge his brother, “that Bambi was to give Marino whatever he wants. Do you seriously think that Romano isn’t going to have your head, and Christian’s, and mine, and hers if you fuck this up for him!?”

Frankie snaps his jaw shut, glaring at Andre.

“You’re all too involved with each other,” Andre snaps, pointing between me and Frankie and then towards the door, I guess implicating Christian too. “She’s going, and she’s going to show Marino a nice time. If she doesn’t want to fuck him, she can do what a thousand other girls have done throughout time and find her own way out of it.”

“And what would you suggest she do?” Frankie says through clenched teeth.

“I don’t know, Frank,” Andre growls, leaning closer to him, “burp a lot during dinner, cry about an imaginary ex, spend two hours talking about her Hello Kitty collection, barf on his shoes! Whatever she wants! Do you think I give a shit!?”

Frankie stands straight again, blinking at his brother, and then he turns to me. “Actually, yeah,” he says, nodding. “You should do that – do all of that, Bambs, that will get you out of this.”

And he stares at me as I bite my lip, wondering if…well, still wondering if I want to get out of this.

Frankie almost literally gasps as he watches me hesitate, clearly reading my mind and figuring out what I’m thinking. “Bambs!” he snaps, grabbing my arm. “You aren’t seriously –“

“Off of her,” Andre nearly shouts, leaning across the bar and smacking Frankie on the arm. “You idiot, he’s here –“

And Frankie does step away, and I look to the door just in time to see Edward Marino step into the room. He looks around, and when his eyes fall on me a slow smile creeps onto his lips.

He doesn’t say a word, doesn’t come in to get me. Just tilts his head towards the door, letting me know that it’s time to go.

I sigh, turning towards him, and I look back at Andre, who gives me a steady nod. “On his shoes, Bambi,” Andre says, completely serious. “He makes you uncomfortable for a second, and you barf right on his shoes.”

I can’t help it, laughing a little as I nod to my boss and start towards the door.

I let my eyes drift over Frankie as I go, and my smile falls away because his face is just so serious, and so devastated, to see what I’m walking into. And because he knows he’s not going to be able to protect me from it. I give him a little nod in turn, letting him know that I will be okay.

But Frankie just scowls and pulls out his phone, beginning to type furiously into it. Again, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind who Frankie’s texting right now. It’s certainly not Nico, and it’s absolutely one particular mob boss who is going to be pissed as hell at me that I stopped Frankie from tagging along.

I keep going, putting a smile on my face and moving to Edward’s side.

“Ready?” he murmurs, his hand slipping around me and settling on my lower back.

“Ready,” I say, smiling up into his face.

Without another word, Edward escorts me out of the safety of the bar and into his world.