The diner looks the same as it did when I ate here with Lukis. Probably because it happened two days ago. Except this time, rather than eating with a man who has a shady past that makes me curious, Antonio’s past makes me nervous. Sure, I haven’t seen Antonio’s bag of guns, but what is he doing to have somebody chasing him with an arsenal of them? It can’t be good.
“This one is nice,” Antonio says to the large man following two steps behind us as he walks with his hand on the small of my back, guiding me to a booth in the middle of the restaurant.
I try to sit on the seat opposite him, but he waits until I pick a side and sits next to me. His big honking goon slides across from us, scowling in my direction. Antonio didn’t take time to introduce us when I met him by the office five minutes ago. The longer this goes on, the more I’m assuming we’re supposed to pretend he’s not there.
The restaurant is nowhere near full but enough people are here to create a small noise level, which filters around the room and covers up any conversation we have. I worry it’ll interfere with the small listening device Lukis put my pocket along with a hundred instructions of what to tell and not tell Antonio before he agreed to let me out of the motel room.
He cares . . . at least about his recorder.
Not that I care he cares. I stick my hand in my left pocket and run my finger along the edge of the device.
Although if he cared, I doubt he’d let me be here in the first place.
“No need to be nervous, Hannah.” Antonio nearly reaches into my pocket, his fingers wrapping around my wrist and pulling my hand out, setting it on top of the table. My skin crawls where he touches it, but at least he doesn’t feel the small recording box.
I giggle from nervousness and the ever-increasing desire to puke. Let’s hope he thinks my nerves are from being next to him and not the fact I worry I will be shot. “Sorry, I don’t mean to be nervous.”
Antonio smiles. “Do not fear. Many women have the same reaction when they find themselves in my presence.”
Ewww.
The disgusting comment is enough to pull me out of my nervous stupor. “Well, Antonio, you’ll find I’m not like most women.” I’ve never been a great at flirting, but I smile and lean casually in his direction. Ha, record this Lukis.
“That’s what I hoped.”
Antonio taps the plastic covered menu on the laminate booth countertop to get our waitress’ attention.
Last time, I had the three-cheese omelet with Lukis, and it was delicious. I’ll stick with breakfast, but I do eggs and toast this time. Breakfast is one of those meals you can eat any time of the day. Even at four o’clock in the afternoon.
The waitress pulls up her order pad and stops at the end of our table. The woman looks at me, nodding her head and waiting for my order. “What can I get y’all?” I’m thankful she’s not the same person as when I was here with Lukis. We don’t need anyone asking about the hunk I ate with before.
With an open mouth, I get ready to order, but Antonio beats me to it. “We’ll all three have the turkey club, coleslaw on the side, and a glass of water.” He collects the three menus and hands them back across the space.
Oh. I guess I’m getting a club sandwich.
She leaves, and Antonio smiles, beaming a set of pearly whites in the seat beside me. “I hope you like turkey clubs.”
The time to ask would have been before he ordered. Any other day, I would’ve gotten up and started on my way out. I don’t date men who order my food. But I can’t do that today. Lukis was adamant I have to keep them distracted any way possible until he gives me the okay to leave.
With that on the forefront of my mind, I smile, rather than slap him and make nasty comments. Lukis owes me eggs.
“I love turkey clubs and a man who takes charge.” I’m not sure if it comes out sultry like I intended or like a stripper on drugs, but I have to work with what I’ve got, which in the case of flirting, it isn’t much. With an ego already inflated enough to order for a woman at lunch, I’m sure Anthony will pick up the signals I’m flashing.
“So, what brings you to this neck of the desert?” Antonio asks.
“Well . . .” I fidget with my silverware until Antonio places his hand over mine. “The trip wasn’t planned. I was on my way to Vegas and my car broke down on the side of the road.”
“So, it was fate then?”
“Twenty-four hours ago, I would’ve said it was horribly bad luck.” I smile and do a sexy slow blink in Antonio’s direction. Psft, and to think my parents wouldn’t put me in acting classes in seventh grade. I could have an Oscar by now.
“And now?” he asks, continuing to hold my hand over the top of the table.
Now I worry fate really is fucking with me. Why else would she dump me out here in the middle of nowhere? The woman threw me right in the clutches between two madmen.
Of course, I can’t tell him any of those thoughts. I stare down at my napkin, hoping Antonio will think I’m being shy, not that I can’t look him in the eyes and lie. “Now maybe she knew exactly where I need to be.”
Gah, it’s so sappy, I could be a Hallmark movie. Again, if only someone would have put me in fucking acting class.
“I agree, my dear. But tell me what will you do now?”
“Oh,” now I look up, this not needing to be a lie. Lukis wanted me to stick to as much of the truth as possible. “Wait for my dad to return from a vacation and take me home.”
“And the car?”
I shrug. “Still on the side of the road where I left it, I guess.” I’m hoping if I ignore the car for long enough, it will rust out and blow away.
Antonio shakes his head in disbelief. “That will not do. We must buy you a new one.”
“Oh, I can’t afford a new car. I lost my job.”
“Nonsense, I will buy you a new car.”
“What? Oh no. Definitely not.” There’s no explaining to Lukis how I came back from a lunch date with a car.
What kind of guy is Antonio to offer someone a car on a first date? Creepy. I’m never letting Lukis talk me into being his distraction ever again. No matter how hot my bedmate, this is a one-time deal.
Antonio squeezes my fingers again. “Hannah, you are a young woman stranded in the desert of Nevada, no job, no family. Here all alone . . . You are here alone, correct?”
His eyes slice through me, and I hope to God he doesn’t catch my flinch at the question.
“Yes, but only for a few days. Until my dad gets here.”
The waitress comes, breaking up the intent stare Antonio has focused on me. She puts down three plates, each with a club sandwich cut into fourths and a small cup of coleslaw on the side. “Here you go. If you need anything else, let me know.”
The goon, who I’m calling Gooney, wastes no time biting into his sandwich. I stare at mine, not sure if it’s safe to eat, and hope my phone will hurry and ring saying it’s time to come back to the room. How long could it possibly take for Lukis to bug a room?
“If you belonged to me, all your cares in the world would be considered and cared for.”
Belonged? Thank fuck I wasn’t eating when he said it. I’d need an ambulance and who knows how long one would take to make it way the fuck out here.
Antonio hands me a fork, which I take as my cue to eat.
“Belong to you?”
“Yes, you know, as my girlfriend. I would see you are cared for in every way possible. There would be no need for your father to bail you out. It requires you to depend on me for everything.”
I choke on a piece of food until Antonio lightly pats me on the back. “We don’t know one another.”
Lukis told me Antonio would bring me here to wine and dine me at the cheap restaurant attached to our motel. He called him a womanizer, but he never said he’d be offering me cars and the chance to be purchased and owned by him. That’s not something I’m looking for in a relationship. Do I have “needs a sugar daddy” written on my forehead? I would have already walked out on any other guy who acted like this.
Rather than answer, I shove half a sandwich quarter in my mouth and take my time chewing. Let’s hope my disgusting eating habits will turn him off from more perusing.
The phone rings halfway through my second section of sandwich—the most obnoxious ringer I could find to alert me of Lukis’ call. I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss it . . . and also to give a good indicator of how much he annoys me. A wave of tension rolls off of me, releasing me from its icy grasp. My shoulders slump, and I breathe a sigh of relief. No more playing nice with Mr. Crazy Man. Even I’m not stupid enough to hang around. I don’t plan to be mean to him either, but it’s time to make my goodbye excuses.
“Do you need to answer that?” Antonio asks as I reach into my back pocket and silence the phone.
I shove the last bite of sandwich in my mouth and chew as fast as possible. “My mother again. I’ll call her back when I get to the room.”
Antonio’s face falls. “Does that mean we’ll be cutting our afternoon short? The time has flown by, and it was a wonder getting to know you, Hannah.”
I use all the energy I have left to fake being sad. “So sorry, but she worries about me.” Totally reasonable. I am alone in the desert. In truth, my parents don’t know the whole story of who I’m staying with, but if they did, I’m sure they’d worry.
Antonio smiles again, patting my knee and squeezing. “Have no fear, we will have to plan something for tomorrow so I can see you again.”
“Okay.” I try to sound as excited as possible. I hope to God I don’t have to have one more lunch. “Will you still be here tomorrow?”
The man sitting across from us in the booth, who has remained silent throughout the entire meal, snorts drawing Antonio’s attention and a frown. “Dear, I will be here for as long as you need me.”
The phone rings again, and I hurry to silence it.
“Your mother must be anxious about you.”
I finish the last bite of coleslaw and smile up at Antonio, hoping there’s food stuck between my teeth. Anything so he finds another girl to take car shopping. “Yes, she is. I’ll make sure and head back to call her soon.”
Even with all my quick chewing, it takes over twenty-seven and a half minutes before Antonio pays the bill and we head back to the motel. Lukis called four more times until I texted him a big middle finger emoji. Antonio wouldn’t let me leave until he ordered me food to make it through the night since he wouldn’t be able to take me out. Something to do with one of his obligations for being at the motel. I didn’t press for more details because, quite frankly, I don’t want to know them. It would be a sweet gesture if he were anyone else. As it stands, he probably plans to be off whacking someone.
“You don’t need to walk me to my room. I’m fine,” I say, standing at the corner of the building.
“I will walk you. A young lady alone in the desert. It’s my duty.” Antonio wraps his arms around mine and acts like we’re a couple from the 1930s as he strolls me closer to room twenty-nine. The scene would be cute if he didn’t set off every creep factor sensor I have at my disposal.
A slight freak-out happens in the bottom of my stomach, and my steps get smaller and smaller, prolonging the time until we reach the door. I hope to God Lukis is watching out the window and makes sure he’s gone by the time we reach the doorway. A lot hinges on the fact that Antonio thinks I’m here alone. Like maybe my life.
“Is everything okay in your room? Do you feel safe?”
I laugh again. Why the hell did I sound like a cheerleader on drugs? “Oh yes. I will go right in and call my mother. Thank you for the wonderful meal.” It’s a stretch, and my tongue hurts with the lie, but I can’t let Antonio think it’s anything but normal.
Together we stop in front of door twenty-nine, and the nameless man who follows Antonio around hands me my bag of dinner. Antonio picked out a personal pizza with extra breadsticks for me after I told him it was my favorite food. So, while still an asshole and a deranged criminal mastermind, at least he asked what I like this time. There’s an upside, right?
“Well . . . Have a good night. I wish you good luck with your business stuff.” I hesitate in front of the door not wanting to blow my cover.
Antonio doesn’t leave. “I must make sure you get all the way.”
“Oh . . .” I back up, hitting the bottom of the door with my foot. “Thank you. It’s so nice of you.” Thankful this time I brought the room key with me, and I dig in my pocket and pull out the small key with the oversized key chain. I fumble getting the key in the hole and turn the handle.
“One day, you will not be so nervous around me, my dear. That will be the day we celebrate.”
The most horrifying and chatty sound I’ve ever made in my entire life bubbles up in my throat. It’s truly the worst nervous laughter you could ever imagine. I’m embarrassed to be myself, but it does nothing to dissuade Antonio, who smiles without a flinch.
“This time, we will let you go,” he says standing in front of the doorway as I creak it open. “But next time, you will not leave so easily.”
“Oh . . .” A phone rings, and I take a moment to place the horrifying sounds coming from my back pocket.
Antonio laughs. “Answer the phone from your mother, Bella. I will see you tomorrow.”
“Right. Well, have a good night.” I half jump through the doorway and slam it closed, locking the door handle and deadbolt.
I’m pushed up against the closed door, my back rubbing against the emergency exit directions they have taped to the surface. I drop the bag of food as Lukis’ lips smash against mine. He kisses rough and fast. It’s full of passion, nothing like anything I’ve experienced. My nipples pebble, and my core tightens. I’m attacked, but my body soon relaxes, and I meet his ferocity right back.
A release of emotions takes over. Nervousness and excitement. It’s unexpected, but welcome. Lukis feels and tastes like a sexy desert dream.
“You are never going out with him again,” Lukis says, pushing me harder against the door. His kisses deepen, not giving me time to respond as his tongue slips past my lips.