It’s late afternoon, and I’m drained. Mentally. Physically. Financially. The costs of Aunt Grace’s meds went from manageable to bankruptcy in less than thirty days. Under the circumstances, my last resort emergency fund is laughable. Is there a way to buy a lotto ticket without paying for it?
Trinity’s last text message makes me want to avoid the house. At least for now.
Please come.
You’re like family.
xo, T.
The thought of disappointing Trinity is so unbearable, I can’t breathe. But I can’t fuss over dresses while worrying about Aunt Grace.
And if I ask the D’Angelos for money, they’d never be able to look at me as if I were one of them. As if I were actually their family. I’d be the girl who betrayed their trust while doing it with my hand out.
I stare up at the elegant mansion, suffocating beneath its weight. I don’t want to go in. I want to do the impossible. Find answers to every question I have. Weave solutions to every problem I face.
The setting sun gives me an excuse to go for a walk and clear my head.
I can’t ask Smoke for a raise. Hell, I just started. But what if I ask for a loan?
Or, what if I tell him who I am? That should go over like a turd floating around his champagne.
I what if myself to the far reaches of the property until I reach the maraschino cherry on this nightmare of a day. I am lost.
I search along the tree line, praying I’ll recognize anything along the trail. “Where am I?”
As soon as I round the corner and break free of the thicket of trees, my pulse settles down. I’m not lost. I’m on the far end of the property. The back of the mansion is a welcome sight before me. I can just make out my bedroom window from here.
“I’m not arguing about this, Hunter. Swim lessons are out.”
Huh?
I hear the deep, familiar growl, and look around. Leo’s voice carries over the rustling leaves and wind. He’s somewhere behind the overgrowth of trees and shrubs. I shove aside several branches to get a closer look.
It’s a house. I stare in awe, realizing the estate is larger than Disneyworld, and it’s nothing to have entire houses scattered along the land. I’m not sure why I’m surprised. Hell, a few more yards, and I’d probably trip over a landing strip.
The large cottage of stone and brick stands practically invisible behind the wall of leaves and branches. I watch with keen interest as Leo comes into view, pacing along this side of the porch. As usual, he’s yelling into his phone.
Hunter’s chuckle blares from the other end. “You said get close.”
What the fuck? Leo told Hunter to get close? To me?
Why?
“Close enough to get information, Hunter. Not to perform a pap smear.” Red-faced, Leo’s head looks to be about six seconds from exploding.
Good. Serves him right.
“In the morning, let her know she’ll be reporting to me again. I want to keep an eye on her myself.”
I don't even know what that's supposed to mean. I lean deeper into the mass of shrubs, listening intently and praying to the Good Lord above that all the pesky spiders are sleeping.
“I’m just fucking with you, boss. I’d never make a move on your girl.”
I am not his girl.
“She is not my girl,” Leo says in haste. A little too hasty if you ask me. His words set my fuck-off-o-meter to a rolling boil, even if I did say it first—in my head. I’m two seconds away from giving Leo a piece of my mind when I step before I look.
Crack.
The twig I step on breaks, and Leo reaches for his weapon.
I hold my breath and duck.
“I’ll call you back,” he says in a hushed tone before he disconnects.
Soft footsteps take noticeable strides in my direction. I cover my mouth with both hands and slow my breath to almost a stop. I send silent prayers in the dark. Please don’t let him see me.
Eavesdropping on the private conversations of a mob enforcer? Dangerous. Realizing he and his henchman are talking about me? Mortifying. In situations like this, death might be the better option over being discovered, and I tighten my body into a ball.
A minute or two later, Leo finally walks away, and the exhale whooshes from my lungs, and I gasp. I'm about to tiptoe away when I notice it. The hole carved out in the center of a shrub.
The one side stares straight at my bedroom. The other side to Leo’s house.
Realization hits me like an arrow to the chest. Leo broke up with me only to watch me all this time.
Well, if he wants to spy on my private life, I’ll give him something to binge.