Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 98121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98121 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
I look down at her small, pale hand on mine. Delicate. Unblemished. Guiltless.
The opposite of mine.
Of me.
I shift my gaze back to hers. She’s watching me from behind thick black lashes, the blue like cut glass. “Mob business?” she asks.
I don’t answer.
She drops it and takes her shake back. She sips, eyes never leaving mine. “You know if you think you’re being subtle in that lime green Porsche…” she trails off.
“Subtle is pretty much never what I’m going for. Let’s get inside,” I say, setting a hand at her lower back to walk her into the building.
Daniel comes up on my other side. “Hey Jet.”
“How you doing, buddy? Survive that long-ass baptism?”
“Barely,” Daniel says, sighing loudly.
“Fry?” I ask.
“Sure but take it from Allegra’s. I’m never allowed to have McDonald’s with Nana.” He opens the bag and I take one.
Allegra meets us in the lobby, Seth on her arm, as we check our coats. “That smells amazing,” she says. She glances over her shoulder through the open doors that lead to the reception. “I’ll have to hide out to eat. Cassian is like the police when it comes to my diet these days. Kitchen?” she asks Daniel.
“Yep.”
The two of them head off together and I turn to Amal. She’s drinking the last of her shake. I watch her. She watches me.
Amal is something of a mystery. She’s different than she was when I first met her. Then, she was a wildcard. She didn’t follow any rules but her own. Now, she’s grown skittish under the burden of her name. I see it beneath the façade of nonchalance.
She finishes her shake and crosses the lobby to throw away the empty cup. It’s been about a year since I saw her when she and Daniel came for a brief visit. She’s wearing a deep pink dress that comes to just above her knees, along with high heeled shoes. Her curly hair is shorter than it used to be but I’m glad to see it’s still as wild as ever.
She returns, pretending to look for something in her clutch when I see her gaze move to the room where about a hundred people are gathered.
“Ready?” I ask her.
She shrugs a shoulder, but her anxiety shows on her face.
I set my hand at her back and we walk inside. I don’t know if she’s aware she moves closer to me once we enter but I like it. A lot.
When a waiter walks up behind her, she startles, shoulders jerking. Her cheeks flush in embarrassment when she realizes it was just a server doing his job. I keep my eyes on her as I take two glasses of champagne off his tray.
“You’re nervous.”
“Well, in case you haven’t noticed, Cassian’s guests are not exactly my biggest fans.”
“They’re not his either,” I say with a chuckle. “Business acquaintances.”
“Right. That makes it better.”
“Relax,” I tell her, steering her to a more private alcove. “Nothing’s going to happen.”
“Because we’re all friends now?” She looks around, taking in all the faces. I’m sure she recognizes many of them and knows the ties they have to various crime families. Despite her flippant remark, I see the worry beneath the tough girl act she’s trying a little too hard to sell.
“You cut your hair,” I say when she turns back to me.
She tucks a blue-black ringlet behind her ear, but it bounces right back. Unruly. Like her. She shrugs a shoulder. “It’s easier. Florida’s hot.”
“It looks good. You look good, Amal.”
Her crystal-blue gaze holds mine and again I’m left wondering what she sees when she looks at me. “So, you’re his enforcer now?”
I narrow my gaze, my jaw tense as I study her and wait. How much does she know about what I do for Cassian? What would Allegra have told her?
“It’s not exactly a secret,” she continues. “And I mean, you showed up at a baby’s baptism with blood on your shirt, Jet.” She touches the cuff of my shirt. “Or did you think no one would notice? Just another day at the office?”
“I took care of something that needed taking care of.”
“You like it?”
“What?”
“The violence.”
I can’t tell what she’s getting at, what she thinks of it. Of me. I care, though. Which is weird since normally I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks.
I also know that if she could she’d take her little brother and walk out of this life, but she can’t. She’s too entrenched.
“Sometimes,” I answer honestly. When it’s quiet for a beat too long, I continue. “Does that bother you?”
Her eyes search mine. “I just didn’t think you’d be that.” She swallows the contents of her glass in one go and turns to face the room.
I follow her gaze and see Severin at the far end, whiskey in hand. He’ll nurse that all day. He’s openly watching Amal and I and he’s definitely not giving off the warm fuzzies. Sev has made no secret of the fact that he does not want me involved in mafia business especially now that he’s running for state senator. But I’m an adult and he’ll just have to get over himself.