I had no doubt that my face had the same question written all over it. I almost fell out of my chair. His misplaced confidence was making me sweat and I didn't like where this was going at all.
"What? I read too. Mostly books with pictures in them, but I do read," Scott said, looking at me.
I wanted to strangle him where he sat.
"I'm no expert, of course, but then I don't need to be because the silent auction happening up front tells the story. You're businessmen at the end of the day. Who in their right minds from amongst all your rich clients would buy from you again if you sold them a forgery? The art in this room must be worth hundreds of millions of dollars," said Scott.
"Don Cattaneo, excuse my friend. He majored in art," I said with a hiss, but the don was already out of his chair.
"Who is this kid, a narc? Get him out of my hotel," Don Marcus thundered.
Luca, ever the cool customer, motioned for his men to back off, then for his father to sit down.
"Imagine if, hypothetically, the feds were on their way to raid this place. Wouldn't that be something?" Scott asked, revving the don's engine more.
Shut up. Shut up. Shut up, Scott Brady.
Luca remained unfazed. He looked at the dealer and nodded at him. The man began to shuffle the cards. Scott dug into his pocket, briefly pulling his phone halfway out before siding it back in.
"Fancy a game, Mr. Expert?" Luca asked. already laying claim to his cards as they were set down before him. "Obviously, she's the prize. I win, she comes home with me and marries me tomorrow. You win, and I'll let her quit the mafia. No questions asked."
"Luca, you impetuous idiot," said Don Marcus, laughing heartily. "Why play poker with a walking corpse?"
This not so subtle threat forced the men behind Don Marcus to laugh, along with him, sending a chill down my spine.
This threat was issued to Scott, but it made my blood boil just the same. The same Scott lazily checked his watch again. It was the same patience he showed when he was waiting for something to happen so that he could take the perfect photo.
I vaguely considered what he had said about the place being raided, but then my anger kicked in and got the better of me.
"Go fuck yourself, Luca. I am Stacy Luciano, heir to the most powerful don in America. You will show me some respect," I demanded.
"You see I would, but according to you, that's no longer the case, bambina. So just sit there and look pretty while I make you my wife, huh?" said Luca, his voice cold and bored at the same time.
"What the hay," said Scott, accepting his cards.
What followed was a tense back and forth of the dealer dealing new cards again and again, with Scott almost immediately folding every time.
"Last hand," said a now irritated Luca after checking his cards. "No more folding."
"Sure," said Scott, checking his watch once again. "One thing. I want Stacy next to me."
As if remembering my existence, Scott turned to me and flashed me his pearly whites.
"Move," said Don Marcus impatiently.
I wanted to slap Scott in the face. Everything he said seemed to get us deeper into hot water. Nevertheless, I did as I was told, got up and sat myself down next to him.
"Not that it matters, seriously don't check, but I think you lost this time. You didn't touch your drink when you got your cards. Your tell for a good hand. Which means you don't have anything. I have a full house," said Scott, taking my hand in his under the table. "Again, it doesn't really matter. I was just stalling until the feds finally found this place. Any minute now."
I looked at Scott, my heart in my throat as the seconds ticked by. We all sat there, frozen to our seats.
"Only a select few know this place even exists. Our clients know to be discreet. Snitches get stitches. Get rid of him," said Don Marcus, smirking coyly.
"Scott," I said through gritted teeth, squeezing his hand hard.
"Any minute now. What, do I have to draw you a map, Jeff?" Scott muttered, a flicker of panic showing up in his eyes.
Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Luca turn over Scott's cards just as I heard Joey's voice call out into the night, "Cops. Everybody run."
"Don't have to tell me twice," said Scott, dragging me out of my seat as the lights went out.
Chaos descended upon the room, as people fled to the exit. In the disoriented crowd, we lost Don Marcus, Luca and their men, but instead of heading towards the direction in which the crowd was going, Scott pulled me deeper into the room.
"What the fuck are we doing?" I yelled at him, panic-stricken.
"Trust me," he said. "Just keep going."
By now blinding lights were showing up all over the place, and armed men were giving orders to everyone unlucky enough to still be around, identifying themselves as FBI.
After stumbling around in the dark for ages, we made it out into an underground parking lot.
"Scottie," Willow called out, throwing herself into her brother's arms. "Scottie, I'm so sorry. I didn't know who Joey was—"
"There's no time," said Scott, looking over Willow's shoulder.
I followed his line of sight. A few cars away, one of Luca's men had spotted us and was coming our way.
"Go. Kenny, get them out of here. Make sure Willow makes her flight," said Scott, watching the large, angry man approach us as he pushed Willow away. "Go, go now."
"Scott, no," I begged, grabbing hold of both of his hands. "Come with us."
"I'm fine. For the record, even if he did win, you still wouldn't be his," said Scott, smashing his lips into mine for three seconds before pulling away and pushing me towards Kenny.
"Scott," I screamed, watching him back track.
"We have to go, Stace," Kenny insisted, pulling me away.
"It's going to be fine. I promise. Run," Scott insisted.
Willow looked conflicted, but ultimately chose to listen, passing Kenny and me by on her way out.
"You want me, big guy? Come and get me," said Scott, baiting one of the men who had been told to kill him minutes ago.
I didn't get to see what happened next, because Kenny was dragging me along behind him. I don't know when it happened, but Kenny had managed to get his keys to Willow, who was now pulling up in a car next to us.
"Stace, we need to get in the car. We need to go before more mafia dudes find us," Kenny said urgently, but I was frozen to the spot.
I couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe.
"We can't just leave him," I yelled out into the night as Kenny bundled me into the back seat, before getting in next to me.
"Step on it," Kenny insisted.
"I'm sorry, I'm a little drunk," said Willow.
That was the last thing I registered before I became a prisoner of my own mind. All I could see on a loop was Scott going back into that building.
The adrenaline was fading fast and I was exhausted. Thoughts of how very wrong this afternoon could have gone flooded my head. Lucky for me, however, I wasn't left alone with my thoughts for too long after being escorted to a precinct along with everyone else caught in the raid. "Care to explain what you were doing in an underground casino, hanging around known members of the mafia, with over 800 million dollars' worth of stolen art in it?" the fed asked. "Look, agent whoever you are, no I don't have mafia ties. I'm not your big whale. I did not engage in any illegal activities. I'm a wedding photographer, that's how basic I am. Also, you're welcome. If it weren't for me tipping my dad off, your bust would have been a bust. How long have you people been planning this raid? Based on how long you dragged your feet before you actually showed up, they still somehow almost one upped you, didn't they? Badge number J638493. If you want me to say another word, that's who I'll talk to," I sa
And it was the worst thing I could have done. The worst part? I was such a fucked up mess that if I went home tonight and she was there waiting for me, I would likely do more. "So I did. Strictly platonic, don't marry some other guy/I might die kisses. Do those really even count?" I said, my pulse climbing as I waited to hear her answer. Why the fuck did I say some other guy, like I wanted her to marry me instead? "Well they did to me. Everything that's happened over the last two days… I don't do stuff like that. You're not just anyone," she said and I could have cried, because it was everything I wanted to hear and everything I didn't. "You know what? I met my dad at the precinct and he wants to have dinner. I might just crash at his place," I said, hating every word. I could feel her hopes dash despite her not saying a word, but I couldn't be around her right now. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" "Sure. Tomorrow." With that, I ended the call and changed my destina
"To Scott working for Vogue, bitches," I said with a proud beam, as we held our coffee cups in the air. I was so excited for him when I first heard the news that I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. I had done the same thing thousands of other times when he made progress in his career as a photographer. This was the first time I needed space to recover and get my pulse under control. Things were definitely different now. I found myself wondering if I should be here, waiting for him like this. It's not like I really had a choice, what with me not having a place to stay anymore, but it was more than that. I stayed because I wanted to know that he was okay after seeing his father. "I still don't know if I'm going to do it," he said, deep in thought about the call he got on his way home this morning. "It's nice to be considered, but a fashion magazine is not really my thing.""It's Vogue. The Vogue. All I heard was that my roommate has a stable job. To no more paying t
"Luca sent me. This is for you. Well, all of it is," said Jenny, handing me an envelope, before spreading her arm out towards the room filled with roses. "He can't take a hint," said Scott. I heard him take a deep breath. If Scott wasn't seeing red before, he certainly was now. He snatched the envelope out of my hands. I snatched it back. "Don't be a jerk," I said, not wanting him to get even more ticked off by whatever was in the envelope. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?" Jenny asked, slicing the tension between Scott and I with her voice. "Yes Stace, open it," Scott insisted. "Maybe later. We should get to packing," I said, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. "It's the deed to the apartment," said an excited Jenny, clapping her hands together. "And an invitation to Don Cattaneo's wake."My fingers fumbled over each other as I opened the envelope, needing to see it to believe it. Sure enough, inside I found the deed to my apartment and an invitation to the wake. Buying me
"Are you going to shut that down?" Kenny asked, his gaze going to the bar where Scott and Jenny were getting the second round. Her hand was on his arm and she was batting her eyelashes and laughing her ass off. His back was to me, so I couldn't see what he was doing and they were too far away to hear. Just the same, it was pissing me off. The conclusions my mind was drawing was so out there that he might as well have been making out with her. "Shut what down?" I said, pretending not to see as rage brought with it shallow breaths. "He wouldn't do anything. Not with your sister," Kenny tried to reassure me. Him putting it out there nearly made me throw the glass in my hand across the room. "I don't fucking care. They're adults. Adults can fuck whoever they want," I yelled, raising the glass to my lips, then slamming it back down on the table when I found it empty. "Dammit, how hard is it to buy a couple of drinks?" I looked back to the bar to see what the hold up was. Jenny had s
I made it just in time to hear Scott slap Kenny's back and say, "Kenny's an idiot. He accidentally deleted your number and now he's agonizing over it.""I wouldn't say agonizing," said Kenny. "He would, he's in agony, because he really likes you. Despite his clumsy fingers, Kenny really is the best. If you're into it, would you mind giving him your number again? I'll save it myself this time," Scott finished. We all held our breaths for the five seconds it took Marlene to say, "Sure.""Yes," Kenny yelled, pumping his fists into the air. "I mean that's cool," he said, turning into a plank. "Please don't change your mind."Coming in with the save once again, Scott said, "He's not cool, but he's cute" and then held out Kenny's phone to Marlene, who took it with a smile. Kenny saying I was in love with Scott went round and round in my head as I watched this play out, all my anger instantly evaporating. This was the Scott women fell for. Confident, a little goofy, crazy hot and so down
Five days, six hours and fifty three minutes. That's how long it had been since I last saw either Scott or Jenny. But this wasn't the time to think about that. I was about to surround myself with my old life and then some. Don Angelo would no doubt be coming out for this thing too. I remembered the day my mom and Jenny left home like it was just yesterday. My mother, Collette, was from a wealthy family. She ran away at a young age to be Don Angelo's wife. An event she would regret very early into her marriage. Unlike me, my mother was indifferent to what Don Angelo did for a living. If anything, she probably even liked it. The danger, the risk, the money. All of it appealed to her. Ultimately what broke my parent's marriage was the mistresses Don Angelo had. By the time the affairs started, my mother's whole life was Don Angelo. She fell into a deep depression, slitting her wrists when I was ten. "If you want to die so badly, it can be arranged," Don Angelo thundered, pulling a gun
"You are wise to try and trick me instead of threatening me. I'll give you that. But using my family to do it? Bad move. No man controls what I do or don't do. Not you, not Don Angelo, not even Scott. Whom I will fuck if I so choose. Never make the mistake of thinking you are any different to me than Don Angelo. I did Cattaneo's books for the last seven years. What can I say? Daddy was a show off. If I can feed my own father to the wolves, I can just as easily do it to you," I finished in a huff. "Did you just threaten a don in his own home?" Luca asked, his voice dangerously low. "I don't make threats, I make promises. If you wanted me dead, I would be, but like I said, you're just another Don Angelo. If you want to keep entertaining delusions of us riding off into the sunset together, that's your prerogative, but don't ever, ever come after me using my family again," I said, rising to my feet. "Always a pleasure, Luca."It took effort to walk away in a straight line. My hands shoo
I knew hiking wasn't what she had in mind, but I couldn't think of anywhere else I wanted to take her. If she didn't want to do this, she certainly wasn't saying so. "This mountain has been my mistress and my archnemesis for months," I said, making small talk. "One of these days I'm going to—" "Take the perfect picture. I know," she said, surprising me. "What do you mean you know?" I asked. "I've been here before, a few times. I've watched you try and take the perfect photo. You want to capture the sunrise, but you've hated every picture you've taken up until now," she said, matter of factly. "Far be it for me to think you are so presumptuous, but did you follow me up here?" I asked, surprised once again. When she nodded, my mind was blown. Stacy Kendrick following me anywhere sounded crazy to me. "Why didn't you ever come out and say hi? Why didn't you tell me?" "I didn't want to seem like a stalker who is obsessed with you," she said, her voice lighter. "Don't get the wrong
I started at Vogue two days ago. I wouldn't be surprised if they fired me, with the way I was performing, just going through the motions. No matter where or when I looked, Stacy wasn't at her usual hang outs. I don't know when she moved, but the super said her apartment was empty now. Finally, for the first time since she left that bar, I knew where she was going to be. Don Cattaneo's wake was today. She was probably there already. "What? Just say it and get it over with, Ken. It's bad enough that one of my best friends won't even answer a text, much less see me. Don't give me the silent treatment too, for the love of God," I begged as Kenny walked into the kitchen that morning, still looking at me like I killed his dog. I probably looked like shit. I couldn't eat or sleep. Between getting up to shower and going to work every day, I didn't even have the energy to shave."Okay, fine. What the fuck was that with Jenny the other night? How could you do that in front of Stacy? What the
"You are wise to try and trick me instead of threatening me. I'll give you that. But using my family to do it? Bad move. No man controls what I do or don't do. Not you, not Don Angelo, not even Scott. Whom I will fuck if I so choose. Never make the mistake of thinking you are any different to me than Don Angelo. I did Cattaneo's books for the last seven years. What can I say? Daddy was a show off. If I can feed my own father to the wolves, I can just as easily do it to you," I finished in a huff. "Did you just threaten a don in his own home?" Luca asked, his voice dangerously low. "I don't make threats, I make promises. If you wanted me dead, I would be, but like I said, you're just another Don Angelo. If you want to keep entertaining delusions of us riding off into the sunset together, that's your prerogative, but don't ever, ever come after me using my family again," I said, rising to my feet. "Always a pleasure, Luca."It took effort to walk away in a straight line. My hands shoo
Five days, six hours and fifty three minutes. That's how long it had been since I last saw either Scott or Jenny. But this wasn't the time to think about that. I was about to surround myself with my old life and then some. Don Angelo would no doubt be coming out for this thing too. I remembered the day my mom and Jenny left home like it was just yesterday. My mother, Collette, was from a wealthy family. She ran away at a young age to be Don Angelo's wife. An event she would regret very early into her marriage. Unlike me, my mother was indifferent to what Don Angelo did for a living. If anything, she probably even liked it. The danger, the risk, the money. All of it appealed to her. Ultimately what broke my parent's marriage was the mistresses Don Angelo had. By the time the affairs started, my mother's whole life was Don Angelo. She fell into a deep depression, slitting her wrists when I was ten. "If you want to die so badly, it can be arranged," Don Angelo thundered, pulling a gun
I made it just in time to hear Scott slap Kenny's back and say, "Kenny's an idiot. He accidentally deleted your number and now he's agonizing over it.""I wouldn't say agonizing," said Kenny. "He would, he's in agony, because he really likes you. Despite his clumsy fingers, Kenny really is the best. If you're into it, would you mind giving him your number again? I'll save it myself this time," Scott finished. We all held our breaths for the five seconds it took Marlene to say, "Sure.""Yes," Kenny yelled, pumping his fists into the air. "I mean that's cool," he said, turning into a plank. "Please don't change your mind."Coming in with the save once again, Scott said, "He's not cool, but he's cute" and then held out Kenny's phone to Marlene, who took it with a smile. Kenny saying I was in love with Scott went round and round in my head as I watched this play out, all my anger instantly evaporating. This was the Scott women fell for. Confident, a little goofy, crazy hot and so down
"Are you going to shut that down?" Kenny asked, his gaze going to the bar where Scott and Jenny were getting the second round. Her hand was on his arm and she was batting her eyelashes and laughing her ass off. His back was to me, so I couldn't see what he was doing and they were too far away to hear. Just the same, it was pissing me off. The conclusions my mind was drawing was so out there that he might as well have been making out with her. "Shut what down?" I said, pretending not to see as rage brought with it shallow breaths. "He wouldn't do anything. Not with your sister," Kenny tried to reassure me. Him putting it out there nearly made me throw the glass in my hand across the room. "I don't fucking care. They're adults. Adults can fuck whoever they want," I yelled, raising the glass to my lips, then slamming it back down on the table when I found it empty. "Dammit, how hard is it to buy a couple of drinks?" I looked back to the bar to see what the hold up was. Jenny had s
"Luca sent me. This is for you. Well, all of it is," said Jenny, handing me an envelope, before spreading her arm out towards the room filled with roses. "He can't take a hint," said Scott. I heard him take a deep breath. If Scott wasn't seeing red before, he certainly was now. He snatched the envelope out of my hands. I snatched it back. "Don't be a jerk," I said, not wanting him to get even more ticked off by whatever was in the envelope. "Well? Aren't you going to open it?" Jenny asked, slicing the tension between Scott and I with her voice. "Yes Stace, open it," Scott insisted. "Maybe later. We should get to packing," I said, not wanting to add fuel to the fire. "It's the deed to the apartment," said an excited Jenny, clapping her hands together. "And an invitation to Don Cattaneo's wake."My fingers fumbled over each other as I opened the envelope, needing to see it to believe it. Sure enough, inside I found the deed to my apartment and an invitation to the wake. Buying me
"To Scott working for Vogue, bitches," I said with a proud beam, as we held our coffee cups in the air. I was so excited for him when I first heard the news that I threw my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. I had done the same thing thousands of other times when he made progress in his career as a photographer. This was the first time I needed space to recover and get my pulse under control. Things were definitely different now. I found myself wondering if I should be here, waiting for him like this. It's not like I really had a choice, what with me not having a place to stay anymore, but it was more than that. I stayed because I wanted to know that he was okay after seeing his father. "I still don't know if I'm going to do it," he said, deep in thought about the call he got on his way home this morning. "It's nice to be considered, but a fashion magazine is not really my thing.""It's Vogue. The Vogue. All I heard was that my roommate has a stable job. To no more paying t
And it was the worst thing I could have done. The worst part? I was such a fucked up mess that if I went home tonight and she was there waiting for me, I would likely do more. "So I did. Strictly platonic, don't marry some other guy/I might die kisses. Do those really even count?" I said, my pulse climbing as I waited to hear her answer. Why the fuck did I say some other guy, like I wanted her to marry me instead? "Well they did to me. Everything that's happened over the last two days… I don't do stuff like that. You're not just anyone," she said and I could have cried, because it was everything I wanted to hear and everything I didn't. "You know what? I met my dad at the precinct and he wants to have dinner. I might just crash at his place," I said, hating every word. I could feel her hopes dash despite her not saying a word, but I couldn't be around her right now. "Okay. I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?" "Sure. Tomorrow." With that, I ended the call and changed my destina