Crispin goes on high alert, his body becoming stiff and his arm jerking my hand with the sudden change of demeanor. "What?"Katy isn't fazed. She raises a hand and rolls her eyes. "You know, walk around and get people excited for the event. Talk of how much fun the games are. Talk the men into spending a bunch of money at one table. Get them playing the games. Help them order more drinks. Drunk people spend more money. That's a scientific fact.""Is it?" It makes sense, but I doubt Katy looked up her statistics in a scientific journal.Katy shrugs. "I know, but it sounds good and Pierce's family is paying for the alcohol so we need to drink a lot."Wait. The Kensington family donated alcohol to a charity event trying to raise money to buy the bed-and-breakfast out from underneath him? It makes no sense, but there's no time to question Katy because another couple comes up behind us. The woman wears a beautiful purple dress, the fabric ending right below her knees and showcasing
Gunshots. Multiples, too many to count."Stay low," Crispin whispers to the three of us as if we had plans to jump and run.There's another scream and a bunch of people cluster together farther in the room. Katy, Tabitha, and I huddle together behind her cashier station as Crispin gathers us in a group. Simultaneously he and four other men jump up from their various spots around the room. Each of them wears matching tuxes with guns — where were they even keeping them — brazenly held out in front of them. It's like our own small-town James Bond crew. Crispin surveys the area around him and communicates with silent head jerks. I should panic, but the move is hot."Crispin take back," one of them whispers, pointing to an area to his left. I clutch onto his pant leg, but he steps away whispering a promise I'll be safe and then leaves us. If he didn't look like such a trained secret agent, I'd be searching for a plant to pee in right now. A light coating of smoke created by gunfire fi
My dress falls to the floor into a puddle around my feet and Crispin licks his lips in what I hope is appreciation."You're so beautiful, Stella. Gorgeous."His attention lowers as he takes a nipple between his teeth, and his tongue caresses my delicate skin. Waves of tingles touch every part of my body, mimicking the movements of his tongue. I want to scream out and melt into his arms all at once.Before I'm ready he continues further down, his thumbs following the lines of my legs until his hands rest between my thighs as he works my underwear low until I can step out of them. He pushes my thigh and widens my stance, making room for his head to fit.Crispin's moan matches mine at the first touch of his tongue on my private entrance. I back against the wall, flattening myself against it, scared to let him keep going but not wanting him to stop. It's too intimate an act for my kitchen, worse that it's my brother's kitchen, but I can't tell him to stop. It's been so long since I
Cause trouble. Does he think we are teenagers? "Of course not. Just a girl's day." I've hung out with the girls in the bakery more than once, but Katy and I connected. She's so upbeat and spunky. Who wouldn't want to hang around her?Crispin leans in close, kissing me on the forehead. "I've heard things about her.""Katy? No." She also warned me the town was full of gossips and considering she grew up here, I'm sure somebody has something to say about her. What would the people in my hometown say about me? Nothing I want to hear, more than likely."Just make smart choices and if you need help, call me," Crispin says."Okay, Dad."... After an afternoon of shopping at the little plaza of stores Katy talked me into visiting because she used the word "mall," we returned to my place, dropped off our shopping bags and Katy left to give me a chance to change my clothes.She told me to dress covertly but declined to clarify what that meant. I went for dreary colors since I didn
Katy and I freeze, looking back and forth in the thick darkness while trying to see who is yelling. I tense, ready to run, but Katy squats down, trying to hide in the shadows. I can't leave her behind so we wait until a second later a big hulking man steps out from the porch, a gun pointed in front of him, moving back and forth between our two heads.He smiles, but it isn't in an evil I-want-to-shoot-you-and-bury-you in-the-front-yard smile. It almost looks as if he's laughing at us. He's caught two teenagers out having a night of fun rather than two criminals gathering evidence."Katy, what are you doing here?" the big guy asks."Nothing."A second voice comes from nowhere until I lean ahead and spot a tall skinny man standing on the end of the wraparound porch. "Bring them inside, Jock."The beast of a man flips his gun in that direction, using it as a big flashing sign. "Mr. Zanetti would like to invite you two to dinner."Katy steps away from the house but makes no move
It's a question I'd like the answer to also, except I'm not sure I understand what the two of them are talking about at the particular moment. Katy said she thought Frankie could be connected to the recent string of drug-related crimes happening in Pelican Bay, but Crispin didn't mention his name. One would think if a man was running a drug ring in the city, he wouldn't be so open about it. Frankie reminds me of someone who came from money. Maybe he inherited a large shipping fortune and was not a mob boss.Although, it's possible that makes him the best at it. Nobody expects him. Except Katy and most of her friends. Is he a dangerous guy like everyone thinks or a red herring so people look the other way?Is Frankie the crime boss, criminal grunt, or not a criminal at all? In that moment, I'm as invested in the case as Katy. I stare at Frankie's dark brown eyes, trying to see past them into his makeup. I struggle to see the genuine nature of his soul, but there's nothing there but
The atmosphere in the room turns serious and I realize I'm metaphorically standing at a crossroads. I can lie, even though it seems as if Crispin already knows the truth, or I can be honest and face the consequences of our actions. First, I consider blaming it on Katy, but in reality, even though I may not have known all of her plan, I still went along with it.With a deep breath and a heavy sigh, I let the contents of the evening out in one big, long run-on sentence. "Katy came and picked me up, we dressed in all black, and then we snuck around to Frankie's house, but he caught us outside the second window before Katy could see anything good." I take a breath and keep going. "And then he invited us inside and his maid — or cook, he never said — made us the most amazing spaghetti with chicken and cheese all cooked together. Delicious. I would have loved the recipe but didn't want to ask."I suck in another large breath, two of them this time, getting ready to finish the story. "And
"It's the master bath," I yell as he walks down the hallway. My words have him changing direction and he continues on to my brother's room like he's been here a hundred times before and lets himself into the bathroom. Tucked in the corner is the shower sprayer I've been too scared to look at the last two days.Crispin wastes no time getting into the shower and inspecting the head. He takes off his shoes and steps in leaving them on the little rug with his socks. He closes the shower door and then turns on the spray, letting the water hit the wall and eyeing the leak where large rivers of water flow from the base of the shower head."Hmmm," he says, washing his hands in the water's spray. "You just unscrewed it a little. With the water off, he twists the head in the opposite direction."You think you'll be able to fix it?" I ask when he steps back, looking at the shower head like it's finished even though he didn't test it.He looks to me and steps out of the way, bracing himsel