It didn’t make sense. Nothing made sense anymore.
Graciella found the ladies’ room and freshened up. Her leather outfit was still daring enough to garner attention. If she could avoid those pricks from the alleyway, she may be able to get Manuel alone long enough to find out where he kept the cure. She found a little torture could go a long way in these situations.
She took a deep breath and stepped out of the hallway. Graciella sauntered by the men’s table, doing a double-take before leaning over in front of Manuel. “Manuel, is that you?”
He smiled and the other men at the table approved. “Sorry, I can’t recall your name,” he said.
Graciella pouted. “That’s disappointing. I thought for sure you’d remember me.” She ran the tip of her finger along his shoulder.
“Of course,” he said. “You should join us.”
Everyone began scooting over in an attempt to welcome her to the table, but she whispered in Manuel’s ear. “Not here. Just the two of us.”
It couldn’t have been going better when she noticed the two men from the alley peering in the restaurant, looking for their petty revenge. She was getting over her head, and her nerves were ramping up.
“Tell me when,” he said.
“Can I talk to you alone in the hallway for just a minute?” she asked, biting her lower lip for effect. He immediately agreed. She needed to get out of the seating area before she was noticed and her cover blown. Her heart raced.
He followed her back to the hallway near the bathrooms, and just before she turned the corner, she made eye contact with tattoo face. Her entire body tensed. It was only a matter of time now until this all blew up in her face. She had to move fast.
“What was your name again, angel?”
He cupped her face, but she never allowed herself to flinch when on the job. Everything was an act, and she’d perfected the art of tuning out reality to avoid fracturing down the middle.
“Can that be my name?”
“Angel. I like that.” He placed a hand on her hip and leaned over to kiss her exposed neck. She closed her eyes, remembering just how much she hated men.
But the kiss never came.
When she blinked open her eyes, there was a knife to his throat. She exhaled the breath she was holding. Then she focused on the large frame behind him. “You’d let another man put his lips on you?”
“You threw me to the wolves.”
Boss stared at her, completely tuning out the trembling man under his knife. There was blood all over his hand. When she looked to the right at the other end of the hallway, she saw her two stalkers in a heap against the wall. Sweet relief trickled through her veins. A rush of safety and security she connected with Boss washed over her.
“How’d you find me?”
“There’s a tracker on your bra.”
She growled. “And here I thought we’d had a moment in your bathroom. I guess I was wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong.”
Graciella narrowed her eyes. “Viko’s still twenty minutes out.”
“I’m not Viko.”
He’d just saved her ass, killing the men after her and rescuing her from this filthy pig. Yes, she could have handled herself as she always had, but it was nice letting it all go. If she ever had a knight in shining armor, it would have been Boss.
“This is Manuel Viola, but I’m sure you already know that,” she said.
A bead of blood bubbled up on the man’s neck as the blade dug deeper.
“I’m just wondering how far you’d go to get what you want.” His tone was thick with jealousy.
She never answered him. Would she have been able to sleep with the enemy? Or would Boss keep creeping into her waking dreams?