NICCO
My face was beginning to hurt as I talked with the building inspector, my mega-smile in place as I complimented and talked him up. I realized that Atticus had earned his resting asshole face honestly. After so many conversations while being pleasant, the last thing I wanted to do was chat up more people.
“You know, I’ve been thinking of getting a tattoo, living on the wild side a little,” Mr. Thompson boomed, sloshing his drink as he leaned closer to whisper. “I hear it’s great with the ladies.” He nudged me, making a lewd gesture with his hands, and I realized I couldn’t do it any longer.
“Actually, getting a tattoo is a serious decision and shouldn’t be done on alcohol. Tattoo artists work hard for their craft and should be treated as such. You’ll be wearing this for the course of your life, so it needs to be thought about with precision. I encourage people to think about it for a few days before committing just so it’s not an impromptu drunken choice.”
The man sputtered, stunned at my response. He started to open his mouth, gaping like a fish, when he was saved from responding by Dayton’s entrance. The music stopped as he paraded into the middle of the floor, acting like some big shot. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked, giving him the attention he sought.
His eyes were obscured with a black plastic mask that covered the top portion of his head, but there was no denying it was Dayton. He oozed power and arrogance, spreading his arms wide as he turned in a circle, grinning wide at everyone. It was a bit manic, and for the first time, I saw some cracks in his composure. Dayton was unraveling, and it made me feel lighter on the inside. It wasn’t that I doubted our ability to take him down, but I’d learned to never underestimate his ability to survive.
“Who is that?” Mr. Thompson asked.
“No one,” I said before remembering my role. “Just someone who thinks he can bend the rules to get around inspections. Did you know that he has a new venue, and I heard he paid off the city so they wouldn’t do a full inspection? Makes you wonder what he’s hiding.”
“He what?” the man gasped, his former boisterous personality fading to encompass the hard-nosed, rule follower he was.
“Oh, that’s right. You said you work in that department, didn’t you? Did you know?” I gave him a disgusted look, like he was responsible.
He shook his head quickly, his jowls flapping with him as he did. “No! This cannot stand. What building did you say?” His face turned red as he pulled out his phone in haste.
“Oh? Hmm.” I tapped my chin in thought, making it seem like I hadn’t planned for him to respond precisely as he was. Snapping my fingers, I pointed at him when I had it. “The Masked Kingpin. It’s a fighting arena on the east side.”
He typed it in and then turned the phone to show me. I nodded when it came up, trying to keep my glee from pouring over at how well this was going for me.
“David was on that one. I never liked him. He was always too shifty. I’m going to have to report this and do an inspection myself.” He turned like he was looking for something as he patted his pockets. When he was satisfied he had everything, he turned back to me. “It was nice meeting you, Nicco. I’ll take what you said into consideration about the tattoo, and maybe I’ll pay you a visit. Do you have a card?”
I opened my wallet, pulled out an Ignite Ink card, and handed it to him. “I look forward to hearing from you then. Bring that in, and you’ll get 20% off.” He smiled wide at that, eagerly taking the business card and placing it in his wallet. “I’d be honored to have such a respectable businessman like yourself come. We need more people like you.” I patted his shoulder as he walked by, nodding and hoping I hadn’t laid it on too thick there at the end.
Sax walked over once the building inspector was gone, a smirk on his lips. “You got a little something,” he said, pointing to the tip of my nose. I went to wipe it when he broke out in a laugh, and I realized he was making fun of me. Rolling my eyes, I looked back over to see what scene Dayton was trying to pull now.
“Ha, ha,” I said, leaving his ill-mannered joke alone. “How did yours go since you have such an opinion on mine?”
“Easy-peasy.”
I looked over, taking in the big man. “Why does that not fill me with confidence? I’ve never known you to say that phrase before.”
He shrugged his shoulders, taking a sip of something he held in his hand.
“What did you do?” I asked, giving him my full attention now.
“Nothing. I had a conversation with him, and he’s already agreed to look into Dayton. I also dropped a hint about the dead body, so there should be a team discovering bloated ex #2 as we speak. I’m just efficient.”
I snorted, shaking my head. “I feel like that’s only half of what happened.”
“Not my problem.” He shrugged, taking another sip of his drink as he looked out onto the floor.
Sighing, I decided to leave it for now. I followed his gaze to Loren, who was arm in arm with Atticus as they spoke with the mayor and his date. They were all smiles, so I hoped it meant things were going well.
“What about Goldie and Crash?” I asked, looking for them. I found myself needing to know they were okay more and more as my feelings for the two men grew. I realized it wasn’t only sexual desire I felt for them, especially Wells.
Sax snorted this time, my attempt to hide my eagerness apparently not as hidden as I’d hoped. He grabbed my head, turning it in the direction of the two men. Both were still with their marks, but Wells didn’t seem to be faring as well as Monroe. He took a gulp of his drink as the fighting commissioner looked around, almost bored.
“You good with watching Dayton if I go rescue him?” I asked, already moving in that direction before he answered.
“Yeah,” I heard him snort as I walked away.
Making my way through the crowd, I nodded and smiled at people, forgetting most wouldn’t know who I was with the mask on. When Wells came into view, I knew I’d made the right choice coming over.