Her face lights up as she bounces up and down with joy. “Yay!”
I laugh, standing and stretching before holding my hand out to her. “Okay, sweetie. But you have to be quiet, okay? Dom’s in a meeting.”
When I briefly leave my studio with Felicia in tow, I find Dominic in the middle of yet another meeting with five other men. I recognize Johnny because he’s been on guard duty the past couple of weeks, but the rest of them I’m unable to put a name to. It’s only upon further consideration that I realize the guy standing opposite Dominic looks strangely familiar, though I can’t quite figure out why. What is it about his gapped front teeth that unsettles me?
“We need to hit him all at once,” Dominic says. “That way we’ll leave him no time to recover.”
“Are you sure you want to do it in the middle of the night, though?” the familiar man asks. His voice… Where have I heard it before?
“I want to minimize the risk of civilian casualties. This is between Lorenzo and me. No sense in involving innocents. That’s how Lorenzo likes to do things, but I’m different.”
“Plus,” Johnny notes, “it’s less likely we’ll have a run-in with his loyalists. Not that he has very many to begin with.”
“We’ve only got one shot at this,” Dominic says. “The second we follow through with the plan, Lorenzo and Renato will be on high alert. We move at midnight.”
The familiar man exhales, scratching behind his ear. “This is crazy, Dom.”
“It’snecessary,” he corrects.
“Are you sure this is how you—” Gap Tooth stops, noticing me and Felicia. There’s a glimmer of mutual recognition in his gaze. “Wait a second… Do I know you?”
That’s when it hits me.
Five years ago, there was another man on the plane. He had assumed I was a prostitute Dominic had hired for the trip. He freaked me out so much that I left in a hurry, unwilling to subject myself to his atrocious behavior.
My stomach churns. I don’t like the look on his face. Everything about him screams treachery and deceit. So what the hell is he doing here? Is this asshole seriously a part of Dominic’s inner circle?
Dominic notices my discomfort. “Arin?”
I shake my head. “Please, continue. I just wanted to grab Felicia a snack.”
“Don’t let us stop you,” Gap Tooth says with a grin. “We’re inyourhome, after all.”
His tone gives me the creeps, goosebumps crawling down my arms and the back of my neck. I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit, but I’m not sure if I can say anything. My gut is telling me this guy’s trouble, but surely Dominic has his reasons for bringing him here.
I move quickly, grabbing Felicia a pudding pack from the pantry before quickly retreating to our side of the apartment. I lead my daughter to her room, swallowing my fear. Am I overreacting? Why am I on the verge of a full-blown panic attack?
“Arin?” I yelp at the sound of Dominic’s voice. He enters Felicia’s room, concern written all over his face. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine,” I lie, forcing myself to smile. “Totally fine. Everything’s good.”
He steps forward and places his hands on my shoulders. “That’s not going to fly with me and you know it, dolcezza. What did Milo do to you?”
Milo. That’s right. Milo… I remember now. After all these years, the sound of it still makes my skin crawl.
“He…” I glance at Felicia. She’s too distracted by her chocolate pudding to pay us any mind. “He was the reason I left before. On the plane.”
Dominic’s jaw ticks. “What did he do? If he laid a hand on you, I’ll—”
I shake my head quickly. “He didn’t touch me, Dom. He just… said some really creepy stuff. It freaked me out, so I left.”
His face hardens. “What did he say?”
“I don’t remember.”
“Are you lying to me again?”
“Look, it’s not a big deal.”