From behind the cracked door, I listened closely.
“Rosa! What are you—”
“Not now. Where’s Sasha?”
“She’s not—”
Rosa shoved the bedroom door open, and I jumped away, the door just missing my face. “I talked to Marco. Are you okay?” When she caught a glimpse of my new outfit, she frowned. “What happened to your black dress?”
“I-I—”
“Are you going somewhere?”
“Yes.” I jerked my chin up.
Better own my shit.
The corner of Rosa’s lips twitched, and she stepped out of the doorway, gesturing for me to lead. “Well, let’s go.”
“I’m going alone.”
“Do you have a plan?”
No. “Yes.”
Rosa shook her head. “Show me your gun.”
Hesitantly, I gave her my handbag, and she rifled through it. “This registered to you?”
“Yes.”
She dangled the small handgun from her fingers. “Is this the same gun you shot that guy with?”
“Yes.”
“Not smart.” She placed it on the coffee table and reached into her purse, pulling out a slightly larger handgun. “Take mine. We wouldn't want there to be any crossover in the ballistics.”
Rosa had saved my ass. I’d never have thought about that connection. “Shit.”
She laughed as she shoved her gun into my purse. “You don’t do illegal murders with legal guns.”
The other women stood frozen around the room, staring at my mother-in-law like she was a total stranger. To be fair, this version of Rosa was. By the shocked look on Adriana’s face, I knew she’d never seen this side of Rosa Moretti.
“Makes sense. I wasn’t expecting to . . .”
“Always be prepared, Sasha. I can’t stress that enough.”
I nodded and adjusted the top of my gloves before taking my purse back. “Always have a dirty gun on hand just in case.”
“Exactly.” Rosa tilted her head with a soft smile. “You’re going to be okay.” Checking her watch, clicked her tongue. “Better get going if you’re going to make it back in time for the midnight toast.”
I inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled as I put on my coat. “Okay, so where am I going?”
“I got you.” Imani reached out to take my hand. Before I could tell her to stay in the hotel room, she was dragging me down the hallway toward the service elevator. When the doors closed, Imani squeezed my hand. “Please be careful.”
“Mhm.” That was all I managed. I would throw up if I thought too much about what I was about to do.
The elevator opened, and we rushed past a few casino employees to the loading dock, where a town car waited.