He smiles, and it’s genuine when I expect it to be creepy. “Yes, I do, but you don’t know me. You’re Esme.” He sticks out his hand. “I’m Malcolm Fideri. I work with Vito. I saw a photo of you on Vito’s phone, but it’s good to meet you in the flesh. Hey, I’m so sorry, but I overheard you talking—”
“Leave me the fuck alone!” I scream as I step back, throwing my arms up between us like they’re some sort of force field. My mind is spinning.
“Hey. I’m not going to—”
“You don’t know me, and I don’t know you. Just get back, or I swear to God...”
He throws his arms up. “Okay, okay, this is me stepping back. I don’t know what’s going on here, but I’m trying to help. I can help you. Vito can help you.”
“I don’t want your help.” I turn and glance down the road. There’s a cab, and I stick my arm out, but it drives right past. “Damn it.” Turning back to the parking lot, I see Malcolm disappearing inside the back door of the restaurant, and I know where he’s going. I need to get out of here.
Running in my bare feet isn’t much better than running in the heels.
I just have to hope a cab comes along before it’s too late.
11
Vito
“VITO, I NEED A WORD.” Malcolm leans down close to me at the table, and I turn his way, lowering my voice.
“What are you doing here?”
“Just wanted you to have a friendly face nearby.” He glances around the table, smiling at Salvatore. “Besides, I’m hungry.”
Salvatore laughs. “Hey, Malcolm, you know if you want to join the winning team there’s always a place at my table for a man of your...specific talents.”
Malcolm shoots him a look but doesn’t respond. There’s no love lost between the two of them. “It’s Esme,” he says, quiet enough that only I can hear it.
My hackles go up. “What about her?”
“She’s was out in the back parking lot. I overheard her on the phone. It sounded bad. Sounded like family.”
“What the fuck? Why didn’t she come in? Why didn’t you bring her in here to me? Why the fuck didn’t Hamilton let me know they were on their way?” Something feels wrong, and I need to get out of here.
I scribble my signature on the handwritten paper in front of me, no longer caring if I could have negotiated something better. It’s not exactly a contract, but it’s as close as they come in my line of work. The courts may not think much of it, but the crime families will honor it to the end of their bloodlines.
“I have to go. Sal, that concludes our business.”
I was pissed already when Sal and I were halfway through with our chat and the two girls showed up and he let them sit down. Good thing we were done with our discussion, a signature and a handshake all that was left to do, but still. It was fucking disrespectful, and I know he was trying to throw his new business in my face.
I turn to Malcolm, and he steps back when he sees the look in my eyes.
“Hey, I tried, you know? She started screaming for me to stay away from her. What was I supposed to do?”
A waiter walks up behind him holding a pair of shoes and a heel that’s broken off one of them. They’re the same heels I bought for Esme that she had on this morning.
“Mr. Vitaglia? Sir, sorry, I think your lady friend dropped these. She seemed in quite a state—”
“What the fuck?” I think I’m losing it. “Why the hell didn’t you bring this to me before?”
“I—I—didn’t know what to do, sir. You were busy, and she told me not to tell you she was here—”
“Fuck.”
Something’s very wrong. I can feel it. Malcolm isn’t exactly a saint, but nor is he a monster, and he doesn’t look like one. For Esme to be scared of him means she’s scared of me, and the fact that she’s at this restaurant but told the waiter not to let me know says I’ve done something wrong.
I grab my copy of the agreement off the table, foregoing the handshake and giving Salvatore a death glare. I scrunch the paper in my hand as I rush out through the kitchens toward the parking lot with Malcolm on my heels.
Esme works for the DA. I’m not exactly the poster child for a law-abiding citizen. Maybe when she got to work today, she did some digging. Found out things...
Fuck. I’m not losing her. I’ll turn my life upside down if need be, but she’s not getting away from me, especially after last night. My baby could be inside her right now. She’s bound to me, and I will figure out how to fix this.