Cruel Summer

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN: WINTER

“Ireallyneedto get out of the house.” I keep my voice even, trying not to raise any suspicions. Vito’s gaze lifts to mine over the dining table and he studies me for a moment before his gaze moves back to his breakfast.

Great, so he isn’t going to take the bait.

I look at Giovanni ,whose face is in his phone. With as much time as he spends on the thing, you’d think he was a whole ass teenager.

My jaw clenches.

Vito is my best chance.

I’d overheard him and Giovanni discussing a meeting going down with Seven Quad for tonight. My ears had perked up at the mention even though I’d tried to pretend like I wasn’t listening. But considering the fact that Diamond has yet to pop up at Delerium, I need to get to this meeting so I can talk to him.

I need for him to give me more information, something more to go off of because right now it feels like I’ve only got half of the story and that only leaves so much room for me to focus my hate.

Plus, there’s the fact that Amarie is still adamant she won’t help until I have concrete proof.

I rub my arm before letting out a soft sigh. Vito’s gaze flickers back to me.

He’s been pretty distant with me lately, but at the end of the day, he’s still the easiest to manipulate out of all of the men.

I allow my lips to fall into a frown before taking a small sip of my drink. I don’t dare look directly at Vito, don’t let him know I’m aware he’s watching me, but I play my role to perfection.

If I’ve learned anything, Vito is a sucker for misery. He can’t help it, so used to fixing everyone’s problems, especially the small ones that can be deemed harmless.

I pick up my fork and move my eggs around my plate aimlessly. They’re nice and fluffy this morning, a yellow that I’ve only ever seen achieved on TV ads. I want to devour them, but depressed people don’t engulf eggs in five seconds.

I let my fork clatter to the plate, holding in another sigh.

I don’t want to oversell this act.

“You can come out with us tonight.”

And that’s not what I expected.

I look up at Giovanni, my lips falling open in shock. His eyes are still on his phone despite his statement and when I find Vito watching the interaction, I look back down at my plate. “Thank you,” I mutter, keeping the energy inside of me down and not letting anything show on my face.

I don’t know if the meeting is going to be at the same place as last time, but I know I’m going to have to come up with some way to get Diamond alone long enough to get anything good out of him.

But that’s a problem for future Winter.

***

The meeting turns out to be at a different place than last time, a strip club to be specific. The sign on the door had read Oasis in a neon pink script.

I keep my expression neutral as we walk into the dark room. Music is blaring loudly and there’s smoke in the air, some of it is from a fog machine somewhere in the rafters, the rest come from cigarettes and cigars.

I can’t stop the cough that racks my body as some of the smoke fills my lungs.

My body jolts forward as two firm smacks hit me between my shoulder blades. My eyes widen as I look up at Maximo who’s still standing behind me with his hand raised. ‘You good?'' he asks, clearly ready to beat my back again.

“Yes,” I grit out.

“I thought you had more lung capacity than that, Mouse,” his eyes twinkle as he stares down at me. Something about the blue and pink neon lights hitting his skin only seem to make him look more mischievous. “Must not have done pot in your younger days.”

“Younger days?” Vito asks, walking up beside us. His brows pull together and surprisingly there isn’t complete hostility in his voice as he talks to Maximo. “Have you forgotten she’s only twenty-one?” He sounds amused and I don’t seem to be the only one shocked by this as Maximo aims a look at him.

After a moment, Maximo shrugs his shoulders and his lips twitch slightly. “I forgot not everyone is as old as you, Vito,” he muses. “Have you decided what nursing home we should put you in yet?”