“Sure,” I say, but Sasha’s big hand stops my progress by gripping my arm.
“Not outside. I didn’t check the roof of the building across from here.”
“You think there’s a sniper with a night scope waiting to get a shot at her?”
Sasha doesn’t respond.
“You’re goddamned paranoid, Anvil.”
“You and I can go out there. She stays in the room.”
Trick laughs. “You can’t use me as a human shield, you know. My head would only block your chin. The top of your skull would be a perfect target.”
“Not worried,” Sasha says, walking to the sliding glass door. “Have a drink, Raven. Or some food.”
“Not the fruit,” Trick murmurs.
Sasha’s gaze slides to the buffet. “Don’t eat. I’ll feed you later.”
When they have gone out, I walk to the food, curious. There is white powder dusting the tray between the strawberries. Some of it has likely melted onto them. Cocaine? Heroin? Trick is a bad boy indeed.
My thousand-dollar Saint Laurent sandals are pretty, but they’re hurting my feet.
I sit on the edge of the couch and wait.
When Sasha and Trick reenter the room, they are talking in one-word exchanges. I have seen the guys in C Crue this way before. They have a shorthand of codes. The words change, but they mean one thing. Something dangerous is happening.
“I’ll be right back,” Sasha says, catching my hand in his and leading me toward the door.
When we’re in the hall, I’m surprised that Sasha takes me past the elevator to the stairs.
“Where are we going?”
“Down one floor,” he says.
We walk down the stairs, and he uses a keycard to open the stairwell door on the next floor. He leads me to a room directly below Trick’s. He opens his wallet, takes out a different keycard, and uses it to let us in. I know C and his crue use different hotels around the city. It makes it harder for law enforcement or others to predict where they’ll be, but he seems more tense than usual.
Sasha leaves me near the door while he checks that no one’s hiding in a closet, under the bed, on the balcony, or in the bathroom. He might be my lover now, but apparently he’s still always my bodyguard too.
“All clear, Raven,” he says, waving me over.
“I thought we had a dinner reservation at Gigi’s?” I say, glancing down at the black Saint Laurent open back halter gown I’m wearing.
“Change of plans,” he says, sliding his jacket off and setting it on a chair. He takes the holster and gun off next and sets it on a bleached wood dining table. “Room service all right?”
“What’s going on?” I ask, glancing around. The room is gorgeous, but it’s not where I expected to have dinner.
“Leone’s getting desperate. He’s got mercenaries waiting at the south entrance to the restaurant. One of the valets knows Trick’s cousin and called to let us know.”
“What’s Leone planning to do?”
“I can’t say.”
“Kill you? Take me?” I say, bewildered. “This is unbelievable. He’s insane, right? This is beyond anything...” I tilt my head. “He doesn’t love me anymore, if he ever did. The way he treated me when he was jealous was so brutal. That’s not love. So is he taking these risks out of spite? No wonder he and Frank get along.”
“He’s trying to save face. He doesn’t want to look weak or foolish. He can’t afford to. He wants to take over his family’s organization one day, but he’s not the toughest or the smartest. Word is he’s run his segments of the business into the ground. And he’s got bad debt on real estate deals in Vegas and Phoenix. His family isn’t going to give him another chance. Trick thinks he planned to use your image and brand as a foundation to build a social media business, to redeem himself.”
I stare at him. “He lied then. He told me over and over that he was negotiating lucrative deals for his family’s organization. He claimed he was really successful and was only biding his time before taking over out of respect for his dad and uncle. “
