I chuckled, and if anyone happened to catch a picture, they’d have a rare, genuine moment between me and my older brother. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking,” he said. He pulled me to a stop near the elevators and motioned towards them. “It’s been a long day. I’m sure our father is around there somewhere. I’ll hunt him down and make sure he isn’t causing trouble. Why don’t you head home? I know you hate these things.”
It was so strange getting any sort of sweet or thoughtful request from him, that I was beginning to assume there was an ulterior motive. On a normal day, he was only marginally better to me than Vincent.
“Okay, out with it,” I said. “You’re never this nice to me. What’s going on?”
He sighed. “Well, I haven’t lied to you, first of all, but second of all, I do have something else up my sleeve, but believe it or not, it’s only your safety.”
“Safety?” I said. “I’m not in any danger.”
“Most likely not, but there’s a small chance something is amiss. I saw you speaking with Giovanni Raines earlier,” he said.
I recoiled violently at that. Giovanni Raines was a name notorious in New York City. He was the mafia prince of a rather dangerous crime family. “Are you out of your mind? I wouldn’t be caught dead with someone like that.”
“You were,” he said. “You were sitting with him at the bar.”
My mind flashed back to the gorgeous and perfectly pleasant man I shared a nice conversation with. He was sweet, charismatic, and kind. A businessman at that, but certainly not a mobster. “I think you may be confused.” Anton reached into his inner breast pocket and pulled out his phone. He typed a few things in it and then turned the screen to me, and I could see that he’d googled ‘Giovanni Raines’ and sure enough, there was the face of the man I’d spoken with. “Oh my god.”
“There’s no guarantee that he’s up to anything, but we have no idea why he’s here,” Anton said.
“He told me his company designed the building,” I replied.
This seemed to strike a chord of recognition with Anton, but he didn’t elaborate. Instead, he went on to say, “It’s just a little strange to us that out of all the women at this party he stops to speak with the Governor’s daughter. Maybe it was harmless and innocent but, well, he’s not that harmless or innocent a guy. Really, I think it’d be safer if you left.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll go.” I may not like my brothers and father a whole lot, but they were family at the end of the day, and I didn’t want to see harm come to them, especially not because of me.
Anton nodded. “Good.” He pulled his phone back from me and dialed a number and lifted his phone to his ear. He was quiet for a moment before saying, “Are you here? Great. I’ll bring her down.”
He must have anticipated my departure and already arranged a ride. In different circumstances, I’d be annoyed that he just presumed he could get me to go but given the situation, I decided to let it go. Anton and I took the elevator down to the CosmoCo floor and then he walked me across the skyway, down through the lobby of the hotel, and back out into the night. There was a black town car parked out front, and Anton walked up to it as the driver rolled down the window.
“Matthew?” he asked.
“Yes sir,” the man replied. “Are you Anton?”
“I am.” He put his hand on my back. “This is Avion, my little sister. Without beingtooscary, I feel the need to warn you that if she doesn’t get home safely, I’ll be holding you personally responsible, and I doubt you’ll enjoy that very much.” The man recoiled slightly, and suddenly it wasAntonwho sounded like a mobster. He stuck his hand in his pocket and pulled out a large wad of cash and handed it over. “See to it that she makes it home for me please.”
Matthew nodded. “Of course, sir. You don’t have to worry.”
Anton opened the back seat door for me before giving kissing me on the cheek. “Call me when you make it home.”
“I will, I promise,” I said, then I stepped into the car and Anton closed the door. He stood and watched as we drove off, and once we were safely away, I let out a sigh. “Sorry about him. My brother is… overprotective.”
“Apologies not necessary. I have three younger sisters myself; I know how it goes,” Matthew responded. “Just please don’t forget to let him know you made it home. I’d like to keep my legs.”
I laughed. “You don’t have to worry about that. My brothers are all bark and no bite.”
“Is that so?” Matthew said. “He didn’t give me that vibe.”
We didn’t say anything else as we made our way back to my apartment. My dress had a sheer shawl that had been irritating me all night, so I pulled it off and set it on the seat next to me and then used a hair tie hidden within my clutch to pull my hair up and out of my face. I sent a couple of quick texts to Lorie, mostly telling her that I couldn’t wait to see her the next day, and in no time at all, I was home.
Matthew parked in front of my building and looked back at me. “Should I walk you up? Will your brother be angry if I don’t?”
“No,” I said, laughing. “Don’t worry, I’m going to call him as soon as I get inside and let him know you were wonderful in getting me home safely. Your kneecaps will live to tell another tale.”
He laughed at me. “Well, thank you miss. Have a wonderful night.”
“Thanks. You, too.”
