“Yeah. I sent the photographer over to take a picture. I didn’t want you guys to see. It was so...touching.”
“That’s one of my favorite pictures,” I said.
She smiled at me. “I’ve never seen you so happy, Mari. And honestly.” She looked around. “I know it has nothing to do with…all of this. Money seems like the answer to everything when you have none, but when you’ve been hungry for more, for things like passion and love, even security, you find out what you were truly starved for when you get what you never knew you wanted or needed.”
She was right. I couldn’t measure my hunger for love and passion when it had been overshadowed by basic survival. Fear sucked the life out of everything.
Fearof being too cold or too hot.
Fearof being attacked on the streets and having no one to protect you.
Fearof becoming so hungry that’d you resort to digging in the trash.
Fearof dying before truly living.
I took a sip of my water and looked out of the peeper window. My breath caught in my throat. Achille Scarpone sat right next to the mirror, laughing with one of the young guys from the alley. The young guy had a wolf tattoo on his hand, too.
Keely turned to see what I was looking at. “That’s kind of creepy.” She scrunched up her nose. “It’s not as bad as having one in the bathroom, or in a dressing room, but still, I’d hate it if I was eating and someone I didn’t know was watching me without me knowing.”
“You wouldn’t hate it,” I said. “You wouldn’t know.”
“You know what I mean.” She squinted. “Capo has a tattoo like that. Do they know each other? What does it mean?”
“I don’t know,” I whispered, like Achille could hear me. “He’s not a friendly, though.”
A minute later, the young guy put his elbow on the table and Achille did, too. The younger guy got up after they shook and moved out of the window’s frame. Maybe he had left? Achille stuck around, ordering another drink from the waitress.
I hit the side button on my watch, the screen turning into a touchscreen keyboard, and sent Capo a text.One of the men from Italy is here. Sitting right outside of the peeper window. Achille.I hoped that I’d spelled his name right. It was odd.A-kill-ee.
My watch lit up a second later.Stay in our private room. I’m on my way.
A knock came at the door and I looked up. Sylvester. “Mrs.Macchiavello, I hate to disturb you, but Detective Stone requests a word with you.”
I stared at Sylvester for a moment. What fucking timing. Detective Stone wasn’t allowed in this room. It was used exclusively for Capo and his guests. Stone was not on the guest list. And if I met him out front, Achille might see me and recognize me, and then maybe he’d hang around more. The thought of being close to him made the steak feel like jerky stuck in my throat.
“Can he come back? I’m having dinner.” It was almost gone, but he didn’t know that. “Or have him call and make an appointment.”
“No.” Sylvester shook his head. “He says he needs to speak to you now. If you are eating, he will wait until you finish dinner.”
“Have him meet me in the kitchen,” I said.
“I’m going to get going.” Keely stood abruptly, throwing her purse over her shoulder. She gave me a hard kiss on the head. “Call me tomorrow. We’ll go shopping soon for our baby boy.”
“Keely.” I stopped her. “What’s going on with you and Stone? Is that why he’s here?”
“Nothing. Between us, I mean. I’m not sure why he’s here. If it’s about me, tell him you have no idea what’s going on.”
“I don’t.”
“You’re better off.” She threw me a kiss and then left.
Giovanni escorted me to the kitchen, his hold tighter than normal.
“Do you think I’m going to run to him?” I yanked my arm out of his grip.
“I apologize,” he said. “Detective Stone wants to speak to you. Alone.”
“What for?”
