“I’ve already checked you out. You lookfine,amica. Those wedges are so ’90s. Love the music from that time too.”
I’d dressed in a leopard top, black jeans, and wedges to show off my toenails she’d painted black not long ago. A few diamond bracelets and a matching watch broke up the darkness.
“I won’t get any coins?”
She breathed in deeply and then laughed. “Numbers.Lotsandlotsof numbers. Especially since you’re not wearing that perfume called Bleach plus B.O. anymore.”
“If anyone is going to get numbers, it’s you.” She was so beautiful. Light brown hair, cat-like eyes, bold features, an olive complexion, and an unforgettable smile and laugh.
“You really think so?”
It was such an innocent thing for her to say. For the first time since I met her, she seemed her age. Though I doubted it would last long.
“I know so.”
Her phone beeped, and while she went to check it, I called Bambina closer, preparing to take her for a walk before we left.
As I was bending down to clasp her leash to her collar, Cilla held her phone in front of my eyes. I almost fell over on my ass when she came close to shoving it in my face. I took the phone from her instead, holding it where I could read it.
“That’s not for me,” she said. “I’d know. I’d feel the monster behind it.”
I didn’t even look at her. I was too busy devouring the words of the text.
You don’t make a step without me knowing about it. I go where you go.
My chest felt hollow. I was having a hard time catching my breath while my heart was doing that free-flying thing again. Rising from the ashes like a phoenix.
“If your smile gets any bigger,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Your face is going to crack and turn into an ass.”
I started laughing, louder than I should have. Then I did fall on my ass, Bambina jumping on me, trying to lick my face. I knew the message was meant for me, and he’d sent it to Cilla’s phone so it couldn’t get tracked back to me.
“You’re going to get dirty all over again!” Cilla said, holding out her hand for me. “I don’t think that outfit is supposed to have real hair all over it.” She held her phone up after I stood. “You want me to forward this message to you so you can gaze at it in the morning before bed? Sleep with it? Keep it close to your chest? Then stare at it when you have breaks at work?”
My face cracked from my smile getting even bigger.
“Fine!” She said, doing something on her phone. “Just so you know. Maybe the threat behind this message wasn’t meant for me, but it was totally meant for you. It’s like he has a sixth sense when it comes to you.We were just joking about numbers!”she screamed into the phone. “No one is going to dare talk to your woman!”
After she was done forwarding me the text, a knock came at the door. If my heart had soared before, it went even higher when I thought it might be Aniello. He usually surprised me by appearing out of thin air, though. He didn’t usually knock.
When I opened the door in a rush, I actually lost my breath. Ben stood on the other side, one hand on his tie, the other on the door. There was something about his eyes that instantly put me on guard.
All I’d ever seen in them before was confidence. There was something…desperate or maybe paranoid about them. The way they kept flicking all over the place, looking for something but not.
He looked me up and down. “Where are you going?”
“To a place called Noneya,” Cilla said, stepping up behind me. “Ever heard of it? It’s right next to Business.”
“Cute.” Ben dismissed her.
A big mistake on his part.
“Rosalia,” he said, and I could’ve sworn he was going to say, “and only Rosalia,” after, but he didn’t. He grabbed me by the arm. “We need to talk.”
I tried to move out of his hold, but he held me even tighter.
“We don’t have anything to talk about,” I said, still trying to get my arm from his grip. “Let me go!”
He yanked me out of the door, trying to pull me toward the hallway. The wedges were not helping. They were three inches too high to resist in. I kept slipping like I was on ice skates.
