Very slowly, he turned his head. I could swear he was locking eyes with mine. No way. He couldn’t see me. The darkness of the night, the distance from one side of the road to the other, and the neon lights would prevent him from seeing me clearly,
But I could see him, so…
“Wait a minute,” Tilly said, her tone entirely different than before. There was an urgency to the sound.
“What?” By the time I looked down at her and back to the Indulgence entrance, he’d gone inside or had walked away.
“I know him.” Tilly shook her head. “Yeah, I know him.”
“What do you mean you know him?”
She was already fiddling with her phone, her fingers flying. “Sin. Right?”
“Yes, that’s what I told you. I have no clue who he is.”
Tipping her head briefly, she glared at me. “That’s because you’re not a social butterfly like I am.”
“Okay. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Just wait. I know I can find a picture.”
While Tilly was searching, I glanced back across the street. I guess a small part of me truly did want to see him again. Even the mystery surrounding him was enticing.
“I found it. Is this your Sin?”
She thrust her phone in my direction. “He’s not my Sin.” It took me a few seconds to focus. When I did, I pulled her iPhone into my hand. “What is this?”
“Well, one of several photographs I’m sure you can find on the internet.” Tilly was suddenly agitated.
“Okay. Cut to the chase. Who is he?”
“He brought you Indulgence coffee because he and his brothers and sister own the entire block over there as well as dozens of other commercial and residential buildings. That’s not all.”
“Okay. So he’s rich. I already suspected that.”
“You’re not getting it. His name is Sinclair Prince.” She cocked her head as if I was immediately supposed to know who he was.
“I’m not understanding.”
“Jose,” she muttered. “Yes, he’s wealthy as well… sin. That’s not what’s important.”
“He’s married.”
“I don’t think so. Just listen to me. You really don’t know about the Prince family.”
“The name sounds vaguely familiar. Just tell me, for God’s sake.”
When she glanced around the patio as if fearful the people closest would hear us, I became anxious. “The Prince family. Princes of Darkness? Anything?”
I shook my head, although something was tickling my mind.
“They are mafia. Dark, dangerous. Ruthless. They kill people who get in their way?” She was exasperated.
So was I.
“What?”
“You know as in shoot ‘em up dead mafia. As in the worst kind of criminals because they have money and an army backing them. They also have very influential friends, if you know what I mean. They use acts of extortion and blackmail to get what they want. And bestie, people they don’t like disappear. Forever.”
