“I think that’s something,” she improvised.
Donna had no clue what he was talking about it, nor did she care. She needed to get closer to Savelli.
She reached up and pried his fingers from her flesh. “It was a pleasure, Big John. But I think the prophet might be looking for me.”
“Well, I—”
Donna walked away, not interested in one more word flying from his trap. Thankfully, one of the ladies was standing alone about three feet from Luca Savelli. She did her best to remember the woman’s name as she made her way over to her.
She couldn’t.
“Hey, pretty.”
The woman turned to Donna with a smile filled with relief. She seemed just as disgusted by the event as Donna was, but she knew better to express that out loud.
“Hi. Kateri, right?”
“Yep, that’s me.”
“My name is Hope,” she announced in a sweet voice.
Hope was a young black woman with a soft, natural afro that complemented her smooth onyx complexion. She dressed sexy and sophisticated, but everything about her screamed innocent.
“So, how’s your night going?” Donna probed.
Hope checked her surroundings before answering. “I don’t know, Kateri,” she whispered. “Thesemen…they don’t act like their looking for a church.”
Duh!
“I mean, seriously. I have been touched in places where no man of God should touch an unmarried woman.”
Looking in her big brown eyes, there was no way for Donna not to feel sorry for her. The members of the Blood of the Chosen were complete believers. To them, theirs was the one true religion, and Bobby Lee was the one true messiah. Knowing that everything Hope believed in was a sham, and it would soon be exposed, was tragic. However, as sorry as Donna felt for her, she still had a job to do. She’d pity her later. At that very moment, listening in on Savelli’s discussion with blue-eyed Goliath was her immediate priority.
So, while she managed a conversation with Hope, she did her best to eavesdrop on the mobster. Unfortunately, Harry Barber approached sporting a stupid looking grin and the confab ended. Before Harry could speak, Savelli raised his hand.
“Don’t come over here,” he warned with a scowl in the sexiest of accents. “You people disgust me.”
After scolding Harry with that deep, masculine voice, Savelli and his guy stalked away. Donna’s eyes followed them until they cleared the exit of the ballroom. Donna could’ve been wrong, but she suspected that Savelli was totally fine with the sale of weapons, but disgusted by the sale of women, which left her totally surprised. A criminal with morals. Who knew?
Donna searched the room for Kelly. She needed to let him know that Savelli wasn’t going to be the bonus he thought he would. When she spotted him across the room, she turned back to Hope.
“Sweetie, I’ll be right back. Keep your head down. Try not to make eye contact with anyone.”
Hope smiled solemnly and nodded. Donna felt bad when she walked away, leaving her standing alone. When she got close, Kelly shook his head subtly and tilted his head toward Bobby Lee and Harry, who were headed his way. They didn’t look pleased. Donna stopped, turned on her heel, and ran right into Clara.
“Kateri, honey, I need you to come with me.”
It never failed. Like a ninja in the shadows, Clara was always nearby.
Donna planted another fictitious smile on her face and longed for the days when all she had to do was pretend to be either a crackhead or a dope boy’s bitch.
“What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” she asked in a concerned tone that almost made her sick.
As usual, Clara smiled. She placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. Donna looked at her perfectly manicured nails and wondered why she was being so affectionate. Smiling was one thing, but Clara wasn’t very touchy feely.
“Everything is perfect, child. But we all must do our part for the Lord. It’s your turn.”
“My turn? What do you mean?”
