“Hello.”
“Lovely to finally meet you face to face.” Cano tips his head and flags a waiter. Food and drink are immediately brought to our table.
I wait both men out. They apparently have a plan that I wasn’t privy to, so there’s no need to speak when I have no clue what will come out of my mouth.
Cano dishes out food to my plate while Chris takes care of his own. The show of dominance, ofcontrol, isn’t missed and only makes me panic more.
“So, Chris tells me he wants to include you in his new plan.”
I peer at Chris, hoping he guides me because I’m not sure what all Cano knows. I know the man likes docile, quiet women so this is my best chance of staying on his good side.
“As I was telling you yesterday, the use of the bouncers when something is dropped isn’t efficient. We can’t trust them, for one, and there isn’t a guarantee that they give me a heads-up in a timely manner. I’d rather have things picked up quickly and not sitting there half the night. You never know who could randomly stumble upon the area. Nova caught me when I was leaving. She didn’t see anything, but it did make me think about bringing in someone I trust in order to have better coverage,” Chris cuts in. “Or a better way to let me know something has been dropped.”
“And then he told you about the business?” Cano tilts his head toward me.
“Um, only vaguely. He wants someone who could give him some sort of signal when they find a tag of sorts on the back door.” I shove a bite of pasta into my mouth so I don’t spill the fact that I know exactly what they are dealing in.
“Hmm. Simple. Effective. I like it.” Cano looks at Chris. “How soon could you have something like this up and running?”
I clear my throat. “I have most of details worked out. We could have it up and running for my shift this weekend if you needed it.”
The sinister smile is one I’ve not seen before, but I imagine it’s the look Cano had on his face while my brother seized and overdosed.
Red-hot rage shoots down my spine as I try my damnedest to not react.
“You trust her?” Cano asks Chris, but he’s still looking at me.
“I do. She’s reliable and keeps to herself. She won’t say a word.” Chris’s tone is almost bored.
“I’ll leave you to fill her in then. No specifics, just what’s absolutely needed.” Cano stands up before pushing his chair in and facing me once more. “It’s been a pleasure.” He grabs my hand and presses a kiss to the back of it. I watch as he walks tothe back, where the kitchen is located, and disappears through the back door.
“Well, that went far better than I thought it would.”
My head whips around to Chris. “A little fucking warning would have been helpful,” I hiss.
“Would it have made you more freaked out to know ahead of time?”
“No. Yes, but that’s not the point. I don’t like being blindsided, and I would appreciate a warning the next time I’m in that man’s presence. Especially if he’s going to touch me and be controlling about it.” I shove my plate away, no longer hungry.
Chris sighs. “I’m sorry, Nova. That wasn’t my intention. He joined last minute, and I didn’t have an opportunity to warn you. But he’s bringing you on board, so that’s the good news.”
“Is it? Or am I going to regret this?” I mutter, staring into my glass of water.
He doesn’t say anything, which tells me I will. Or maybe he already regrets bringing me into the fold. Who knows. There’s too much in the air currently.
My mind is trying to reconcile being as close as I was to Cano and how he treated me. Everything else has been pushed to the backburner of my logical brain.
“We need to figure out what we’re using at the back door. Something we can monitor while still being hidden.”
Chris’s agenda takes over, and I’m thankful. It means I can spend less time analyzing how Cano’s words and the way he looked at me make me feel. Chris’s words don’t really register either.
Some things are better left alone.
“A piece of colored paper?” I offer.
“Too vulnerable in the weather.”
“A rock?”
