Page 161 of Don’t Say Mafia

“And Carl never came back.”

She looked at me as if that sentence alone should explain everything.

I shrugged. “Well . . . maybe he just⁠—”

“No,” Leigh cut me off, her eyes wide. “Eden, there was something in Cruz’s eyes. It was—” She shivered a little. “It was terrifying.”

I snorted softly. “Cruz is one of the owners of the casino. I’m sure it was just some kind of staffing issue.”

“But don’t you think it’s weird?” she pushed.

“Weird how?”

“The email from HR this morning,” she said quickly. “It didn’t say Carl had left or anything. They just introduced a new guy like everything was normal. I think the new guy is his replacement, though!”

I hesitated. That email had been . . . odd. “You said you saw him walk off with Cruz?” I asked.

Leigh nodded frantically. “Yes. I watched them go down the hallway.”

“Well,” I said slowly, forcing my voice to sound reasonable even as unease began to coil in my chest, “I’m sure it’s fine. Maybe he quit. His job had to have felt like a lot after so long.”

Leigh’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm. The sudden grip made me jump.

Tears were filling her eyes. “I’ve been sleeping with him,” she whispered.

My brain stalled. “Oh.”

“I called him,” she said shakily. “And he didn’t answer. So I drove by his house this morning before work, and no one answered the door, and his car wasn’t there, and⁠—”

Her voice broke. “I think something happened to him.”

My chest tightened. I reached up automatically and patted her arm, trying to soothe her the way you do when someone spirals. “I’m sure he’s okay,” I said gently.

Leigh shook her head, but I could see the way she was clinging to that reassurance anyway.

“I’ll ask Jagger about it,” I added after a moment.

Her head snapped up. “You will?”

“Yeah,” I said. “If something happened here, he’d probably know. Or at least know who would.”

Leigh’s fingers tightened around my arm. “Eden . . . be careful,” she said quickly. “Okay? Promise me you’ll be careful.”

I stared at her for a second. Then I laughed.

“You’re acting like I’m going to interrogate the mob,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m just asking my boyfriend a question.”

Leigh didn’t laugh with me. She still looked nervous.

And that strange feeling in my chest tightened just a little more.

***

Jagger

The guy started talking the second Cruz shoved him into the back room. “Hey—hey—what the hell is this?” he blurted, stumbling as the door slammed behind him.

He turned, taking in the concrete walls, the metal table, and the fact that there was only one exit and it was currently occupied. Cruz was leaning against the door and smirking, the same expression he’d worn since I’d told him what was about to happen.