Page 37
Story: Abandoned Oaths
Asshole.
My makeup only took fifteen minutes. My hair had cooled, so I could brush out the curls into my favorite old Hollywood style. After pinning one side back, the other fell in a wave across my forehead and shoulder. The style worked because it offered me a curtain of privacy if I needed to regain my composure, hide my face, or sweep it away to shoot my target my most alluring gaze.
It was tried and true, and I wasn’t in the mood for taking additional risks tonight.
Now my dress. I planned on wearing a midnight blue gown. The guys said Dias went for women in darker colors, but something was telling me to switch. Hosted in the ballroom of a stunning art deco building downtown, the gala supported children’s education or something. I didn’t want to blend in, and this felt like a setting where I—or the heiress Millie Torres—could be brave.
Instead, I slipped into a gold gown with off-the-shoulder sleeves and a mermaid fit so perfectly the shimmering fabric could have been poured over me.
Yes, this would get Dias’ attention. This was the dress a man would remember.
The guys stood around the kitchen island when I walked in. Javier heard me first and turned, giving me the exact reaction I’d been hoping for.
His mouth dropped open, and his eyes trailed over my body, not once but twice before he finally remembered I had a face.
“You look . . . amazing.”
Since I was getting similar expressions from the other three, I assumed they agreed.
“Thank you. So what do I need to know?”
He blinked, then went back the floor plans they had spread out. “This is the main entrance. You’ll enter here and go to this ballroom.” His finger traced the line as if I couldn’t figure out the straight line on my own.
“We’ll be posted here and here.”
The back and front entrances.
“Cruz and Marco will circle the room, so you’ll never be alone.”
While this was all riveting information, it was nothing I couldn’t have figured out for myself. Was he really the leader of this group? Did they even need one?
I’d been more than fine on my own for basically the last decade, and I didn’t plan on changing things just because they were around.
“Good to know.” I tapped my nails on the marble. “What else have you learned about Dias? Any enemies I should know about? Friends? Lovers?”
Derek cleared his throat. “We don’t know about lovers, but he’s been known to get into it from time to time with an Italian businessman. He’s clean, but something about him seems to rub Dias the wrong way.”
“Do you have a picture?” I held out my hand.
He pulled out his phone and took longer than I expected to pull it up.
“Leo Brazzi.” I read his name at the top of the search bar. They didn’t even have surveillance images of him? What were they doing here? As soon as I spoke to Rod, I would point out how truly useless they were. I had more information on my most basic missions.
Ugh. Leo was not what I expected. Dias was hot. Leo was . . . rich? Maybe that was what made him appealing?
He had bushy black eyebrows, slicked-back hair, and an expression in every photo like he’d just smelled something bad. With his large nose and small eyes, he looked like a caricature, not a real person. But he would be an easy mark. If Dias didn’t notice me quickly, I’d go for this guy. That should get his attention.
“There’s also the Irish mob to watch out for. We don’t have any reason to think they’re in the area right now, or that they would attend this event, but they don’t like Dias or his crew.”
They didn’t like anyone, so that wasn’t surprising. Luckily, I memorized the names and faces of all the higher-ups and made men of the Italian and Irish mobs years ago. They were people I wanted to avoid at any and all times.
“Got it. Any friends?”
“He’s fairly well known in the city. Seems to get along with most people.” Cruz shrugged.
“Except Leo Brazzi?”
“Right.” His cheeks reddened.
Table of Contents
- Page 1
- Page 2
- Page 3
- Page 4
- Page 5
- Page 6
- Page 7
- Page 8
- Page 9
- Page 10
- Page 11
- Page 12
- Page 13
- Page 14
- Page 15
- Page 16
- Page 17
- Page 18
- Page 19
- Page 20
- Page 21
- Page 22
- Page 23
- Page 24
- Page 25
- Page 26
- Page 27
- Page 28
- Page 29
- Page 30
- Page 31
- Page 32
- Page 33
- Page 34
- Page 35
- Page 36
- Page 37 (Reading here)
- Page 38
- Page 39
- Page 40
- Page 41
- Page 42
- Page 43
- Page 44
- Page 45
- Page 46
- Page 47
- Page 48
- Page 49
- Page 50
- Page 51
- Page 52
- Page 53
- Page 54
- Page 55
- Page 56
- Page 57
- Page 58
- Page 59
- Page 60
- Page 61
- Page 62
- Page 63
- Page 64
- Page 65
- Page 66
- Page 67
- Page 68
- Page 69
- Page 70
- Page 71
- Page 72
- Page 73
- Page 74
- Page 75
- Page 76
- Page 77
- Page 78
- Page 79
- Page 80
- Page 81
- Page 82
- Page 83
- Page 84
- Page 85
- Page 86
- Page 87
- Page 88
- Page 89
- Page 90
- Page 91
- Page 92
- Page 93
- Page 94
- Page 95
- Page 96
- Page 97
- Page 98
- Page 99
- Page 100
- Page 101
- Page 102
- Page 103
- Page 104
- Page 105
- Page 106
- Page 107
- Page 108
- Page 109
- Page 110
- Page 111
- Page 112
- Page 113
- Page 114
- Page 115
- Page 116
- Page 117
- Page 118
- Page 119
- Page 120
- Page 121
- Page 122
- Page 123
- Page 124
- Page 125
- Page 126
- Page 127
- Page 128