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She raises her head when I plop into the seat beside her.
“You look terrible,” she exclaims as she does a once-over with her large, blue eyes. Her dark, wavy hair is left wildly around her face and shoulders, and her lips are heavily painted in red lipstick.
“Thanks, just exactly what I needed to hear.” I roll my eyes at her as she keeps roaming her eyes over my face.
“There are dark circles under your eyes, and your shoulders are tense. What’s going on with you? And why did you send that ‘we need to talk’ text? Is your dad okay?”
Typical of my best friend to critically assess me and point out her observations.
“Oh, please.” I grab the tall glass of lemonade in front of her and drink deeply from it. “You’re asking too many questions at the same time. My dad is still not conscious; we’re hoping he wakes up soon, but that’s obviously not why I texted you. I just needed someone to talk to.”
“Then you’ve come to the right person because I’ve been meaning to talk to you, too!” Her brows have lifted, and her face has lit up with excitement. I know Mia, when she’s like this it means she’s either onto big information, or she’s about to gossip.
“What is it you want to gossip about?”
She rolls her eyes at me but is obviously not offended because she goes right on without acknowledging my statement.
“You’re engaged to Elio Donatelli, I didn’t get to tell you congratulations.” She closes one eye in a wink, but a small frown upturns my lips.
“You did congratulate me, Mia. In fact, you were one of the first people to.”
“I did?” She takes a sip from her glass again. “Well, I guess I was so shocked at the news at the time that it didn’t actually register. Ok, I’ll just go into what I have to ask then.” Now I’m sure she’s definitely onto something suspicious.
“Listen, I’ve been doing some digging regarding the report that was made against Elio Donatelli’s warehouse…”
My laughter stops her. “Mia, what report? Where did you even hear that? On the internet?” I say, trying to make the issue as trivial as I can. I don’t think it’s on the internet yet. Elio must be doing something to keep it private.
“Aria, just listen, okay? I think this is big. And for your information, I didn’t get anything about it on the internet. That alone makes the whole thing sound suspicious.”
My eyes roll in their sockets. “So where the hell did you get whatever info you have?”
Mia huffs in frustration. “Girl, I’m a journalist, but I still had to sweat blood to get it, okay? Look, do you want to hear this or not?”
“Let’s hear it.”
She turns around to ensure no one around us is eavesdropping on the conversation, then turns back to me and in the quietest voice she can muster, says, “I think your fiancé is involved in some shady stuff.”
One of my brows jerks inquisitively.
“So…” I trail off, waiting for her to reveal whatever huge info she thinks she has about Elio.
“So you should be careful! I don’t think that guy is who we think he is…”
“Mia…”
“Drugs were found in his warehouse! Drugs, and cash, and whatever…”
I slam my palm softly to the table to get her to stop talking. “Mia, do me a favor.”
Her brows knit together to form an arc. “I’m all ears.”
I need Elio to protect my dad at any cost and can’t let anything get in the way of that. So I tell Mia, “Just don’t bother yourself with Elio Donatelli. It’s a setup. Big businessmen like him get into scandals like that all the time.”
She shrugs. “I don’t know…this one just feels different. Call it a journalist’s intuition.”
I close my eyes and shake my head, fighting the urge to spill the fact that the man is a murderous mafia don who would end her existence in a couple of minutes if he found out she’s looking vigorously into him.
Mia’s like a dog with a bone when she gets a whiff of something. And I’m sure she’s close to being onto something even now.