Page 186 of Bitter Poetry

I don’t usually call her until after lunch—it’s only ten o’clock—but I call her anyway.

No answer.

Why doesn’t she answer?

I hang up and call again.

Leon finishes his conversation and looks over at me in question.

“Carmela’s not answering,” I say.

“Maybe she’s sleeping… or taking a shower.”

It’s still ringing out. With every iteration, my anxiety cranks up another notch.

I hang up. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” She must be bored, cooped up in there all the time. I scrub a hand over my face. I’m tired. She’s probably tired, too, and sleeping, just as Leon said.

Only that sensation of restlessness is growing, manifesting in a knot of tension at the back of my skull…

“What did Mateo say? Has he made any headway on acquiring the apartment yet?” It’s still too calm out on the streets, and it’s making me uneasy. I want this over with, but it’s like my feet are stuck in quicksand, and every step forward is painfully slow.

“Yes. He just confirmed it’s been booked. Said the door is key coded so you can go ahead and move her, if and when you are ready. Has something happened?”

I shrug. “Nothing specific. Something just feels off. Maybe it was our conversation yesterday with Christian. Like, the risks are compounding and the payoff for taking them can no longer be justified. I’m uneasy. It’s taking too long for Ettore to reach tipping point. If he finds out even half of what Christian’s done, he’ll fucking carve him into pieces.” Where am I going with this? “Maybe I can see more merit in getting Christian the fuck out of there and declaring ourselves in a clean fight… And then there’s what Mateo said about Cherry. Just one more loose thread that could come back and bite us.”

His face shutters. “You don’t need to worry about Cherry.”

Fuck him. He’s going to deal with questions until we deal with Ettore. The chemistry between him and Cherry was apparent long before he started growling over Mateo’srevelations and the implications they presented. “She’s been compromised. Someone has gone to a lot of effort to fuck her over and put a target on her. It sucks, and it’s not fair, but we also have no idea how deep this might go… or why she’s even working here, in a club run by one of his capos. She’s a qualified doctor, and even if she has been struck off for malpractice, there are a hell of a lot of options beyond dancing in a club. We need to dig a hell of a lot deeper into her story, and until then, she’s a threat.”

A tic thumps in his jaw. “I know. It doesn’t fucking add up. But we’re stretched pretty thin right now. She’s being watched. If she does something, anything, that concerns me, I will take whatever action I need to. If she hurts Carmela, directly or indirectly, she’s not the woman I hope she is.”

I nod. Satisfied as I can be. “I’m going to check on Carmela. Ask Mateo to give me a timeline for moving her. I can’t shake off the feeling something is about to go down.”

“No problem.” He’s all business again. “Call me when you’ve spoken to her.”

I leave. It takes me ten minutes to reach the apartment foyer, where I take the elevator to my apartment.

I ring her five more times on the way.

She doesn’t answer.

The moment I step inside, my gut tightens. There is a strange stillness in the air.

“Carmela!”

Nothing.

The lounge is quiet. A single empty glass sits on the kitchen counter—that wasn’t there when I left.

A pounding kicks off at the base of my skull as I stride for the bedroom and check.

Empty.

Her cell phone is on the nightstand. I pick it up and quickly review it. Her last message was to Leon yesterday, asking Cherry to call around.

Cherry.

She had the code to the door.