Page 52 of Scorned Beauty

Me

Can we talk?

I waited for a couple of minutes. When there was no response, I pocketed the phone in my coveralls’ thigh pocket.

Later, Billy and I were in the assisted living home, having a comfortable dinner with Harriet. It reminded me of old times after Mom died and she was the one who looked out for us. Still, I couldn’t help feeling edgy with Dom’s lack of response.

He finally texted me two hours later.

Dom

Now is not a good time.

I waited for him to elaborate. He did not.

“What’s wrong?” Harriet asked with her probing eyes.

Billy was oblivious, his attention on a game Harriet and I had no interest in watching.

“Shift change,” I lied.

She smiled and patted my hand. “You’re almost done.”

Somehow, the sympathy on her face only made me want to dissolve into tears.

I exhaled a shuddering breath.

I should move on, because clearly, Dom had.

Chapter

Fourteen

Sloane

Another two weekswent by before Bianca revealed what the secrecy was all about.

Sandro was in an underground tournament called the Game of Bosses. But the biggest shock of all was Dom’s uncle Luca found his wife alive and had his own fight against the Russians in Chicago.

My loyalties were to the Rossis. My affair with Dom didn’t make me loyal to him. We kept it a secret for a reason. But a month of being shut out by everyone except Grigori of all people had taken its toll on my mental health. I woke up this morning hollowed out of purpose, and I struggled to get out of bed.

With politics between the Russians and Italians shoved to the forefront, those who didn’t pick a side were left floundering. That was why Grigori was trying to lock me down to work for him. A cleaner like me couldn’t play both sides. No matter how each job with the Russians felt like blackmail, I had a feeling choosing a side was imminent.

Grigori needed unquestionable loyalty. I didn’t blame the Italians for keeping information from me. I was a weak link.

It made the address of the cleaning job worrisome. It was at the Venezia Tower unit 504.

“Did you know something that was going down tonight?” Billy’s voice was suspicious. “Isn’t that the building you had me do a drive-by weeks ago?”

Queasiness rocked my gut. I’d missed my period, but it could be from all the stress. I was oddly numb about the idea of pregnancy.

“I told you it was for Bianca. She gave me the address,” I lied. “It’s probably a love nest of sorts for mobsters.”

“You could be right. Maybe Grigori whacked one of his girls.”

I glanced at Billy sharply. “If you’ve been helping that asshole?—”

“What the…” My brother’s eyes widened, staring straight ahead and shouted, “Watch out.”