Page 12 of Betraying the Mafia Boss

I shake my head. “That was dumb.”

“Probably, but it may earn you some sex tonight at the very least.”

“Or it could make him run away from this place and never show his face around me again.” I slug down another glass of wine. “Just don’t do anything.”

“Fine.”

We both drag our attention back to the podium.

“But let me know if you—”

“Shh,” I cut Naomi off before she can finish. Nothing good comes from her pretty mouth. Next thing she’ll ask me to send a topless picture to Vincent. I don’t even have his number.

She’s quiet, but it only lasts a minute. “Who do you think the guy who’s always next to him is? A bodyguard?”

I shrug. “I think he’s a friend.”

Luca is both. Elio told me everything I needed to know about him before I transferred to LifePlus.

I heard he’s been by Vincent’s side since they were kids and he was the kind of guy to risk his life if meant Vincent was safe. With him around, no one could hurt Vincent.

I’ve seen how they are together. Luca never leaves Vincent’s side so I know it’s true.

Despair settles in the depth of my soul, the weight of all the secrets I’m keeping from Naomi suddenly weighing me down. Naomi would never judge me. She’d walk through fire for me. But I’ll only be putting her in danger if I let her in on what’s going on.

I place my how empty glass on the table next to me. “Excuse me, I need to use the rest room.”

There’s worry on Naomi’s face. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” I lie, because apparently that’s all I can seem to do these days. “I’ll be back.”

“Okay, I’ll be waiting.”

Stepping out of the hall, I turn to my right and stroll to the women’s bathroom at the end of the long, red-carpeted hallway.

Luckily, it’s empty so no one sees me as I rest one arm on the bathroom counter, clutching my chest and taking deep breaths.

My pulse is racing so fast my heart feels like it will explode from my chest any second. Panic bubbles in my stomach, but I can’t quite lay my finger on the exact reason for it.

Am I afraid Elio will actually kill my Nana? Do I feel guilty for constantly lying to my best friend? Or am I panicking because I don’t think I can bring myself to hurt Vincent? The children in the pediatric ward never stop talking about him. What will happen to them if they never see him again?

Maybe I should do everyone a favor and jump off a bridge?

I lean forward and my hair falls over my face. I push it back with my hand and stare at my reflection in the mirror in front of me. “What the hell should I do?” I mutter to myself.

“Everything okay?”

My blood curdles and I whirl around.

Vincent is leaning on the doorframe with his hands and legs crossed, his blue eyes fixed on me.

What is he doing here?

I almost stumbled over his legs as I stride outside to make sure I’m not in the men’s bathroom.

I let out a relieved sigh when I see the symbol of women’s bathroom outside—a circle with a small cross underneath.

Matching back inside and being careful not to stumble over Vincent’s leg, I cross my arms over my chest and frown at him. “What are you doing in the women’s bathroom?”

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