Page 10 of Courting Danger

But what choice did I have?

I needed the money, and I wasn’t going to get a better job offer in the next two weeks.

Even if everything went wrong, what did I have to lose?

My life?

I’d already risked that so many times it had no value left.

As Alex took the tablet back, one of the man’s hands came to rest just above my knee. It could have almost been mistaken for an accident, except for the way Alex squeezed the muscles of my thigh. Alex said nothing, and I didn’t tell him to stop. We both pretended the hand was completely innocent, even as it crept another inch higher.

We were interrupted when the driver opened the door, silently indicating it was time for us to leave. Alex cleared his throat, then stored the tablet away in one of the car’s compartments.

“After you.” He gestured for me to get out first. “You’ve got to make sure everything’s safe for me, right?”

“That would be a lot easier if I knew what we were doing.”

“Meeting with my uncle.” Once we were out of the car, Alex clung to my arm and pouted up at me like the heroine of a horror film begging her boyfriend to go investigate the weird noise in the basement. “You have to protect me. Uncle Lorenz isn’t happy about me taking over the business. For all I know, he’s behind the recent attempt on my life.”

This gave me pause. “Do you really think your own family could be the ones threatening you?”

Alex laughed and dropped the helpless maiden act, but there was no hesitation before he answered. “Absolutely. My family would slit anyone’s throat, even one of our own, if it meant securing a little more power.”

How could he say such a thing so casually?

I had never been particularly close to the few family members I had left, but I would still balk at the idea of any of them trying to kill me. Yet Alex treated it as a common annoyance, like students cheating off each other in school. I didn’t know the man well enough to tell if the nonchalance was a facade, or if Alex truly didn’t care about familicide.

A red brick courtyard led to the front doors of The New Jersey Performing Arts Center. I had passed by the modern construction many times before, but never set foot inside. The building played with contrasts. Made out of brick and glass, the harsh materials were given a veneer of softness through the use of curved lines.

Just inside the front doors, another man approached them. My hackles rose as I tracked the man’s movements. Even when Alex greeted the man—apparently named Valente—I didn’t lower my defenses. We had just established that family could also be enemies. I hadn’t been given a gun, or any sort of weapon yet. If I needed to protect Alex, the situation would get messy.

“Who’s this?” Valente said in lieu of returning Alex’s greeting.

Alex patted my arm. “This is my new bodyguard? What’d you think?”

Valente looked me up and down, eyes narrowing in suspicion. “We already have plenty of bodyguards on staff. There was no reason to bring in someone new.”

It only took one look at Valente’s stance for me to recognize a fellow warrior. The man was older than me, but not by much. Maybe late fifties at most. We both had gray in our hair. It was only a matter of ratio. My dark hair showed a little gray at the temples, while most of Valente’s color had vanished.

Ignoring the obvious tension, Alex continued forward, forcing both me and Valente to trail behind him. “Yeah, but those are your people. I wanted one of my own. Now, I need to speak with Uncle Lorenz. Is he already inside?”

The building’s contrast of hard and soft continued into the main theater area. Harsh red and gold were softened by arching lines, and the whole audience was seated in a curve around the stage. Crescent-moon layers stacked on top of each other to form walls of private viewing booths that loomed over the common seats.

We found a man sitting alone in a booth on the highest levels of the theater. His swarthy coloring and handsome features easily marked him as a member of Alex’s family.

It seemed innocent, and I almost relaxed, until I looked toward the stage. Of all the things I expected to find, a teen beauty pageant hadn’t even been on the list. I could only think of a few reasons for a middle-aged man to be watching a pageant of literal children, alone, in a private booth. Every single option churned my stomach.

Alex must have noticed my reaction, for he pulled us both to the other side of the hall. “Welcome to my uncle’s version of a strip club. Disgusting, I know, but there’s no law dictating how a person can enjoy a public event.”

As much as I wanted to shout, I kept my voice down and whispered so my words wouldn’t reach inside the private booth. “Shouldn’t you warn the event staff? What if he tries to approach one of the girls?”

“We have warned them, but my uncle funds the scholarships that they award to the contestants, so they’re not going to kick him out. I’m just telling you not to worry. I’ve got... eyes on him.”

Looking back through the door, I saw Valente approach Alex’s uncle, bending over to whisper something in the man’s ear. I didn’t trust either of them, but at least Valente was keeping Alex’s uncle distracted. Every moment that man wasn’t looking at the stage full of brightly dressed girls was a moment I could breathe.

“Is it wrong of me to hope that your uncle is the one who tried to kill you, so the police have an excuse to arrest him?”

Alex’s laughter drew everyone’s attention, including several people in the adjacent booths. He stopped only when he noticed Valente and his uncle looking at him, then leaned up to whisper directly into my ear. “If he is the one trying to kill me, he won’t live long enough to be arrested.” Then he laughed again.

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