Page 86 of Vicious Little Games

“He won’t be disappointed in you if you don’t believe the benefits outweigh the risks of drug trafficking.”

“I didn’t care about the potential consequences of getting caught before…” she says and then stops abruptly.

“Before what?”

“Before this competition started. Now, I think I can understand why Vanessa kept you away from your grandfather. She knew that was the only way to keep you safe from him and from becoming him. It’s why she doesn’t want you to win.”

“I get it, I do,” I tell her truthfully. “But I can handle it.”

“If you say so.”

Sighing, I try to blow out some of the tension growing between me and Cass. Then I get an idea. “Are you hungry?”

“A little.”

“Then let’s go find something to eat. Mike, can you take us by a grocery store?”

“A grocery store?” Cass repeats in surprise.

“You've never been in one before, or ever shopped for food, have you?” I ask her.

“No. Food just appears in our fridge or on the table at dinner time,” she says. “If I want something, I let the house manager know, and it arrives moments later.”

“Must be nice to avoid the lines. But let me show you what you’re missing out on.”

Her brow furrows as the SUV pulls into the lit-up parking lot. “Why? It's not like I'll ever have to shop for my own groceries.”

“Just humor me.”

“Fine,” she agrees.

Cass

The outside of Smith’s supermarket doesn’t look like much. But a few minutes later when we walk inside, my jaw gapes open at the rows of freezers stretched out before us. There’s an entire row dedicated to ice cream!

“I didn't know ice cream came in all these flavors!” I remark as I try to read the labels of the containers through the glass doors. “Is there an aisle of soda like this one? Or what about some chocolate? Does chocolate get their own section?”

“That's what you want to see? Ice cream, soda, and chocolate out of this whole store?”

“Oh, maybe some peanut butter too!”

Chuckling, Cole says, “Follow me.”

He leads me to an entire section filled with candy bars.

“Oh my god. There are so many to choose from and they all look so damn good.” When Cole laughs at me again, I tell him, “Daddy doesn't ever let us have junk food.”

“Well, grab what you want. It's on Annette. I doubt the guards would tell Dante that his adult daughter is hoarding candy in her room like a kid at Halloween.”

“You don’t think Daddy will ask for the cash back or the rings?” I question Cole.

“Nope.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because it was never about the money. For Dante, it’s about punishing the betrayal.”

“So, you’re going to keep it all?”

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