Page 104 of Morally Corrupt

"Oh, really?" He tries to put on a fake smile.

"Yeah, what was that about?" Why I don't drop it, I don't know. Maybe because in all our years of friendship, I've never known Marcel to even look twice toward a woman, least of all react to one.

"I knew her briefly. A long time ago."

"So mysterious. Did you guys date or something?"

"I wanted to marry her," he says quietly.

"Shit! What happened? Vlad said she's missing?"

"I don't know… I still don't know." He repeats the words, his voice straining.

"Man…" I'm about to say when Marcel suddenly hits the brakes, and we are both flung forward. Luckily, our seatbelts stop us from serious injury. I immediately get out of the car to see if we hit an animal or something, exhaling in relief when there's no evidence of impact.

"Shit. That was a close one!" I mention as I get back into the car.

Marcel is bent over the steering wheel, his head cradled between his arms. I can hear him sobbing softly.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," he keeps repeating. I want to comfort him, but I know he doesn't like to be touched, so I just sit next to him in silence, waiting for whatever ghost of the past is bothering him to disappear.

That night, I realize just how little I know about my most trusted friend.

38

BIANCA

"Do I look okay?" I look in the mirror, adjusting the hem of my dress. It's a black cocktail dress with a cinched waist, reminiscent of 50's-style dresses and a flaring skirt. I'd left my hair hanging down my shoulders and kept my makeup light, only applying some mascara and red lipstick.

"Of course, little goddess," Vlad replies almost mechanically from his seat on the chair. He's swirling bourbon in a glass, not really paying attention to me.

"Vlad!" I turn to him and wait to get his attention.

"What?" He finally snaps out of whatever trance he's been in.

"Never mind." I shake my head and lift my skirt to reveal a pair of biker shorts. I proceed to sheath the obsidian knives I'd reluctantly accepted instead of a 3D-printed pistol. I had to be smart with this, so I sheathed one right on my inner thigh. We'd also decided to place the bugs in my cleavage since it was the least likely spot to be searched. For my bag, I'd chosen a small clutch that had a camera within the bag logo. While Vlad hadn't been too particular about that, he hadn't denied being curious about who Enzo would invite.

"I don't remember you mentioning a conflict with Enzo before," I add. I've been wondering about that since yesterday's meeting.

"It's not exactly a conflict as much as it is a mutual understanding to not get in each other's way."

"But? There's more. He did come to you with an offer. So, spill."

"He only came to me out of necessity and because I'm already established in the city. Our problems stem from years back when he first got married. We used to be friendly before that, but he accused me of sleeping with his wife of all things. We got into a fight, didn't end up very pretty."

"Did you?"

"Hell no. You've met the bitch. She's the sleaziest piece of shit I've ever met. She came onto me so many times and then told him I was the instigator." He shakes his head in disgust. "Truly vile." I'd never heard Vlad speak that way of a woman. For him to call her a bitch… But I'd met the woman… and she's sleeping with Martin now. Really, what did I expect?

"He didn't believe you."

"Nope. They'd just had a kid and accused me of taking advantage of her emotional state and whatnot."

"I'm surprised he didn't pursue it further. He seems the type."

"He did, for a while. But he quickly realized he'd have to fight the entire city. It's not a secret now that his wife sleeps with anything that walks. On that note, I'd keep your husband away from her. She doesn't take no for an answer."

"If he knows she's like that, why didn't you reconcile?"

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