Page 4 of Cruel Devil

I won’t be one to shatter her heart.

Giving her another pat, I wrinkle my nose as that puffs up some of her sickly sweet perfume. “Give her a call later, when we’re done here. Tell her about the sushi. Ask her about the job. I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear from you after what you’ve done for her.”

Viv nods, staring rigidly ahead as she dabs at the corner of her eyes. I have to stop patting her, if only so I don’t give everyone in the Rolls perfume toxicity. Viv’s eyes start leaking faster than she dabs up the tears.

Shit.

“Have—Have I told you how lovely your perfume is?” I squeak out, desperate to take the woman’s mind off her doomed relationship with her daughter.

“Hmm?” Viv looks at me like she’s waking up from a very bad dream. Then she blinks and smiles warmly. “Oh, it’s heavenly, isn’t it?” She wafts a hand around her impressive bosom, her smile lifting as she inhales every syrupy note. “Bryan gave it to me for our anniversary last month.”

“How many…months?” I venture.

“Oh, years, doll. It’s been five years.”

I’m at a loss for words. Five years? I don’t know how long cartel mistresses are supposed to last, but that seems like a helluva long stretch. Savage said his mother was murdered a while ago, so now I’m wondering if the timelines make sense. If Bryan was with Viv when his wife, Savage’s mother, was killed…

Well, that’s a godawful thought to have.

I’d feel sorry for Savage, if it’s true that Bryan had something to do with his wife’s death, but Caesar Domingo isn’t exactly a saint.

“Is it far?”

I blink at Viv, my mind scrambling hurriedly back to the here and now. “Oh, the Yen Garden?”

“Zen garden, didn’t you say?”

My chuckle sounds forced. Matty’s eyes are in slits when I happen to glance in his direction. “Just checking if you were paying attention.” I rub my rapidly moistening palms over my dress. “Should be there any minute now?—”

“We’re here, Mrs. Domingo,” the driver says.

Matty turns that glare onto him, giving me a moment to frown before I can catch myself. Then I peek out the window.

I’ve heard about manifestation and shit, but this can’t be real. In my frazzled state when I left the Domingo Villa, I hadn’t even thought about where the driver was taking us. I guess it’s possible a place like this existed…but in driving distance?

This must be a sign. No reason to keep second-guessing myself, then.

“Ooh!” Viv claps her hands. “We have to order saki!”

“Saki?” I manage woodenly, still staring dumbfounded at the sign as the driver comes around to open my door. Matty climbs out and stands a few feet away, close enough to grab me if I decide to bolt, but too far for me to knee him in the groin.

“To celebrate!”

The fact that I have godlike powers? I guess that’s worth a drink or nine. Why does this all feel like a cosmic practical joke? My eyes are locked to the wooden sign with the burned-in letters “Zen Garden” surrounded by Taoist labyrinths.

“I wish I’d known about the wedding sooner! I could have arranged an amazing bridal shower for you.” Viv pats my arm as we head into the restaurant shielded on either side by a tall hedge wall and a pair of tall, slender brown pots chastely spilling water over their rims.

“Yeah, Viv, you kinda had about as much warning as I did.”

Fingers dig into my arm, yanking at me. I spin on my heel, my sneakers digging into the gravel path leading deeper into the garden-area of the restaurant. “Are you joking?”

Viv’s eyes aren’t as cheery as before. There’s a concerned look in those blue irises, and it makes me wonder a lot of things all at once.

“What me and Caesar have is wild, and furious, and…unpredictable.”

Viv smiles, but I’m dying a little inside as I hear my own words.

Ours isn’t some whirlwind romance. True.

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