Page 18 of King of the Bronx

“It’s kind of what I do.”

The front door closed and Enzo turned his head. I followed his line of sight to a man that was also dressed in a suit.

“Find me before you leave. I have some business to take care of,” he told me before walking away from the table and slapping hands with the man at the door.

“Are you in, Miss?” the dealer asked.

“Sorry, yes.” I grabbed the money out of my purse and added to the pile. The game started, and I stayed focused for the next few hours. People came and went, but I stayed in the same spot. My counting skills were good enough to go for the $30,000. I was currently up $1,000, but I didn’t want to keep pushing my luck. Enzo would know something was up if I walked away with $30,000 right now. It was too risky. I folded my cards and took my winnings. My body hurt from sitting too long. Standing to stretch, I spotted Enzo across the room. Like always, his eyes were focused on me, even as he talked with the bartender.

Coffee? He mouthed to me. I smiled and nodded. He said something to the bartender before coming toward me. We walked out to his car.

“Oh, shit,” he said, looking at the clock on the dashboard.

“What?”

“We got to make a quick stop.” He pulled away from the curb.

“Um…okay.”

“I have to let my dog out.”

I almost laughed, thinking he was joking. “Really?”

“Yeah, my dog walker is out of town this week and I didn’t put him in day care.” His eyes flickered to me. “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, it’s just…kind of cute.”

He rolled his eyes. “The other night, I was a murderer. Now I’m cute?”

I shrugged. “I guess you’re a complex man.”

He pulled into a parking garage, and I followed him across the lot to the elevator. It took us up to the top floor and opened into a short hallway. There were only two doors on this floor. He walked to the second one and inserted a key. The place was huge for a New York apartment. It wasn’t luxurious like I’d pictured. It had a more rustic look to it. There was a large wooden dining room table to the left. On the right was the kitchen area with dark wooden cabinets. I didn’t get a chance to take in anymore of the space because a giant dog came running straight for me.

“Bello!” Enzo yelled, trying to control the dog, but it was too late. He jumped up, landing his paws on my stomach and almost knocking me over. I would have been scared if it wasn’t for the wagging tail and his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth.

I laughed and rubbed a hand over the dog’s head. “Well, hello there.”

Enzo grabbed the dog by the collar to peel him off of me. “I’m sorry about that. He’s usually better behaved. He must like you.”

I waved it off. “It’s fine.”

He let go of the dog’s collar and grabbed a blue leash from the hook on the wall. He clipped it to the collar.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yep.” I opened the door and let Enzo led the way. I followed them to the elevator. The dog kept turning around to look at me.

“Bello, you act like you’ve never saw a woman before,” Enzo said to the dog.

“Not a woman like me,” I said as I bent down to pet Bello’s head.

We walked out to the empty sidewalk and started down the street with Bello between the two of us.

“So, do you always walk him at two in the morning?” I asked.

He shook his head. “I usually have someone who walks him during the day, but she’s on vacation.”

“You don’t have family who can watch him?” I shouldn’t pry. It was none of my business anyways, but maybe the more I knew about him, the more leverage I’d have. We stopped as Bello sniffed a tree.

---