Page 36 of Deceitful Oath

After we get dressed, we head to the kitchen. Lux hops up on the counter to watch me cook a late breakfast. The scene is so disgustingly wholesome and domestic that I almost force myself to stop. But when she wraps her arms around me from behind and whispers about how good it smells, I can’t control my smile.

Despite her compliments, she pushes her omelet around the plate when I place it in front of her. Her silliness from the shower has worn off and she looks deep in thought.

“So, you’re a bad singeranda liar then?”

She snorts, finally taking a bite of her eggs. “I never claimed to be a good singer, but I’m definitely not a liar.”

“You couldn’t stop gushing about how good the food smells,” I say, pointing to her plate.

“Ugh,” she groans, slumping in her chair. “Sorry, I just…I just really can’t handle the thought of slinging cocktails at work tonight when everything is falling apart like this.”

“What if,” I glance at her, a sly smile on my face, “you just tell them your apartment flooded, and you have to deal with it. It’s not really a lie, is it?”

She stares thoughtfully at me, tapping her chin with her pointer finger. “You know, that might work. I guess you’re the devil on my shoulder.”

“Who’s the angel?”

“Well, me…obviously,” she quips, shooting me a cheesy Hollywood smile. I laugh, nodding solemnly.

“What’s your boss like? You think he’ll be okay with giving you the night off?”

“Oh yeah,” she replies, stuffing some vegetables into her mouth. “Carlo is pretty chill.”

“Carlo,” I repeat, feigning innocence.

“Yeah, Mr. Mancini, technically. He’s a little…quirky,” she says, a smile playing on her lips. “I actually have this conspiracy theory that he’s in the mob, but he’s pretty harmless.”

My brain short circuits. I have no idea how to process this information or come up with a reply, so I just stare at her. She notices my shocked expression and laughs.

“Don’t worry, he’s not actually in the mob,” she assures, patting my arm gently. “He just has a sick fascination with Al Capone.”

My brain starts churning again and I attempt to keep her talking. “So, what makes you think he’s in the mob?”

“I mean, there’s the Capone thing. But he also owns a VIP bar with secret back rooms, although lots of places have those now.” She chews thoughtfully and shrugs her shoulders. “It’s not any specific thing really, just the way he carries himself like he wants people to think he’s a big gangster.”

“Interesting,” I note, forcing myself to take a bite of my eggs. “Has he ever mentioned criminal activities?”

She bursts out laughing and shakes her head. “No, Wolfie…come on. Do you really think I’d keep working there if my boss told me he’s part of the mafia? No, thank you. I have zero desire to get involved with that.”

I shrug, forcing myself to laugh. She jumps up and grabs her phone off the counter.

“Let me call him right now, actually.” I watch her scroll through her phone and tap his name, then put it on speaker. She stabs a potato and stuffs it in her mouth as it rings.

“Carlo here.”

“Hi, Mr. Mancini,” she purrs, her voice soft and sweet, but she rolls her eyes. “Something unbelievable has happened to me.”

It’s almost surreal to watch this interaction. My father’s arch enemy’s voice floats through the speakers and fills my living room.

“Lux, nothing that comes out of your mouth can possibly surprise me at this point.”

“My house flooded,” she blurts out, “everything’s ruined—clothes, shoes, my furniture.”

Carlo sighs heavily on the other end. I can almost picture him rubbing his temples and shaking his head, although I’ve nevermet him in the flesh. Lux bites her lip, raising her eyebrows as she looks at me.

“Okay then,” he finally acknowledges. “So, you want to…”

“Take the night off?” she volunteers helpfully, grinning at me. “To take care of everything, of course. I need to call my landlord, the insurance company, the water removal people...who removes water from apartments? I don’t even know…”

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