Page 74 of Dangerous Contract: Part 2

"But this isn't a horror movie, and Cas isn't a threat," Toya pointed out. "He's not the one who tried to hurt us. He saved us."

"Threats cling to him and his family, Toya. Danger follows them like a shadow. If that's what you and Mo are into, that's fine. Do you. I'm not into that. I don't date bad boys. Fuck drug dealers, and scammers, and men who are in the mafia. If I brought a kingpin drug lord to meet y'all, wouldn't you pull me aside and tell me I needed to let him go?"

Meka's gaze moved from Toya to Monique. Monique chewed her bottom lip, knowing she'd have a fit if Meka brought a kingpin to meet them.

"Right, your silence is your answer," Meka said. "So why is Cas better than a King Pin?"

Again, Monique had no answer. He was better because they knew him. Well, she hadn't known him for long.Damn it.

"He's not better," Meka answered for them. "He's no different. Look, if you all want to be in with the Cattaneo family, I won't stop you. But please respect my decision not to be involved with them. And it's not just because I fear their lifestyle. It's because I don't agree with it. I don't want to be with a man who could possibly be kidnapped or beheaded on any given Tuesday. My anxiety is too bad for that. I'd be a nervous wreck every day. And what makes it worse is that I know Cas's anxiety has to be shot. From our past discussions, I know he doesn't handle this type of shit well."

"It seems like he handles it pretty well to me," Toya mumbled.

Monique glared at Toya, wishing her friend could read the room better.

Toya shrugged. "What? I'm just saying he handled himself well if you ask me."

"Looks can be deceiving," Meka told her. "He may have looked calm and collected, but inside, he was dying. I could see it in his eyes."

"It didn't look like that to me..." Toya started.

Monique's glare silenced her.

"Trust me," Meka whispered. "He was hating himself. And I know that because I know Caspari Cattaneo better than his brothers do. Do you want to know how I met Cas?"

Monique and Toya's gazes met, shock registering in both of their eyes. They'd asked Meka a dozen times about how she and Cas met. Each time, Meka avoided the question. Was she really about to tell them now?

"Do you want to know or not?" Meka asked.

"Yes," Toya and Monique rushed to say.

Meka sighed and then said, "Okay. I'll tell you how I came to know Caspari Cattaneo. And I'll tell you how I know he doesn't want to do the things he does for his family. It all started with a late-night phone call that turned into so much more."

This sounded like it was going to be good.

"Y'all know, I used to work for a hotline that took calls from people who were thinking of committing suicide, right?" Meka asked.

Monique and Toya nodded.

"Sometimes we got calls from people who just needed someone to talk to. I usually worked from home instead of at the call center. One night, I was feeling down and out. I was listening to some gospel songs to uplift my spirit. The work phone rang, and I answered it without turning the music off. The caller told me he wasn't suicidal, but he felt like he was losing his mind."

"Was it Cas?" Toya asked.

"Just listen to the story," Meka snapped. "With the music playing in the background, I started talking to him. And because I was going through some stuff also, I overshared, which was against the rules. But he actually talked me through my issue. At the end of the call, he asked me what that song was in the background. I told him. He asked if he called again, how couldhe reach me. I told him my extension. We ended the call with both of us feeling better."

"Awww, it was Casper the ghost, wasn't it?" Toya asked.

Ignoring her, Meka continued. "He called again the next night. This time, he had that same gospel song playing in the background. And we talked for hours. This went on for a few nights until I got an email from my supervisor asking me to come into the home office for a meeting."

"So,that'swhy you got fired from that job," Toya mused.

"I didn't get fired. I quit. And no, that's not what happened at that meeting. I went to the meeting and was pretty much told what I already knew, that I was getting too close to a caller. Of course, they monitor our calls and periodically listen to some. She listened in on one of him asking me for my cell phone number. I didn't give it to him, though I was tempted to. But he rattled his off to me. And my dumb ass wrote it down, despite telling him that I wouldn't. When my supervisor told me that she would be routing calls from his number to another member of the team, I was happy."

"Happy?" Monique asked. "Why happy? Clearly, you two had a connection."

"I was happy because I didn't have to end the nightly calls myself. Someone else would do it for me. So, those nightly calls ended. And that was good. It should've ended there. But one day, I had a bad day and needed someone to talk to."

"I feel like I'm reading a romance book. No, I feel like I'm listening to a romance audiobook!" Toya exclaimed, folding her legs under her and resting her head against the couch. "Keep going, Ms. Audio Book."

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