Page 74 of Burning Beauty

"Why?" she hissed.

He lowered his head to hers so she could see the cold seriousness of his eyes and so they wouldn't be overheard. "This is not the place to drink, we are surrounded by enemies. You need your senses about you."

"You're paranoid," she shot back. "You seemed pretty chummy with that Vladimir guy."

"Maria...." he said warningly.

"These are supposed to be friends, right? Why should I have to watch my back around friends?"

"These people are not my friends; I have no friends. Friends are weakness, these people are pawns in the same game we all play. Ready to be moved about my chessboard."

"Am I a weakness?" she demanded.

"The biggest one I've had the misfortune of bringing into my life."

She gasped and whirled away. This time when he grabbed her, she turned eyes glittering with tears up at him. "I need a minute alone. Please Nic."

He released her slowly, realizing he'd been too harsh again. "I'm sorry, Maria. I said that wrong, you are a weakness, yes, but you are also my greatest pleasure."

"I need to go," she said huskily, swiping a finger under her eye to catch the tears without ruining her mascara. "Just for a minute, to gather myself before I can face anyone again.

He nodded, shoving a frustrated hand through his hair. "Si, go ahead, but do not go far, and no alcohol."

She disappeared quickly into the crowd, and his stomach dropped as he forced himself to stay rooted to the spot when everything in him wanted to follow her and make sure she stayed safe.

Chapter Forty

Maria was blinded by tears as she hurried away from Nic. She glanced quickly around and saw an exit sign. She beelined for it, slipping past dancing couples and jovial wedding guests. She reached for the door, relief rushing through her as she managed to escape the gaudy noisy ballroom. In comparison, the silence that greeted her in what turned out to be a stairwell was almost as deafening.

Maria headed straight down, running on the concrete steps despite the heels she wore. Then she stopped, hesitated and went back up. What if their bodyguards were at the bottom? She wasn't ready to be scooped up and handed back to Nic quite yet. She stopped in her tracks. Up wasn't a good plan either. There were hotel rooms up there, but none that belonged to her or Nic.

Finally, she sank down on the steps in misery, tears slowly leaking from her eyes. She allowed them to fall. Who the fuck cared? Her life had turned into a strange soap opera where she didn't know the lines. How could Nic profess to care for her one moment, then treat her like a burden the next? Why did he bring her to the wedding if he wouldn't even introduce her to the bride and groom?

Maria understood the dangers involved in his choice of career, knew that she could get sucked into those dangers. What bothered Maria was her lack of choice in the matter. Every day with Nic was another eye-opening experience where he did something sweet for her then said something horrible. She loved him, she hated him, she needed him, she wanted him.

Then it hit her, she loved the man and hated the mobster. And the two were inseparable.

The tears flowed even harder, coursing down her cheeks and landing on the tops of her boobs. She scrubbed at them, trying to catch them before they ruined all her carefully applied makeup. Not that it mattered, she had no intention of going back into the wedding reception. If Nic didn't want her associating with his friends then she didn't belong there. She just needed to decide what to do with herself next.

Maria was so preoccupied with her own sorry thoughts that she didn't hear the door open and close and the clatter of shoes until the owner was nearly on top of her. Maria looked up, startled, until she saw the surprised face of a woman she had actually met. What was her name? Lindsey... no Lucy. Lucy Miller, the Russian mobster's sister-in-law. She'd seemed pale and unfocused during the introductions. Maria hated that anyone was seeing her this way, let alone the pretty, innocent little sister of one of the men Nic had warned her about.

"Maria," Lucy said with concern, halting her downward flight and grabbing the railing with both hands to avoid crashing into Maria. "Are you okay?"

Maria averted her face, trying to rub her tear-stained cheeks discreetly and failing. She hunched her shoulders as she turned her back on Lucy. "Do I look okay to you?"

Lucy seemed taken aback by the venom in Maria’s voice. "I’m sorry," she said, simply, standing from her crouch and moving to continue down the stairs. "I’ll leave you alone."

Maria felt instantly contrite for snapping at a stranger who was only trying to check on her. "Stop," she said, with a shaky breath. "I’m sorry. Please come back."

Lucy retraced her steps and sat next to Maria. Maria took one look at Lucy and started crying again. She didn't know why. Maybe she missed her mama, maybe she missed Cassandra, it just felt strangely cathartic to be sitting next to another woman and unburdening her feelings. She hiccupped and sobbed, not saying anything for several minutes, until she was finished. She reached down and used the edge of her dress to dry her face and wipe away the mascara.

She looked at Lucy. "Did I get it all?"

Lucy smiled at her. "Uh huh. You look beautiful."

Maria narrowed her eyes and gave Lucy a thin smile. "I doubt that. My face is puffy, and I just washed all my make-up off. But I don’t really give a shit. Not going back to that party anyway."

Lucy nodded her agreement. "Yeah me neither. If I can get out of here, I’m leaving too."

---