Page 24 of Dangerous Deception

“It’s Adelina! She’s gone, Boss. She’s gone!”

10

ADELINA

“Adelina!” Marie teeters toward me on her six-inch heels, a giant smile spreading across her face the second she locks eyes with me across the street. “You came!”

“Of course I did!” I laugh, glancing up and down the road and then hurrying to meet her in the middle. “Did you think I’d stand you up?”

She clutches at my bare shoulders when we clash in the middle of the street. “The last time you tried to organize a night out with me last week, you went super quiet for like four days. So this time when you called, I was kind of sure you were going to stand me up.”

“I would never!” We collapse into a pile of giggles and hugging, then Marie takes her time to admire the silver ruffle dress I’ve squeezed myself into. By some stroke of luck, she’s also in silver, only her dress is sequined and her skin glitters with body glitter under the streetlight.

“So, how did you sneak any from your husband?” Marie waggles her brows as she links arms with me and we head toward the club.

“I didn’t sneak.” I laugh. The lie comes as smooth as butter.

It was almost too easy to trick the guards once I’d learned their routine. After Raffaele decided to be a dick and tell me I couldn’t leave, escaping was all I could think about. But with Levi having access to my phone, I had to be clever and only organized this night through phone calls that couldn’t alert Levi to anything. Then it was pretty easy to flood the bathroom and start a fire in the trash can, then hide it in the closet and wait for the smoke alarm to cause commotion.

Sneaking away during that fiasco was thrilling, and my heart still races even though I’ve been free from the estate for over an hour. Now I plan to spend the rest of the night drinking and partying to show Raffaele that it’s completely fine for me to go out and do the normal stuff in my life that I’m used to doing.

“I simply told him I was going out and there was nothing he could do about it,” I say as we slot into the queue for the club. Rainbow lights from the club illuminate Marie’s eyes as she laughs and shakes her head, and even from outside, the thrum of the bass music can be felt all the way up into my breastbone. It’s a strangely addictive feeling, and I can’t wait until the music is the only thing I feel.

“He could have come out with us,” Marie says. “I wouldn’t have minded.”

“I would have.” I snort.

“Oh, trouble in married paradise?” She winks at me. “Spill!”

The urge to tell her the truth is strong. I’m not sure how much Marie would even believe. I’d lose her as soon as I told her that the real power in this city was with the families involved in organized crime and not the police. And as soon as I started talking about heirs, traditional laws, and rules, she’d either think I was crazy or try to have me arrested.

So instead, I try to spin my frustrations into something ordinary.

“It’s just an adjustment, y’know? I’m used to living my life as me and doing the things I like. I miss the hospital, and living in a new place is affecting my art. I now have more to think about than just fundraisers. And how he does things is different from me.”

“Isn’t this the sort of stuff you discussbeforeyou get married?” She raises one perfectly penciled brow.

“Kind of.” I laugh. “But it’s all small stuff like… do you floss and then brush, or brush and then floss? How do you cook your pasta? How long should a shower be because of the bills and stuff?”

Marie suddenly barks out a loud laugh. “I saw where he lives, remember? If he’s anal about the bills, then girl, you need to suck his dick to lighten him up or something.”

“Marie!”

“What?” She breaks out into a fit of giggles. “Am I wrong? All of that stuff is so mundane when he’s that hot.”

I nudge into her, and she nearly falls over in her heels, which sends us both into a fit of laughter. I imagine her response would be so different if I told her the truth about his not wanting me to leave or treating me like property, but that kind of truth can’t be spoken. Instead, it’s easier to vent about mundane lies just for a bit of sympathy.

“Maybe you’re right.” I grin as we reach the doors. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. Let’s dance!”

“Yes, girl!”

The night kicks off with two fruity cocktails and enough dancing to give me the best workout I’ve had in weeks. After a few song changes, Marie wants to leave, so we abandon that club and head to another down the street. Another drink, another thirty minutes of dancing and expensive shots drive us to a third club. It’s like I’m a teenager again and nothing else matters. With every drink, the music hits better and the pain from myheels fades into nothing. All I care about is dancing the night away, watching Marie have the time of her life, and forgetting all about my life and responsibilities.

The next club we arrive at has a deal on drinks, which has Marie over the moon. After a water break and the longest piss of my life, we’re back on the dance floor weaving to Shakira and music with beats so powerful that my teeth shake.

I feel more alive than I have in months.

Eventually, my throat is dry, so Marie and I stumble toward the bar, giggling uncontrollably and sagging against one another while we wait for the bartender to notice us.

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