Page 26 of King

People are gawking at me as I pace up and down next to the car, my high heels clipping loudly against the sidewalk with the phone pressed to my ear.

“I need you to send a driver.” I snap at the security officer who runs Giovanni’s estate. “I’ll send the location.”

The boys will expect me to throw a tantrum. They’ll be waiting, eagerly for a reaction from me. They’ll probably expect me to rat them out to Giovanni.

Instead, I’m going to play this cool. I meant it when I said they have no idea who they’re messing with.

The driver arrives and I even though he’s worried about me, I tell him to take me to the mall, not home. I still have shopping to do and I’m not letting those assholes ruin my plans.

The security office makes arrangements to have my car towed.

But at the mall I’m in for another surprise.

After taking my time to select my face creams and lotions and shampoo and conditioner - I’m not standing at the cashiers desk and she’s looking extremely embarrassed on my behalf as I hand her another card. “Please try this one.” I sigh.

But it doesn’t work either.

All of my cards have been cancelled.

Every single one of them.

“If you like I can set it aside for you and you can draw cash?” The cashier asks.

“No, it’s ok. I’ll come another day. I don’t have time to run back and forth now.” I say in frustration.

She nods, her smile so forced it looks painful.

At the mansion Santino and Romeo have their eyes on me. They follow me into the kitchen, pretending to be looking for a snack.

They’re waiting for my reaction.

The car has been taken to a mechanic and Gio was notified by the security team, but I didn’t tell anyone what actually happened.

The boys know though - and they’re confused.

“Did it just breakdown?” Romeo asks, leaning with his elbow against the kitchen counter as I lean into the fridge to retrieve a bottle of water. His eyes are glued to me, as are Santino’s.

“I think we both know what happened to the car.” I say calmly, pouring a glass of water.

“Didn’t you go to the mall? Where is your shopping?” Santino chuckles dryly.

“You know what, it turns out that I just didn’t like any of the brands they had. I’ll order online instead.”

Romeo glances at Santino. This is not what they were hoping for.

I smile. “Did you have to google it?” I ask, tilting my head to the side.

“Google what?” Santino snaps.

“How to cut brake lines.”

“What they fuck are you talking about?” he snarls, standing up straight and pushing his shoulders back. His voice has turned defensive.

I giggle quietly. “It just surprises me, that’s all.”

He scrunches his face in annoyance. “What does?” he can’t resist asking.

I walk over to him and take his hand in mine. He’s rigid and awkward as I turn his palm upwards, brushing my thumb over it. “You have such delicate skin, not the skin of a man who works for what he has in life. It just surprised me that would get your hands dirty like that.”

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