Page 52 of Ghosted in Arkadia
Our dinner arrives and I’m thankful to have something purposeful to do, even if my appetite is shit. It’s easily the best plate of Alfredo I have ever had, but I can only stomach a fewbites before I resort to mostly pushing the pasta around my plate with my fork.
Every time I risk a glance; I find Roman staring at me. His lips are curled into a smile that sets off every type of alarm bell inside my body.
Killian places his fork down, pretense leaving him as he wipes the corners of his mouth with the black cloth napkin before placing it beside his plate. “You want to box it up?” The question is soft. Just for me.
I nod, grateful. My mouth is too dry to pretend to eat and my hands shake lightly with a nagging sense of unease.
Killian signals the server. He glides over like he’s been waiting for this moment. Before either Killian or I can speak, a plate with a perfect slice of tiramisu is set in front of me.
“I didn’t order this,” I say, but I already know who it came from.
The server smiles in the way people do when they are not allowed to speak. He’s nothing more than a puppet, his body moving exactly as Roman commands.
Part of me knew this wasn’t a good idea. I should have fucking listened.
The server slides something small and black onto the table. He doesn’t speak, he simply turns and walks away.
Killian snatches the envelope, tearing through the seal to pull out a small black card.
“Let me guess,” I whisper, “that’s not an invitation.”
“No.” Killian’s voice is flat. “It’s a summons.”
Two men dressed in black appear at the edge of my vision. They stand just far enough away to not interrupt, but close enough to make it clear that we are not going home.
I glance in Roman’s direction, and he lifts his glass and swirls the wine inside like blood circling a drain. He nods, and then the guards move in.
Killian’s hand is on mine before I can react. He leans close, speaking just loud enough for me to hear. “Let me do the talking, alright?”
Nervous laughter bubbles from me, but I nod anyway.
A guard gestures toward the exit. They don’t make a scene, and the other patrons keep their gaze on their plates as if nothing out of the ordinary is occurring at all. It’s quiet coercion of power, one that knows it never has to shout.
Killian and I leave, hand in hand. As we step outside, a sleek black car is already idling at the curb. The backdoor opens and I can see there isn’t a driver up front, just another man in a black suit waiting on the passenger’s side.
A guard comes up behind me, patting his hands over my body, and quickly discovers the gun strapped to my thigh. He takes it and gives me a slight look before checking to make sure I don’t have any others. Killian is searched next, his gun is also found and taken.
“Alright. Time to get in,” the guard says.
Killian hesitates for half a second. It’s all I need to know that he is also weighing his options as carefully as I am. I have to fight against every instinct to get into the car. But I don’t have a choice.
This was always a possible ending for the night. That’s why James and Tommy are watching from their car, parked just across the street.
I had wanted dirt on Roman. Enough to finally take him down. It looks like tonight, I might get my wish.
Crimes of Passion, Emphasis on Crimes
Irecognize Charles’ convenience store when the car pulls up to the warehouse. It parks and the man inside the car with us gets out and walks to my door, opening it and gesturing for me to get out. When they searched me, they missed the small multipurpose knife hidden inside my boot. I consider using it rather than complying. Not that I could do much with a small knife in a gunfight, but no matter what happens, I don’t plan to go down without a fight.
Killian’s hand wraps around mine, giving me a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be alright, princess.”
I nod. Now isn’t the time for last-ditch efforts. With a deep breath, I calm my nerves before stepping into the chilled air.
“Yeah, don’t worry,princess,”says the guard as he grabs my upper arm with a bruising hold. “You’re going to be just fine as long as you behave.”
“And what if I don’t behave?”
He hits me in the back of the head hard enough to stun me temporarily. I can hear his laughter followed by a struggle.Shaking off the last remnants of confusion, I look behind me and see Killian with a bleeding lip in the hold of his own guard.
