Page 5 of Gin & Trouble

“We’re off tonight. I’m going to the masked ball, remember?” I drew a tiny black heart on my cheekbone. Then lined my blood red lips with a thick black line.

“With the video game nerd? You’re still going?” Sophia gave me a look that reminded me far too much of our mother.

“The proper term isgeek, and yes, I’m still meeting him.” Makeup finished, I picked up my phone to order a ride-share. No way in the world would I take public transportation to the hotel while dressed in black and red pleather pants and a bustier.

“Not so fast.” She snatched the cell from my hand and held it high over my head like she’d done with my favorite doll when we were kids. “What do you know about this guy?”

No sense wrestling her for the phone, she stood almost a foot taller. I planted my hands on my hips and glared. “Give it back. I’m a grown woman capable of making my own decisions.”

She didn’t move. “I’ll hand it over once you answer my questions. Have you run a background check on him? How do you know he’s not a serial killer?”

“I thought we were fighting to break free of Tommaso so we can date and marry who we want.” I reached for the cell, but she angled her body away from me. “You’re acting just like our mob-boss-brother.”

“Now you’re talkingmarriage?” Sophia might have pretended to ignore the insult, but I’d caught the flash of anger in her eyes.

“Damn it, Soph. Stop twisting my words.” At the end of my patience and out of time, I lunged for the phone.

She tossed the cell at me. “I don’t like it.”

A quick glance at the clock sent my pulse racing. Pulling up the ride-share app, I said, “I’m meeting him in a public place, and I have an ironclad escape plan if it doesn’t work out. I have to work first thing in the morning.”

“What’s the point of dating? We’re not staying in New Orleans.”

We’d been over this several times since I’d made the mistake of telling her about Danny, and I didn’t have the energy to get into it again.

I hurried to the closet for my boots. “We’re going to a party, not running away to join the circus together.”

“Whoever heard of a masked ball at a gaming convention?” Sophia wrinkled her nose as if she’d smelled something foul.

“It’s New Orleans. We don’t need a reason to dress up in costumes and get drunk.” I’d tried to lighten the mood, but judging by her icy expression, I’d failed.

“This is not who you are.” She grabbed my arm, pulled me across the room, and turned me to face the mirror. “You see a young woman excited to go on a date with a guy. I see a mafia princess risking too much for nothing.”

I jerked free. “I’m not amafiaanything. I agreed to help you bring Tommaso down because I have no intention of being sold to the highest bidder.”

After our father died unexpectedly, our brother had set the wheels in motion to marry me and my sisters off to men he owed favors to, wanted favors from, or who’d paid the highest price. Sophia and I had escaped to the United States, but our sisters weren’t so lucky. They’d gone into hiding in Sicily.

Sophia cocked her head and studied me as if seeing me for the first time. “You’re stronger than I give you credit for.”

“Thank you.” I hated arguing with her, but it seemed like that’s all we’d done lately.

No surprise, we couldn’t have been more different. All I wanted was a computer, a quiet life, and my family back to normal. Sophia’s ultimate goal was to unseat my brother ascapoand take his position—something that couldn’t happen unless she suddenly sprouted a penis.

Old world rules sucked, and the mafia was as old world as it came.

“But I still think this evening is a bad idea.” She would never admit she was wrong. That would be too much like acknowledging weakness.

“I’ve been risking my life for months trying to find dirt on the Marchionnis. Don’t I deserve to have some fun?” I nudged her side.

She threw up her hands like the Italian she was, with serious gusto. “Yes. Yes. Fine. Go. Just don’t screw around and fall for this guy. The new planwillwork. And we’ll be out of here.”

Like it’s going to be so easy to waltz into a company Christmas party and steal Enzo Marchionni’s DNA.

“I hope you’re right.” I checked the ETA of my ride-share. “The car will be here in five minutes.”

“I’m always right. Enzo is our half-brother and heir to the Abruzzo throne.”

“Even if he is, there’s no guarantee he’ll help us. Especially if he finds out I’ve been working at his family’s corporation under an alias and hacking into their computer networks.”

---