Page 66 of Till Death Do Us Part

“No.” I put my hands up and started backing away. “You two can hash it out. Our time here is up anyway, and I’m going to dinner. Good night.”

Kerry and Elsa’s faces were almost pressed to the glass, looking at me from inside. Instead of coming back outside, they must have decided to watch the show from primo seats.

The entrance to the hotel wasn’t but a few steps from the rooftop, but I was out of breath by the time I made it inside. The soothing warmth of the hotel came in second to what was going on outside.

Some of the staff from the museum were coming in for dinner, but some of them decided to stay to make up the teams. Hayden raised his arms to the sky, like he was thankful for another forty-five minutes of ice time. He went to stand on Felice’s side.

Jack wasn’t paying attention. He pulled his phone out, and it seemed like he was texting. Or maybe he was Googling “how to win at curling.”

“Now that we know you’re good, we’re going to grab some food,” Kerry said, squeezing my shoulder. “El needs to eat.”

Elsa nodded at me, but it seemed like her head was bobbing on her shoulders.

After they were gone, I pulled out the phone Felice had given me and sent him a text.

Me:I’ll meet you at the ballet.

I’d grab a bite with Elsa, change in the bathroom, then have plenty of time to text Felice to let him know where I’d be parked.

My Carnivore:No.

“No?” I repeated.

My Carnivore:No.

I looked up and outside of the window. Our eyes met. He looked down at his phone, his thumbs working, and my phone dinged a second later.

My Carnivore:You’ll ride with me.

I sighed. He was going to do this to prove a point. I would be leaving with him, no matter if Jack was here or not. And there was no telling what was going on in his mind when he saw me smile at Jack. He’d been watching.

Evening, Ms. Corvo. Such a beautiful smile you have. Lucky the man who’s the recipient of it.

Me:Okay.

Not wanting to watch what happened next, I walked away from the glass. About forty-five minutes later, the phone Felice had given me chimed in my purse.

My Carnivore:Cassio will follow you and Ms. Lang. You drive.

Like I’d let her drive when she couldn’t even get the wordsteakout without hissing the “s” sound. I huffed at the phone because of his insinuation and because his curt message meant he was going to work and would be late (or not show up at all). I told Elsa it was time to change, pulled her up, and we hightailed it to the bathroom so Jack couldn’t catch me leaving.

* * *

Celso was leaning against my car, his arms crossed, when Elsa and I made it to Felicia. He made clown car noises from his mouth as he searched the interior.

“Is that really necessary?” I asked.

“Boss says so,” he said, doing a thorough search.

“I’m talking about the noises,” I said.

He grinned at me but stopped making them, then walked over to a Lincoln idling nearby, Cassio behind the wheel. Cassio gave me just enough room to put her in reverse and drive forward. He made a motion that I took to mean, “I’ll be following.”

It was ridiculous Felice had him following me. The Lyric Opera House was only a few minutes from The Gwen. But I gave him a thumbs up and we left.

Elsa closed her eyes and relaxed in her seat.

“Feeling okay?” I asked.

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