Page 6 of The Air You Breathe

He walked around the desk leaving Giovanni and me. As soon as I heard him leave, I shot back the liquor, reveling in the burn. It was insane that he was thinking about sex trafficking when he had a granddaughter. I glanced at Giovanni who looked as sick as I was.

“Fuck, I guess we have no choice,” he growled, nodding his head to the door, signaling we should leave. Lucio had his office bugged and we just needed him to think we were on board.

“You heard him, and what he says goes,” I said, getting up and heading out. I walked a few doors down to my office, opening the door so we could go in. Taking a seat at my desk and pulling out a small device. I was constantly checking for bugs but I always turned this machine on so it disabled anything that could possibly record or hear us. Giovanni sat down in the chair I had in front of my desk. I opened my bottom drawer getting out my liquor and two tumblers.

“I will not fucking do this,” I said, after I poured us both a hefty drink.

“I can’t believe he would be okay with it,” he said, running his hand through his hair. “My daughter…” His voice broke and I couldn’t imagine what he was thinking. Any of those girls could be his daughter or Lucio’s granddaughter or my sister.

“We have to come up with a plan to either derail or delay it, so we can think of something,” I said, gulping down my drink.

“Evan, I think it's time we start thinking about getting out,” he said, looking at me seriously. “I can’t raise my kids with the possibility I might not come home. I definitely don’t want them near that man. And my half-brother Dev and half-sister Ava don’t deserve to be sucked into this life either.”

I knew I could trust Giovanni, but I still hesitated. “I can’t do this anymore either, it's taking its toll on me. I miss my life before this and I miss…” I almost said Darcy’s name, but I didn’t let myself dwell on her. I didn’t want to give myself hope because I knew if I ever went back to Darcy, I would have to grovel on my knees for the rest of my life. If she even let me.

“Then let’s brainstorm what we can do to stop this trafficking and my father,” he clinked my drink and we both drank to that.

3

DARCY

Itook one last glance at the coffee shop before I closed the door and locked up. I always double checked everything especially today since I closed alone. Mary had a doctor's appointment she had to go to, and I told her I would watch the shop while she took care of herself. Walking to the car, I threw my stuff in and turned the key in the ignition, except it didn’t start.

Shit, did I leave the lights on again?

I internally cursed myself because I always did this. But when I checked the lights, everything was still on. I tried to start it again and it almost started.

Come on! This was the last thing I needed.

I tried one more time and it finally turned on. I needed to take it to get serviced and get that checked. I felt the familiar buzz of my phone in my pocket and then the ringing in the car.

I hit accept on the car screen before I said, “Hello”.

“Darcy! How are you girl?” Jane, my friend from Texas, came through the car speaker.

“Hey! I’m doing good, just got out of work and I am beat. How are you?” I asked, hearing another voice in the background. I knew I shouldn't be jealous, but I still couldn’t believe this girl found three men to follow her around like lost puppies when I couldn’t even manage to find one man.

“Great! What are you doing tonight?” she asked, sounding really excited.

“Not much, why?” I asked.

“Well… my brother's wedding is tomorrow and my future sister-in-law said she didn’t want to go out but now she does one last time before she gets hitched. So, I was wondering if you want to have dinner with us and go out for a few drinks,” Jane said, as another voice yelled, “Come out with us please!” in the background.

I laughed looking at the clock, hoping I had time for a nap. I thought about what Mary had said and she was right. I needed to start living my life.

“Count me in, what time?”

Squeals came from the phone, and I flinched at the loudness. “Great, we are having dinner at La Mesa at seven thirty. Do you want to meet us at the gondola, and we can ride up together; let's say at seven twenty?” Jane’s excitement now began to fuel my own. La Mesa was a great restaurant that I didn’t indulge in enough. It was pricey but so worth the food and scenery.

“Sure, I’ll be there.”

“Byeeee,” a chorus of women came through and I was already liking her sisters-in-law.

I had enough time to go home for a quick nap and get ready. The perfect dress was hanging in my closet, just waiting to be worn and it definitely made me feel sexy. It was exactly what I needed.

* * *

The nights were gettinga tad cooler and I regretted my outfit choice and not bringing a sweater. Apparently, that was all of us. I saw Jane and her sisters-in-law walking towards me in nothing but some skimpy dresses, walking really fast.

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