Page 27 of My Mafia King

That’s a hard question.

Lying would get me caught, and saying I’ve spent the night in the car looks bad.

“Um… I just got here and booked a motel room down the road.”

“Uh-huh.”

He puts his coffee down.

Everybody knows habitual liars give generic answers. And people usually follow up with concrete questions, so the liars get caught.

He doesn’t do it, and I’m grateful for that.

“All right… Carmina. Here is my phone number.”

He reaches inside his suit jacket that is now draped over the back of his chair and retrieves a business card.

“You call me if anyone bothers you while you visit this town. All right?” he says, sliding the business card toward me.

I pick it up.

There’s no name, only a phone number.

“Is that you?” I ask.

His smile is tense.

“Yes. That’s me. Use it judiciously. I’m not giving it to every person I run into.”

A blush spreads over my face, and I feel like I need to return the favor.

I push to my feet, smoothing my skirt out of reflex, only because he pulls out of his chair and collects his jacket before sliding it on.

“Is there anything I can do for you?” I ask, waiting for him to pivot to me.

“Not much, but I appreciate the intent.”

His grin is forced again and strikingly bland, like a polite, run–of–the–mill smile. I don’t mind it.

The man lets me go, which is good news––I was concerned there for a moment. And, plus, I have his phone number.

That is a big deal from what I can tell.

I’m not gonna lie.

I feel relieved.

His tight grip on me when we walked here made me a little nervous.

I’m more relaxed now and regret not asking more questions and finding out more about him.

“You don’t have to leave,” he says, gesturing at the table. “Finish your food. There’s still time. I need to go now.”

My hand falls to my side, my fingers curling tight around the linen napkin.

“It was nice meeting you,” I say, nervous, my cheeks burning with a blush again.

“Same wise,” he tosses at me evenly, and then he does the most unexpected thing, erasing the space between us, bringing his hand to my neck and lowering his lips to my cheek.

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