"This is impromptu! Am I supposed to pay the rent all by myself now?" Vera fanned herself with her hand to add to the theatrics.
"Of course not. I'll send my fifty percent of the rent if I'm not home by the end of the month," I gave her my word.
"The end of the month is next week," she pointed out, slumping on the bed as we walked in.
We may have stayed too long at the club. Vera wanted to dance and drink some more, and I had to wait just in case she got too drunk to get a taxi herself, which she did.
Luckily, Luciano had offered to drop us off so I would pack up and we would head for his house.
"I'll send it then. Just remind me." I didn't know if she heard or not. She seemed like she was in a daze. "Do you need water?"
"No, I'm fine." She kicked her heels off and managed to wiggle out of her dress while still lying down. She tucked herself under her grey duvet wearing just her underwear. "When are you going?"
Of course she hadn't heard me the first two times I had told her the answer to that. "Tonight."
Her eyes flew open as she found me opening a bag and tossing my clothes in it. "You will come back, right?"
"Yes. It's only for a short while," I assured myself as much as I assured her.
"Good, because I can't eat all of the food I cook all by myself." She turned towards the wall and covered her head with her duvet.
"You can always bring some for me," I whispered, not sure if she was awake or not.
Vera got stressed out easily, and if she wasn't dancing it away, she cooked. Sometimes I would bring it up and ask if she was okay, but she brushed it off and played it cool. We may have been roommates for about two years now, but there was still a distance between us like we just met yesterday.
I zipped the two bags I had filled with my clothing and my jewelry-making tools, throwing them over my shoulders and trudging out of the house, making sure to lock the door.
I sent Vera a quick text as I made my way towards Luciano's grey sports car.
Me: off to Luciano's house. I have aspirin under my pillow if you get hungover <3
Luciano sighed as I sat in the car, clutching my bags close to my chest due to the lack of space in the car.
"I didn't know this would be happening. I would have brought a bigger car," he said, seeing and sensing my discomfort. "Can I at least hold one for you?"
I picked my jaw up as fast as it dropped. The Capo was a gentleman after all. I almost rolled my eyes, but I wasn't going to pass up on the opportunity to relieve a little bit of the struggle.
"If you're comfortable." I handed one of the bags to him. He placed it between his thighs and revved the engine. "Please don't drive like we're both suicidal."
"Use your seat belt, Jasmine." That was the only thing I heard before I buckled my seat belt and the whole world was a blur of motions.
I lost count of how many times I screamed at him for almost hitting people and him telling me they were to blame because they were jaywalking.
"How far is your house anyway? Do you even live in Vegas, at this point?" I inquired as we got as far away from Mesquite as possible.
"We're off to Primm."
"What's that?" I raised a brow, feeling stupid. I only knew the road from Las Vegas to New Orleans, where my father was. Well, not road per se, since I only ever flew. That was the main reason that I had not been to see my dad in a long time – the cost of the flight. Maybe I could now.
"Don't ask me questions. Don't you feel sleepy or something?" He sounded even more irritated than he was minutes ago, which prompted me to shut up, close my eyes and pretend like the drive was a simulation and my life wasn't more at risk with the man beside me.
The more I sat there, the more I realized that I was being taken far, far away from where my father thought I was to where even I didn't know by a man who could have me killed just by a snap of his fingers.
My eyes shot open abruptly as the car came to a halt, cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.
There was a large iron gate in front of us. I watched him take out some sort of remote and point it towards the gate, inputting a code. The gates parted for us to go in. He drove like a reasonable person this time, even though it was just for a short distance.
The house (if I could call it that) in front of us towered above the sports car we were in, the building grey and intimidating.
Vines shot out from the bottom of the house, along the sides and up to the roof, lavender flowers I couldn't identify atop the vines.
Depending on who you were, the house was either welcoming or telling you to get out as fast as you could. I didn't know where I stood.
After getting out of the car, Luciano slung my bag across his shoulder as he led the way to the entrance of the mansion. Yes, mansion. That sounded much more acceptable for a building like that, even though it wasn't exactly shaped like one.
It was unnervingly quiet between us both as we stepped inside. I could hear the faint chirping of crickets and other insects of the night, a soft classical music accompanying it as a background noise.
"Is someone here?" I didn't know why I whispered the question. It was probably the serenity of the night and my refusal to disrupt it.
To answer my question, a tall man with his hair reaching his shoulders and a bowl of cereal in his hand walked into the living room. I assumed his air of nonchalance would waver, since he had on nothing but a pair of boxers, but he only frowned as he saw me.
"She spending the night?" His question was directed at Luciano, who was not in the least bothered by the awkward situation.
"How many fucking times do I have to tell you to walk around with some decency? Christ," Luciano complained, ending it by muttering something in a different language, but I couldn't tell what it was.
Luciano handed my bags to the strange guy and instructed him to take me to my room. He made sure to add "and don't mess with her head" to his orders as he nudged me towards him.
"Go with him. You've had quite a day. Take a shower and get a couple of winks. I'll see you in the morning."
I followed behind the cereal guy, who had the skill of sitting his bowl of cereal on the palm of his hand as he carried my bags in his other hand.
"So, girl number six. Is that your lucky number? Will you finally be the one who, I don't know, rips the Capo's heart out of his chest and give it a good wipe before lodging it back in?" His tone had a hint of mockery, like he thought what he had said was my mission. Like he had heard it one too many times.
"I have no intention of doing that. We made arrangements, I signed a contract, I get paid, he keeps me out of trouble. That's about it." I shrugged as we made it to the door of a room, where he stopped and gave me a scan with a quick raise of his brows.
"Well, that's a first true admission. Everyone else was always obsessed with the whole concept of bringing him down to his knees, you know. It was like this beat-the-final-boss video game challenge to them, and all that jazz." I did not intend to make a remark on how fast his face fell as he spoke of them.
"I'm sure they had their reasons." I smiled when he gestured at the door. I turned the knob, and the door opened to reveal a room much like his office back at the club – basic, plainly furnished, in need of décor and color.
"Wow," I muttered, looking around at the big splash of white nothing.
"Yup. The name's Benjamin, by the way. Luciano's consigliere. Do whatever it is you want with the room for as long as you're staying. It'll get cleaned up all over again when you leave. Always happens." The smile he had on his face unnerved me.
Don't mess with her head, Lucian had told him.
Was that his way of attempting to do just that?
"What happened to the other girls?" I finally asked.
His face fell, and his eyes darkened.
"They all died. He killed them."