Page 25 of Demitri

“I don’t know, man. Could be really bad. Right now, trying to mitigate that.”

“Your girl safe?”

“And stubborn.”

“Good. Someone has to keep an eye on you.”

I lower my voice, not wanting anyone to hear me. “What if keeping an eye on me puts her in danger? How do I live with that if something happens to her?”

“You can’t live your life like that. Unless you know there’s a credible threat, one that you need to call the authorities in on, all you can do is stay aware of your surroundings and keep those close to you safe.”

The way he speaks with authority almost makes me believe it’s really that simple. But I come from a world where nothing is that easy.

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I know you don’t believe me, and trust me, I’ve seen some shit, but it’s all we have. And you call me if you need help, alright? I can make a few calls to some friends of mine.”

If anyone else had told me this, I wouldn’t put any faith in it, but Sarge does know people. I happen to know one of them pretty well, he helped me get through everything with the family last time. He’s a former FBI guy who found me when he was undercover. He blew his cover when things went to shit, just to protect me. He’s the reason Daniel and his crew tolerate me now. Before that, I’m pretty sure they were ready to take me out for the good of mankind.

“Thanks. I’ll remember that. But I’m still sending one of the guys to you for the parts.”

He laughs. It’s rough, but you can feel the heart the man has for those he deems worthy. “I’ll talk to you soon.”

We disconnect the call and I finish a few other things, including the work schedule for the garage to cover my absence. As I’m sending all that out, I happen to look up at the camera and see that Mia’s friends have arrived. It’s only then that Irealize it’s already after eight. They are all crowded around the end of the bar. Their unofficial seats, honestly. I’ve never seen them sit anywhere else. It allows Mia to keep working, and for them to have a conversation.

I try not to pay too much attention to what’s happening, but one of her friends, the one who looks like she’s a porcelain doll, looks right at the camera and mouths ‘not okay.’ Then I pay all the attention.

CHAPTER NINE

MIA

“What doyou mean you don’t want to talk about your secret man meat?” Sofie asks, taking a sip of her drink.

“That is not okay,” Grace agrees.

“Did you just look at the camera?” I ask, turning around to look at the red light over my head.

“Yes. Because when you watch this back later, which we all know you will, we want you to really listen to what we’re saying.”

“That’s kind of fucked up, you know that, right?” I frown at the women in front of me.

“It’s only because we care,” Nola calmly states. “We don’t want to see you fall into another bad situation. One a lifetime is plenty.”

“It’s not a bad situation,” I quickly tell them. “Just something I can’t talk about right now, okay?”

Grace sits up straighter, her eyes boring into me, trying to break me. Out of all of them, she’s the only one who can. “Mia,” she quietly says. “Are you in trouble?”

I look at the room of patrons, all out enjoying their night. Carefree, having fun, just living their lives. The couple in the corner who have been playing footsie under their table all night while making goo-goo eyes at each other. The brothers ribbingeach other at the pool table over who sucks more while they bitch about their fantasy teams and who’s going to win the season. A few other people dot the tall tables and booths. And the woman Brodie called as his the moment she walked in the door, sitting alone with a glass of wine, reading something on her phone. At least, that’s what she was doing the last time I looked at her. Now she’s staring directly at me. Her eyes. Crystal blue. Just like Demitri’s.

“Grace.” I smile like nothing is wrong. “I’m going to ask you to do something for me, and I need you to do it without any question. Nola, Sofie, I need for you to really try not to act like anything could possibly be wrong. Talk about your latest book or the gossip from the hair salon. Please.”

“Okay,” Grace quietly responds while the other two do exactly as I request. “What do you need?”

“I need for you to go into the office and tell the person that we aren’t talking about that’s sitting in there that he needs to look at the cameras and the single patron on the right wall, please.”

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Grace announces, almost too loudly, as she stands from her stool. “Be right back.”

One of the dude-bros comes up to order another round of drinks and I get to work making their beers. I look toward the woman every few seconds, unable to keep my eyes off of her. She hasn’t moved. She’s still staring at me, her blue eyes telling me she knows. She knows I know Demitri.

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