Page 32 of Dante
“Sorry.” Lila winced, heading to the walk-in freezer. She went in then came out with a big box that had been shoved into the corner that was labeled assauerkraut.
You could see that Nadia no longer wanted to be in there when the chef went through the box and pulled out frozen nuggets and pizza.
“So, you’ve been eating this?” the chef asked then suddenly gasped, “Have you two even been eating the dishes I’ve prepared for you?”
Lila winced again. “No, we’ve been tossing them in the bin when you weren’t looking. Then we sneak in here in the middle of night to make us something to eat from the box.”
It was like you could see the puzzle clicking into place on the chef’s face. He had seen the signs, but he couldn’t possibly believe anyone wouldn’t like his food.
“Oh, mon dieu!” the chef cried, throwing the towel that was on his shoulder up into the air. He sputtered off some more words in French, but Dante, Leo, and Amo were too busy jumping out of the way as the chef flew open the kitchen doors.
Thankfully, he had been well past offended, so the chef didn’t pay any attention to the three as he left for his room. They quickly went back to looking through the window.
Nadia stood there awkwardly, practically waiting for the ground to swallow her whole. Not knowing what to say, only a long, “So …” came out of her mouth.
“Would you like nuggets or pizza for dinner?” Lila asked, like nothing had happened.
“Pizza sounds great,” Nadia said thankfully, with a smile, like the awkwardness had suddenly left the room. “Would you like some help?”
“Oh no,” Lila told her. “I’ll just heat them up really quick and bring them out when they’re done.”
Nadia didn’t need to be told twice, grateful to leave the kitchen, as if it were the scene of a crime and she had been the murderer. “Okay, thanks!”
“Shit,” Dante grumbled, letting his feet fly back to where he had come from.
“Run,” Amo said with a harsh whisper, grabbing Leo’s arm to get him moving.
It might’ve been bad that he had left his son behind, but it wasn’t like Nadia would have killed Leo for watching. Him, onthe other hand, he wasn’t so sure … And whether she would kill Amo, he doubted he could get so lucky.
Even though he might have been the oldest, he still beat them back to the table but was slightly out of breath.
He and a now exasperated Amo and Leo retook their seats, as if they had been sitting there all along.
What was that?
Swinging the kitchen doors open, she swore she not only heard but saw something flash a ways up. Thinking it must’ve been the chef, whom she had just embarrassed to death, she couldn’t believe she had just singlehandedly started a foodgate on the yacht. She suspected there had to besomekind of food, other than what the chef was preparing, but she hadn’t expected it to come out likethat. She thought she had been planted into a fucking telenovela when Lila had walked out with that box.
Now, Nadia just hoped that any of the food they might eat for the rest of the weekend wouldn’t have spit in it, thanks to her. She wouldn’t blame anyone for it, because she probably deserved it.
Walking back to the table, she tried her best to keep a straight face, as if nothing had happened.
“How does pizza sound, guys …?” Nadia trailed off the moment she saw their faces. “You saw that, didn’t you …”
The men shook their heads vigorously. They might’ve been smart enough to stay silent, but their ragged breathing had clearly given them away.
“Max!” Nadia called out, hoping he was near.
“Yes, Ms. Brooks,” the bartender answered, as if he was Batman.
Well, there was one similarity between Batman and Max … she hoped he would be able to save the fucking day.
“We’re gonna need another round.”
ELEVEN
THE CONSEQUENCES OF TOO MANY RUM RUNNERS
“Itold you I don’t want to,” Leo frustratingly told Amo.
