Page 23 of Rooke
“Bribery.”
She laughs—dry, scathing—as if she’s brushing off my comment as an exaggeration. It isn’t, though. I paid the technician at the family planning clinic five hundred dollars to process my results overnight.“You and I have very different ideas of romantic, Rooke. This restaurant, for example…”
“You’re still bent out of shape that I brought you to a mob restaurant?”
“You brought me to amobrestaurant?”
I’m surprised she hasn’t figured that part out already. She has no part in this world, though. No experience. No reference points. She can’t be blamed for her naivety. I don’t allow my expression to flicker. “I did.”
“Why?”
“Because I like the steak?”
“Rooke.”
“All right. I brought you here so you could see what my life is like. So you know what you’re getting yourself into. So you can experience something out of the ordinary. Do you hate it?”
She sits heavily back in her seat, her eyes roving wildly around the room. “Do Ihateit? What kind of a question is that?”
“A simple one.”
“How many of these people in here are murderers? How many of them are criminals?”
“Nearly all of them are criminals. I doubt there’s more than two or three actual murderers, though.”
It’s hard to see if she’s gone pale, but I’m getting the impression all the blood has rushed from her face, relocating itself somewhere in the region of those killer heels she’s wearing. “Don’t panic. No one’s going to murderyoufor eating dinner here.”
She closes her eyes, mumbling under her breath. “God, I can’t believe this is happening.”
“You’re making a big deal out of nothing. This is a restaurant. They serve good food. The owners are charming, so long as you don’t steal from them, and everyone gets along like a house on fire.” I neglect to tell her about the time the restaurantwasactually set on fire. I don’t think that information will serve my cause very well.
“We could have gone anywhere. There are literally thousands of amazing places to eat in this city, and you bring me here. And…you gave your name at the door. That guy just let you in, like he knew exactly who you were. What the fuck was that about?”
“He knows who I am. He knows I work for the owners of this place every once in a while.”
Sasha goes quiet. She picks up her butter knife and spins it over and over in her hand, staring at the dull blade like it holds answers to questions she hasn’t even thought of yet.
“Ask me,” I tell her. She won’t look at me. “Ask me the question. Ask me what I do for them.”
“I don’t want to know.”
“Yes, you do.”
“I really don’t.”
“I steal cars. I sometimes drive a car from one point to another, and I don’t ask questions about the why, the who, or the where. Do I beat people up? No. Not for money. Do I kill people? No. Am I good at what I do? Yes, I most definitely am. How does this sideline of business affect the fact that I want to date you? It doesn’t. I’ll never involve you in anything illegal. I’ll never put you in a compromising position.”
“Apart from this one? Apart from thisincrediblycompromising position?”
“Dinner?” I take a look around. “These people are just enjoying their meals, Sasha. There are no underhanded deals taking place. You’re not meeting anyone to discuss state secrets. No one is being garroted at their table, God Father style.”
This is a lot to lay on her right now. I could do this another time, but it seems that showing my hand right now is for the best. To hide this from her, knowing how far I want to take this, would be dishonest, and dishonesty doesn’t feature amongst my many faults. At least not where the woman I want to forge a relationship with is concerned. The police, my family, most of my friends—they’re lied to on the regular.
“This is insane,” Sasha whispers. “I can’t believe this is happening.” She bows her head, gaze locked on the table, as if making eye contact with anyone else in the room could lead to fatalities. I suppose it might, but it’s highly unlikely.
“You want to go.”
She gives me a sideways scowl. “How would we be able to get up and walk out of here now, without eating our food? It will look suspicious. That would be worse than staying and eating.”
