Page 14 of With This Kiss
Didn’t she know better?
Or was she here to help her father out?
I watched as she made her way to the door, taking care not to touch anyone on the way out. As if she were afraid everyone here in the club had some sort of highly contagious disease that she didn’t want to catch.
I smiled a little when some fucker accidentally bumped into her. With the way she reacted, you would think he had done something else to her.
I made my way over to Baran, taking a seat next to him.
The fucker grinned at me.
I didn’t say anything for a long moment, waiting for him to say something.
I should have known better.
I let out a long exhale. “Tell me you knew who that was?”
“Do you really underestimate me that much? Don’t you remember who gave you all the intel on Davide Caparelli’s family in the first place? I would have recognized the little mafia princess anywhere, let alone when she was sitting no more than three feet away from me.”
At least I knew he hadn’t just spilled everything to her.
“What did she want? Why was she here?”
“I think she was just here for a drink. It’s probably just a coincidence.”
I looked over at the unfinished drink she left on the table. I pulled it closer to me, then drank the rest of it. Baran kept his eyes on me the entire time.
“Just a coincidence,” I repeated. “I don’t believe in coincidences.”
Especially in our line of work.
“Do me a favor,” I said.
Baran nodded, no hesitation. “Keep a closer eye on her brother.”
His eyes flickered a little from my request. I didn’t blame him. Caine Caparelli was… unpredictable before he approached Kingston, but at least there had been a clear distinction of what he was to us—he was the enemy. And that was that. But now… it was hard to tell what his goal was. And that made him worse than unpredictable. It made him an anomaly I hadn’t figured outyet.
“And Jamie?” he asked.
I didn’t answer him right away. My mind was still stuck on her facial features. While the lighting in here wasn’t all that great, she had seemed to shine like a fucking beacon in the darkest of nights.
And I didn’t know why her face kept flashing in and out of my mind.
I didn’t know what it was about this woman that I found so… intriguing.
But I was intrigued.
Which is nothing short of her bad luck coming to bite her in the ass. I imagined there wasn’t much worse than drawing the attention of a monster.
I smiled. “Let it be for now. See if fate will bring her right to me once more.”
Baran laughed. “You don’t believe in fate.”
I shrugged and leaned back against the seat cushion, just as the waitress came back with Baran’s drink.
“I’ll have a Long Island iced tea,” I said. She nodded and hurried away from me. Smart girl. She knew better than to linger, lest she end up getting my attention. Jamie could learn a thing or two from the girl.
Jamie was back.
