As Rafa started to tell me a story about the time he watched a man try to eat two pounds’ worth of pancakes, I tried to put Louisa out of my mind. She wasn’t important.
Rafa was important. I couldn’t help but smile as he spoke, and I felt my stress slowly disappear.
20
Rafa
I knew she’d like the breakfast buffet.
Truth was, I had ordered it all for her. She was pregnant, and she needed to eat. She was eating for two people after all. I didn’t want to embarrass her, or look like a fucking sissy, so I’d made up that shit about wanting it all.
I smiled at her as we ate. I regaled her with stories from my mafia past, some of them pretty fucking funny, trying to keep things light.
But I could see the stress behind her expression. I knew this was taking its toll. It was a strange feeling, caring how someone else felt about what was happening around them. Normally I went through my days trying to get money and fucking over anyone who got in my way.
Now, though, I was responsible for helping her. Maybe not responsible, but she was in my charge. I had to protect her from Ernesto and his fucking thugs, and nobody else. For me, that was a strange feeling.
“And then what?” she asked.
“Well, the fucking idiot tried to jump over the fence, and ran straight into barbed wire.”
She laughed, shaking her head. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. The dog just barked and barked, and he sat up on the fence, yelling for us to help him.”
“What did you do?”
“Laughed our asses off until the dog got bored and went away.”
She cracked up, leaning back in her chair, and I loved the look on her face. For a second it was almost like we were two normal people having breakfast together, doing normal fucking shit.
But of course we weren’t normal. I was as far from normal as a human being could get.
As I finished off my plate and Cassidy tucked into hers, there was a knock at the door. She stopped in her tracks, like a deer caught in headlights.
“Relax,” I said to her. “I got it.”
“Sure. I’m fine.”
I couldn’t help but notice that she was gripping her fork so hard that her knuckles were turning white, but I didn’t say anything. I got up and walked over to the door, opening it a crack.
“What?” I asked.
“Hey there, Rafa.”
It was fucking Ernesto.
“You dragged your own old ass down here. I’m impressed.”
“You’re staying nearby. I figured I should do this myself.”
“Good for you. What do you want?”
“I want to talk to the girl.”
“No.”
“Arturo’s orders.”
“Actually, that’s a fucking lie. I spoke to him this morning, and he didn’t say shit about that.”
I savored the sour look on his face. “Listen, you little jumped-up street rat. You’re shit, you know that?”
“Fuck off, Ernesto.”
“Talk to me like that again and you’ll start a war.”
I glared at him and wanted so badly to beat his old ass down. I wanted to kill him right there in the hallway, but I spotted a few of his goons standing nearby and thought better of it.
“Go away now,” I said.
“Let me in to see the girl.”
“You’re not coming in here.”
Ernesto smiled at me. “One day, you’re going to regret this decision. Don’t for a second think that I didn’t try to do this the nice way.”
“I prefer the hard way, you old sack of dicks.”
“Bye, Rafa, you stupid cunt.”
He turned and walked off. I smiled at his goons and then shut the door.
Cassidy was staring at me, her eyes locked on mine. I could see the fear in the way she held herself.
“It’s okay,” I said. “He’s gone.”
“That was the guy? Ernesto?”
“That was him. But he knows he can’t get to you here.”
“What if he decides to knock the door down and take me anyway?”
I laughed at her, grinning hugely. “I’d love it if he tried.”
“You can’t take on his whole gang.”
“Maybe not, but I’ll make them think twice about it.”
She sighed, putting her fork down. She crossed her arms. “What are we going to do, Rafa?”
“We’re going to finish eating, maybe take a walk around campus. I don’t know. We’ll fucking kill time.”
“Not today. I mean about this situation. We can’t just keep sitting around.”
“No,” I agreed, “we can’t.”
“Tell me you have a plan.”
“I have a plan.” I sat down across from her. “You won’t like it, though.”