Chapter 129: Dinner with Friends
- RAYA -
The day passes painfully slow after I say goodbye to Dex in the morning.
Laurel keeps popping up in my periphery. Every time I turn thinking I’m going to catch her glaring at me, her gaze shifts in time so that it appears she is focused on something else. But I know the burn of her eyes. It’s not an unfamiliar feeling. The way I can never catch her staring but am always within her line of sight gives me the distinctly eerie feeling of being a small cub left unprotected in the wild while her parent is out hunting.
Laurel is waiting for a moment to strike, but I’m not sure what she thinks she can do while Dex is gone. Maybe she hasn’t even figured it out yet. He made it clear to me and I’m guessing also to her that she is no longer my supervisor.
But the workday mercifully concludes without even any snide remarks from Laurel, and I’ve managed to prepare for my meeting with Liz tomorrow to keep myself distracted. Jay and Cricket helped with that, of course—Jay with his goofy smiles and jokes and Cricket with her sweet, genuine presence occasionally gliding to my side.
Dex texted me after lunch that he and Lawson made it to New York. Despite how awful this situation is, it brought a smile to my face when Dex made sure to tell me that he met his father’s surgeon, and his name is Angelo Wolfgang. Well, it made me more than smile—it gave me goosebumps from head to toe. Angelo Wolfgang. Angel and Wolf.
How do synchronicities like that happen? It can’t just be coincidence, can it? But there’s no other explanation.
’Let me know when you’ve gotten home safely.’
The text from Dex comes in while I’m starting to pack up the laptop. Everyone is getting ready to leave the office, but I’m hanging back... nerves knotting my stomach.
I’m not crazy about having to drive Dex’s truck for the first time. I know how to drive and have a license, of course, but trucks are an entirely different story. They’re big and bulky and take up so much more space than a regular car.
What if I hit something? Or someone.
My face pinches at the thought, and I’m yanked back to the memory of the accident—of the sweet old woman who lost her life and of me close enough to have been able to help her if I had only been paying attention instead of being buried in my notes.
A sick feeling makes its way up my throat, and when I yank myself out of those memories, I realize I’m twisting Nana’s locket between my fingers. In one of the nightmares I had after the accident, Nana told me not to blame myself. She made it seem like the accident was supposed to happen.
I sigh and drag my bag out of the desk drawer, setting it next to the laptop sleeve so I can stare at them both indecisively. This isn’t a good idea. I shouldn’t be driving Dex’s truck. Someone could get hurt, and I would never forgive myself.
Plus, what will my coworkers say if they see me driving off in the boss’ vehicle? What will Laurel say?
Dex and I were lucky this morning that no one caught us coming to work together. We walked into the building at the same time, but as far as I know, no one actually put it together that we arrive in the same vehicle. If they did, I suppose an explanation could be that Dex is just picking me up on the way—offering the injured girl a ride to work so she doesn’t have to take the bus.
"I’m overthinking this, like usual," I whisper to myself.
"Raya, what are you doing tonight?" Cricket stops at my desk. "Want to grab something to eat and celebrate your return to work?"
"Oh, that sounds fun. Can I come?" Jay asks with a huge grin, arriving just in time with his eyes wide in excitement and that same goofy smile plastered on his face.
I can’t help but giggle at the both of them—mostly at Jay. It would be nice to hang out with them outside of work. It’s strange that we’ve never done it before, actually. We’ve talked about it, but it’s just never worked out.
"Where were you thinking?" I ask, already deciding that I’m going to say yes. It’s the perfect distraction from my fear of driving home in the monster-sized truck. Not that prolonging it will help... or driving in the dark.
The idea of arriving at Dex’s house when the sun has fallen brings a slow dread to creep in the corners of my mind, not least of all because it reminds me of Sunday night when Dex and I got back from his uncle’s house and were sitting in his driveway while a wanted stalker and murderer was looking on.
But Kenneth Rider is not a threat anymore. He’s been arrested. And Lawson is obviously with his brother. No other threats are out there lurking in the night, waiting to strike.
The only thing I have to fear is my own weakness and insecurity. Dex has given me everything I need to stay safe while he’s gone. And after everything that’s happened, I’m not going to let myself be beaten simply by a large and intimidating vehicle and the setting sun.
"I don’t know," Cricket says, casting a glance at Jay. "Where should we go? What sounds good?"
———————
- LUCIANO -
I’m really fucking regretting telling Dex I would do this. There are so many other things I could be doing with my time—so many other important things.
I’m sitting in my car, glaring at the restaurant Auraya disappeared into with her friends over two hours ago and has yet to come out of. How long can it possibly take to eat? She didn’t look like she was in danger at all. The three of them were all laughing and having a great time, and I’m sure that’s what’s still happening while I sit out here bored out of my fucking mind.
Pa didn’t mind at all that I had to clear my schedule for the next two days when I told him what I was doing. The old man may not be one to light up with emotion, but I can tell he’s more than a little happy to have Dex inserting himself into our lives again... enough that even ridiculous shit like this doesn’t bother him.
I can’t say that I don’t get it. I do. When Zia Luna died, it gutted everyone. Then Dex disappeared—off to travel the world or some shit—and it felt like the only remaining piece of her here on earth died, too.
Dex leaving was hard for both of my parents. Ma was the most outwardly emotional about it, but I’m around the old man enough to know when even the smallest thing is bothering him and how it’s going to affect his mood for the foreseeable future. Call it a survival tactic. Or call it good business.
When Dex up and left without so much as a word to anyone, it only deepened the family’s loss. So when he and his girl showed up Sunday for the weekly family dinner, it was like something of that loss was finally returned.
Ma was beaming, and she hasn’t stopped talking about it. I know she is hoping Dex’s unexpected appearance means he is going to keep coming around. It’s great to see her that way—relieved, overjoyed, happy.
But that doesn’t mean I want to spend my time fucking babysitting.
First, I had to have the guys kidnap that pussy Lawson and tie him up without even getting to have some fun with him. And now this. If I’m going to do shit for anyone, it better at least involve something that gets my blood pumping or my dick hard. This... this is just insulting.
Maybe Dex will call and let me know he needs a body to bury when he finally lets loose on his brother. That would at least make these little errands worth it. Lawson has been asking to get what’s coming to him for a long time. He’s just another arrogant, rich prick with Daddy’s money. At least Dex didn’t end up like that. But Zia Luna wouldn’t have raised him that way.
Auraya and her friends finally reappear from the restaurant, and I let out a heavy sigh of relief and start the car, flicking the last of my cigarette out the window.
Now that Dex has someone he cares for enough to call on the family for help in protecting, maybe the darkness he inherited from our side of the family will finally awaken. I hope it does. It would be fun to see that side of him. It’s always been there, waiting to come out and play. He may not realize it, but I’ve always seen it lurking just below the calm, tranquil exterior.
Zia didn’t want him following in her brother’s footsteps. She didn’t want him getting roped in to our way of life—even though it’s the same life she grew up in. The same one that made the value of family so richly threaded through her identity. The same one that would do these little favors for her son just to give him some peace of mind.
A notification from my phone has my eyes dipping to its soft glow. It’s from my cousin, of course. I finally texted to let him know that conversations about his girl were fine. Clearly I’m not going to be doing anything even remotely sketchy. This is as vanilla as it comes.
’She okay?’
I shake my head and chuckle. Auraya must have a golden fucking pussy for how lovesick my cousin is. Thankfully I’ve never had that problem.
’Fine, cuzzo. I know we’re family, but you definitely owe me for this.’
’Whatever you need,’ is his reply.
I toss the phone on the passenger’s seat with a low whistle and pull out into traffic to follow the car Auraya and her friends are leaving in. Whatever I need, huh? Does he remember who he’s talking to?
