Chapter Twenty-Two
Hazel
Considering the garden center had become a second home to me since I started there, it felt oddly wrong to be driving there.
Maybe it was because it was the one thing popping the perfect bubble of domesticity Dante and I’d been enjoying at his stupidly gorgeous house.
The whole day had been a bit of a blur, from waking up alone to having sex in the kitchen, to watching him work out and talking about things like the garden center and his house. Almost as if I was going to be a part of it.
The scary thing was, my heart ached for that to be a reality. For there to be some sort of life where I could wake up in his arms, have him cook for me, go to work together, come home to enjoy each other’s bodies and company, to be a part of his family, to build a life and future.
If Dante were any other man, I doubt I’d have had any reservations about pursuing that if it was what we were both looking for.
But he wasn’t.
He was Dante Grassi.
Mafia capo.
He existed in a world that operated outside of the law.
And, hey, I wasn’t all ra-ra about law and order or anything. But I wasn’t sure I was someone who could hang her future on a man who might not be around.
Big Ed was dead.
Domenico had lost years to prison.
How could I take those chances?
Not just for myself, but for future children.
I shook my head, forcing those thoughts out of my mind.
No one was talking rings and gowns and binding contracts.
I was simply enjoying the attention of an interested man. Was that so bad?
I glanced down to where his big hand was holding my thigh as he drove.
No.
No, it wasn’t bad at all.
It was pitch black out when we reached DG Greens, but the lights were once again strung and working, giving the place a glow that could be either warm or eerie, depending on how you were looking at it.
Dante barely had my door open before I heard the first scream ripping through the night air.
We shared a look, knowing this was what people paid for, what they’d wanted us to create for them. It felt good to get things right.
“You alright?” Dante asked, his hand going to the small of my back as my gaze scanned the sights before us.
Maybe to him, I looked wide-eyed and uncertain.
Like I was having flashbacks. In reality, I couldn’t help but see all the things that needed to be done.
New stray bales needed to be cut open for the stuff your own scarecrows.
Craft supplies had to be picked up from under the picnic tables.
A bulb was out by the drink cart. A couple of teens looked like they were passing around something in a circle that I imagined they weren’t old enough to be drinking.
“Yeah. I just see a few quick things I’d like to deal with,” I said.
Dante shook his head at me, but followed along as I got things into the order I preferred, ignoring the looks from the employees who probably wanted to know the story of my scratched-up face.
If someone was bold enough to ask, I would just say I fell in the woods. It wasn’t exactly a lie.
As it was, things were too busy for anyone to say anything to me but relay work-related information.
“What is it?” I asked when I finally took a break to find Dante standing staring at the woods.
“Tell me a little about the employees.”
“Don’t you know them?”
“I hired a few. But it was mostly Dom’s job. Especially the seasonal workers like the performers.”
With that, we kind of took a casual walk around as I discreetly pointed out the employees, telling Dante their names, anything personal I knew about them, and what kind of employee I found them to be.
“What is it?” Dante asked when he caught me glancing around.
“I don’t see Ant.”
“Ant?”
“I hired him. He’s a great performer. And by that I mean he’s very attractive and all the girls who read that dark romance smutty stuff all go ga-ga over him and his face paint.”
“Caught my sister showing our cousin one of those edits once. Maybe he took the night off.”
“Maybe,” I agreed, but I’d once overheard him telling one of the others that he really needed the money. I doubted he would miss a night unless he was really hurt or sick.
“When did you hire Ant?”
“Um, right after you told me I could.”
“Huh. Do you have the employment contract for him?”
“Yeah. I have everyone’s forms in the office. Why?”
“I just want to check into everyone who might be suspicious. Especially new hires.”
“He’s just a kid.”
“I was doing some shady shit when I was a kid too,” Dante said. “Come on, let’s—”
“Hazel, can I borrow you for a second?” Brit called, glancing between me and Dante, an uncomfortable look in her eyes.
“Sure. Can I have one second with her?” I asked.
Dante glanced toward his men gathered around. “Yeah. Sure. Meet me in the office after, okay?”
I gave him a nod before walking over to Brit. “Is everything okay?” I asked, noticing the wide, panicked look in her eye.
“I, uh, have a… situation,” she said.
“Situation?”
“Okay. It’s super embarrassing, but I… I kind of, you know, bled through. And I need to go get changed.”
“Oh,” I said, suddenly understanding her panic. “Don’t be embarrassed. We’ve all been there. Okay. How about you,” I said, shrugging out of my jacket and handing it to her, “wrap this around your waist so you can get home.”
“I don’t need to go home,” she assured me. “I have a change of clothes in the car, but I’m supposed to be here at the haunted house in case anyone freaks out or anything like that.”
“Okay. I’ll stand here. You go do whatever you need to do. Take your time.”
“Thanks, really,” she said, then turned and sped-walked around the building toward the parking lot.
I stood there for the next twenty minutes, watching small groups move through the doors. Then the occasional person would run back out, regretting their choices.
“Last group, guys,” I called after checking the time. The staff was going to need an hour or so to do some clean-up before they went home for the night.
I glanced toward the shop, seeing Domenico heading inside.
I couldn’t see Dante, but I noticed Domenico speaking pretty rapidly.
I couldn’t help but wonder what they were talking about, if they had found something out, if they were any closer to figuring out who’d killed Ed and attacked me.
Unexpectedly, I found myself filled with dread.
Because if they found the bad guys, if they dealt with them, then there would be no reason for me to stay at Dante’s house. If we weren’t living together, I didn’t really see any reason that he would want to continue our little affair.
“Have a good night, guys,” I said as the door opened for the last time and the remaining customers made their noisy exit, heading toward the parking lot.
Following them were some of the performers. They made their way toward the picnic tables, stripping out of their masks and wiping their sweaty faces.
I slipped inside, wanting to make sure no little kids were left behind by careless older siblings, hiding because they were too scared to move, or even just hanging back on a dare from friends. We’d seen it all.
I flicked on the big lights, finding that several had blown out in the few days since I’d last been in the building.
I made a mental note to have them replaced and to ask Dom to order more since we really didn’t want to have a lack of lighting for the winter wonderland extravaganza.
Sure, there would be a dozen or so trees and lighted garland to keep things bright, but I had a feeling that the Christmas clean-up was going to be even more intense than Halloween.
The staff was going to need good lighting to see every corner of the place.
“Hello?” I called, glancing behind the taller figurines and under the occasional table.
I was leaning over the casket to make sure no one had squeezed in at the feet when I heard the door slam.
Then the light cut.
My stomach lurched, and my heartbeat tripped over itself.
It was probably nothing.
Maybe just Brit coming back to close up.
There was no reason to panic.
I wasn’t sneaking around all alone this time. There would still be staff around. Dante’s guards were hanging about. And, of course, Domenico and Dante himself were here.
Was the scream track and creepy music still playing? Yeah. But there were exits. And through those exits, help.
I sucked in a deep breath and turned, willing my eyes to adjust to the low light coming from the glow of certain displays and the occasional strobe lights.
I thought I saw a shadow move, so I turned toward it.
Nothing.
There was nothing.
I turned back, and a scream caught in my throat.
There, two feet away at most, was a tall, thin figure, face half painted black and half white, with each eye painted the opposite color in diamond shapes.
Ant.
My stomach twisted; my pulse quickened.
Ant, who Dante had concerns about. Ant, who showed up right before things went really sideways. Ant, who always seemed to be watching, seeing, clocking information away. Ant, who’d been the one to point me into the woods the night I’d found a body.
Had he been setting me up? That noise I heard that I thought might be someone, but convinced myself otherwise, had I been right?
Had there been someone in the woods with me that night?
Watching? Waiting? If I’d been slower, would they have made me suffer the same fate? Or worse, torture me before killing me?
I stared at that face that I considered familiar, only to realize I’d literally never seen him without his face heavily painted.
He’d shown up to his job interview all decked out.
I’d been charmed, remembering what my mom and grandmother used to say about dressing for the job you wanted, not the one you had. I loved his commitment to the bit.
Now, though, I realized that I might not be able to point him out in a lineup. Or, more likely, describe him to Dante.