Chapter Eighteen
ORAZIO
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He had already prepared himself for the worst when he stepped into the Ruby room behind his brother and Temeka. At least, he thought he had. Nothing could have truly prepared him for what happened next.
His heart sank when he watched Monique’s eyes light up once she saw her friend. Her gaze immediately jerked to him next.
“You kept your promise,” she said. “Thank you, Orazio.”
Guilt damn near consumed him, swallowing him whole. She would soon see that he didn’t deserve her thanks. Her other friend, the one who’d threatened to tear shit up, raced forward to greet Temeka just as Leo stepped into the room behind Orazio.
Leo approached him and whispered, “Why the hell did Cas send me a text saying to join you three on a triple date, or he was going to dock my pay?”
“Because Cas is a fucking lunatic,” Raz muttered.
Leo shook his head. “I’m leaving.” The guard turned to leave.
“Stay,” Orazio ordered. “Or I’ll double dock your pay.”
“You motherfuckers,” Leo started.
“Stay, and I’ll double your pay,” Orazio negotiated.
“It’s a triple date. So, triple it, and I’ll stay.”
Orazio gritted his teeth. All he’d wanted was a nice, quiet date night with his Rosa. That’s it. That wasn’t too much to ask for, was it? How the hell had it turned into this circus? His gaze landed on his brother. Cas . Cas was the ringleader of this damn circus.
“Agreed,” Orazio told his guard.
With a nod, Leo shoved his hands into his pockets and faced forward. “What have I missed so far?”
“The chaos is just getting started,” Raz replied.
And he wasn’t lying. The one called Toya was trying to talk to her friend, Temeka. Just as she’d done with Orazio, Temeka wasn’t looking her friend in the eyes. Temeka’s responses to Toya’s questions were vague and short.
Those clipped answers were only making Toya more upset. To make matters worse, Monique looked like she was about to cry. His heart clenched as he watched his Rosa try to talk to Temeka.
“Are you alright, Meka?” Rosa repeated the question Toya had just asked their friend.
Again, Meka only nodded. Cas, the idiot, stepped forward.
“She’s fine,” he told the women. “She’s just a little shy in front of me.”
Both Orazio and Leo groaned.
Monique glared at Cas. “We were talking to her . Not you ,” Rosa told his brother.
“I know,” Cas replied, not knowing how to read the energy in the room. “As her man, I’m more than happy to speak up for her. In fact, just ask me your questions, and I’ll answer them.”
“Her man!” Toya and Monique shouted.
Shock registered in both women’s eyes. Meka, on the other hand, stepped on Cas’s foot but still didn’t look up.
His brother simply patted Meka’s hand and whispered, “I told you I’d handle this for you, love. Calm down.”
Orazio and Leo groaned again.
“Meka,” Toya started, looking ready to kill. “You better open your damn mouth and tell me what’s wrong, or I’m shutting this entire casino down.”
Leo leaned over to him to whisper, “Is that considered a threat against the casino? Should I take action?”
Orazio shook his head. If Leo knew what was good for him, he’d stand down. Again, it was Cas who spoke up.
“Listen, ladies. There’s no need to shut down the casino. Meka is fine. She’s just shy and...”
Toya cocked her head to the side. “Motherfucker, when did I ever address you? Did I say your name? Did I ask you a question? Did I even look your damn way? No,” she said before Cas could answer her rhetorical questions. “If I don’t talk to you, don’t talk to me.”
“But you’re talking to my woman,” Cas tried, only to be talked over by Toya.
“When did she become your woman? You kidnapped her. And now that you’ve returned her, she’s suddenly mute. That only means one thing. You did something to her. And for that, I’m pressing charges. And I’m pretty sure there’s other illegal shit going on around here for the police to find once they arrive.”
“Go intervene,” Orazio urged Leo.
“Do you want me to knock Cas out?”
Orazio considered that option briefly but decided against it. “No. Don’t knock him out.”
“I hope you don’t want me to knock Monique’s friend out,” Leo stated.
“Of course not.”
“Then how am I supposed to intervene?”
“Go introduce yourself or something, shit.”
“I don’t want to do that,” Leo said, taking a step back.
“For triple pay, you better do something other than standing here and watching. Go introduce yourself to lighten the mood.”
Leo took a deep breath and released it slowly. “My mother always told me that all money wasn’t good money. I should’ve listened to her.”
“Go!” Orazio ordered.
Leo strode forward, stopping once he was standing next to Cas. The guard leaned forward a bit to get Toya’s attention. Then Leo smiled at the angry woman, but he didn’t say anything. Raz groaned for the third damn time. No wonder Leo was single.
“Who the fuck is this, and what the fuck is wrong with him?” Toya asked as she stared Leo up and down.
Leo stuck his hand out and introduced himself. “Hi, I’m Leo...”
“Put your hand down,” Toya told him before glaring at her friend, Temeka. “Meka, what the hell is wrong with you? Tell me before I get crazy.”
“ Get crazy?” Leo whispered a little too loudly. “You already seem crazy to me.”
What the hell, Leo? I said to lighten the mood, not make it worse. Raz held in his groan as Toya returned her angry gaze to his security guard.
“I fight men,” Toya told him. “And I win because I fight dirty.”
“I don’t hit women,” Leo told her.
“Which means I’ll definitely win,” she replied. “Step back, top flight. I’m trying to have a conversation with my friend. Wait a second. Since you’re security, why didn’t you stop this man when he kidnapped my friend?”
Leo opened his mouth, then closed it. The guard looked back at Raz, seeking help. Raz stared down at his phone. He could’ve sworn he’d heard it ring.
“Hey,” Toya said. “I’m talking to you.” Once she had Leo’s attention again, she continued. “And where were you when my friend Monique was kidnapped?”
Leo rubbed the back of his neck. “I...”
“You weren’t doing your job. You let two women get kidnapped on your watch. Is this a casino or the black market?”
Leo, the guard who always had a smart retort, was speechless. Under any other circumstance, Orazio would find this funny. Since Monique was present, he didn’t. This was supposed to be their date night.
But, it had been derailed by his brother’s actions. If he didn’t do something, they’d never get back on track. Praying for patience and understanding, not for himself, but for Toya and Monique, Orazio stepped forward.
This time, when Monique looked at him, her expression wasn’t one of gratitude. It was one of disdain. Unable to hold her gaze, he looked at Toya. He was pretty sure that was hatred he was seeing in her eyes.
Toya’s hatred was better than Monique’s disdain. Orazio continued forward until he was standing in front of Monique and next to Temeka.
“How about we continue this discussion over dinner?” Orazio suggested.
“Do we look hungry?” Toya asked.
“You don’t have to eat. You can drink and chat. Everything is on the house.”
“I’m not in the mood to drink,” Toya told him. “I’m not even in the mood to curse you out for what you did to Monique. I just want to leave this casino with my two friends.”
Before Orazio could reply, Cas did. But his question was addressed to Temeka.
“Babe, would you like to eat in our restaurant? I’ve already texted the manager and told him to clear the dining room for us. It’ll only be the six of us there. Doesn’t that sound nice?”
Meka nodded.
“Meka,” Monique began. “Are you sure you wouldn’t rather go home?”
Meka slowly raised her head and forced a smile across her face. Orazio could tell it was forced because it didn’t reach her eyes.
“I’m kind of hungry,” Meka said. “Let’s eat.”
“Did he do something to you?” Toya asked, now that they had Meka’s full attention.
Meka chuckled. “You know me. No one can bully me. I really want to eat dinner with him. And you all too. This could be our chance to get to know each other and clear up any misunderstandings we all have.”
A huge grin spread across his brother’s face. Orazio would bet money that Meka was simply repeating what Cas had told her to say in advance. Was his brother blackmailing Monique’s friend? But he’d just met the woman. What could he possibly have on her that could make her act this way?
Still smiling, Meka looked up at Cas. “I’m ready to eat now.” She paused. “Dear,” she finished through clenched teeth.
“This bitch here,” Toya said, throwing her hands up before facing Monique. “I know I’m not the only one who thinks she’s acting weird as fuck. You can tell something is wrong. Can’t you, Monique?”
Monique nodded. Her sharp gaze zeroed in on Cas.
“We’ll go to dinner,” Monique told him. “And we’ll chat. At the end of dinner, my friends and I will leave. Okay?”
Cas shook his head. This motherfucker.
“I’m not going to force Meka to leave,” he told Monique. “She can leave if she wants. But if she wants to stay with me, she can stay.”
“Meka, do you want to stay with him?” Monique asked.
“Mo, I’m starving,” Meka complained, avoiding the question. “Can we finish this over some steak and potatoes?”
Cas chuckled and rubbed Meka’s back.
“I can’t have my woman starving. You all can stay here and talk. Meka and I are heading to the dining room. Join us when you’re ready.”
Still clasping Meka’s hand, he steered her toward the exit. Toya and Monique watched in shock.
Leo looked to Raz and mouthed, “I quit.”
Raz shook his head. There was no quitting. They were all in this shit together. With Cas gone, the women directed their attention at Raz. Raz smiled.
“Don’t do that,” Monique said. “Don’t smile. What did your brother do to my friend?”
“If I said it was love at first sight, would you believe me?” Raz asked, already knowing the answer.
Toya rolled her eyes.
“Wrong answer,” Leo muttered under his breath. “Try again, boss.”
Monique placed her hands on her curvy hips. “Raz, please don’t play games with me.”
“Okay,” Raz said. “The truth is, when I found them, they were both already acting like that. I don’t know what happened. But I will find out. Let’s go to the restaurant. Maybe while we’re sitting down eating, we can get to the bottom of this.”
“I don’t want to eat,” Monique said.
“Let’s eat,” Toya told her. Before Monique could protest, Toya said, “We’re going to eat steak. Which means there will be steak knives.”
Monique eyes widened in understanding. “Steak knives,” she muttered. Rosa faced Raz. “Okay, let’s go eat. I’m kind of famished myself.”
Both women turned and headed for the exit, walking fast to catch up with Cas and Meka. Orazio didn’t follow them immediately.
“If I get stabbed,” Leo told him. “I’m suing your woman and her friends.”
“I’m pretty sure I’m the one who’ll get stabbed,” Orazio told him.
“Let’s just leave. We can go have a drink at the bar down the street. Let Cas deal with the mess he’s created.”
The offer was tempting. His phone started ringing. It was Monique. He answered quickly.
“Hello, Rosa.”
“Hurry up,” she told him. “Be sure to sit next to me. I want you close to me at all times.” She hung up without saying goodbye.
Raz looked to Leo. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ll be the one getting stabbed tonight.”
“Should I have a medic on standby?”
Raz nodded. “And the cleaning crew, too. Just in case they break things.”
Leo nodded. “None of this would’ve happened if you hadn’t fallen in love with Trevor’s ex-wife.”
“Don’t call her that. She’s not Trevor’s ex-wife. She’s my future wife.”
“You mean your future widow. At this rate, she’s going to be the death of you.”
“To be my widow, she’ll have to marry me first. As long as she lets me live long enough to give her my last name, I’m okay with it.”
Leo chuckled before saying, “I’m glad the woman I liked rejected me. It’s safer to be single. I’ve got a feeling this date is going to end up how my mom likes her steak, bloody .”
Raz sighed. He had a plan that could possibly turn things around. First, he had to make a call. What he was about to do would piss Cas off. Cas probably wouldn’t talk to him for a long time after this.
Hell, he may never speak to Raz again. But his brother had left him no choice. Raz unlocked his phone and made the call. Forgive me, brother. But I’m out of options.