Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Find her tomorrow? She seriously just fucking walked away. What the fuck is girls’ night? And who is the chick she’s dancing with? I know she works at the Royal Flush. I’ve seen her there. I’ve never cared to learn her name, though.
Now that Lailani is hanging out with her, I plan to find out everything about the woman.
I follow Lailani back out and sit at the bar, watching her every move. She might not want to see me until tomorrow, but I have no intention of letting her out of my sight. Especially with the way all these fucking assholes are looking at her.
Lailani and her friend head back out to the dance floor. I don’t move. Instead, I stay right where I am.
“She’s pretty,” a familiar voice says from beside me.
Fucking hell. I turn and look at my mother. I didn’t even notice her approaching me. “What are you doing here?”
“Who is she?” My mother is still staring at Lailani. She’s never liked me paying attention to girls.
“Who is who?” I counter, trying my best to feign boredom. “And, again, why are you here?”
“Can’t a mother just come to see her only son?” My mother leans in to kiss my cheek. The stench of vodka radiates off her.
My gaze flicks over to Lailani. She’s staring right back at me, watching this whole encounter.
Fuck. I need to get my mother out of here. Pulling out my phone, I text Emmanuel. Out of all my friends, he’s the one who understands mommy issues. Louie’s mother died when he was really young, and Carlo had loving parents until they were both murdered when we were kids.
Emmanuel, though, he lived with his mother and didn’t know who his father was until we were teenagers. He gets unhinged, selfish mothers.
Me:
I need you in Innes. Now. She’s here.
Emmanuel:
On my way.
I pocket my phone and turn my attention back to the woman in front of me.
As much as I want to look back at Lailani, I can’t.
If my mother gets a sense that I like someone, there’s no telling what crazy shit she’ll do.
I could drag her out of here, but then she’d wonder why I was making a scene.
There’s also the fact that I don’t want to leave Lailani behind.
“How much?” I ask my mother.
“How much of what?” she huffs, as if the reason she’s here isn’t for money.
“How much do you want? Let’s not play stupid, Ma. We both know you’re only here because you’ve run out of cash again,” I tell her. I turn towards the bar and hold up a hand, signaling for the bartender to get me a drink.
“I came to see you, Sammie. That’s all,” she says. “Thought I’d stick around a bit.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re my son and I’m not getting any younger,” she tells me. When the bartender brings me a glass filled with amber liquid, my mother leans over the counter. “I’ll have a martini, dirty.”
He looks to me and I give him a slight nod.
“I’m pretty sure you’ve still got plenty of years to continue torturing my existence,” I grunt. She’s not fucking old. My mother had me when she was fifteen. A fact I heard about over and over again when I was a child.
She used to say that she could have given me up, that she could have had an abortion but she kept me because she loved me that much.
The woman is the queen of manipulation. She had me believe she was the only person on earth who could love me.
No one would love me as much as she did.
The worst part? In her head, it’s the truth.
“Well, I’m not due for the nursing home just yet, but I noticed two more wrinkles yesterday,” she says.
Her face is perfectly free of wrinkles, probably thanks to the Botox or whatever other fucking bullshit I pay for.
My mom has always been an addict. The functioning kind.
Always worked, always made sure I was fed and clothed.
That is until I started making enough money she didn’t need to work anymore.
I don’t care about giving her money. It’s the mind games that have me not wanting to be around her. Things just run more smoothly when she’s not here. Last time she “dropped in,” I killed two of my men because she led me to believe they attacked her, raped her.
It wasn’t until Louie had combed through all the CCTV footage that I found out she got busted up during a fight she picked with a female patron at the bar. The men she accused, the ones I had already killed, were nowhere near her that night.
It’s always something. It’s as if she’s testing me to see just how far I’ll go for her. How much I’ll put her above anyone else. Truth is, I always do. She’s my mother. What else am I supposed to do?
Which is why I need to make sure Lailani stays well and truly off her fucking radar. I don’t want my mother making me choose between them. I know this thing with Lailani is nothing serious, but I fucking like it. And I’m not anywhere near ready to give it up.
I breathe a sigh of relief when Emmanuel walks in. That relief quickly dissipates when I notice whose hand he is clasping tightly. Evie. Why the fuck did he bring her with him?
“Fancy seeing your ugly mug here,” Emmanuel greets me. “Ms. Russo, I had no idea you were in town. It’s been a long time.” He hugs my mother, and I watch in disgust as she presses herself against him.
Emmanuel doesn’t let go of Evie’s hand and pulls away quickly. My mother runs her eyes up and down Evie’s frame, as if she’s just found her next victim for the night. “And who is this beauty?” she asks.
“This is Evie,” Emmanuel replies. “I was about to take her home. I just bought a new house close by. You want to come and see it?”
I take the opportunity to look back out towards the dance floor. She’s not there. But when I search the bar area, I find her at the end of the counter, her gaze still fixed on me.
Emmanuel curses under his breath. When I turn my eyes back to him, I see him looking in the same direction. “I gotta use the restroom. Finish your drink, Ms. Russo. I think you’re going to love my new house.”
“I have a room here,” my mother tells him.
“You’d rather stay in this cesspool than the comforts of my home?” Emmanuel questions her. “Now, I’m offended.”
“Well, okay. Just for one night. I do need to grab some things, though. I’ll wait for you in the lobby,” my mother tells him, downing her drink before getting up off the barstool. She turns to me, leans in, and kisses my cheek. “Sammie, we will continue this chat.” Then she walks off.
“I’ll be right back,” Emmanuel says, dropping Evie’s hand. “You want a drink?”
She doesn’t say anything, just shakes her head. Emmanuel gestures an arm in the air and five of his soldiers step up closer.
“New friends?” I ask Evie as we watch Emmanuel approach the bar.
“Something like that,” she says. “So, that’s your mother? Did she have you when she was ten?”
“Close, fifteen,” I tell her. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this. I didn’t know E had, ah, company.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind. Besides, mothers usually love me. I have that whole southern hospitality thing they just can’t resist.” Evie grins.
“My mother isn’t… Well, if she gives you any grief, let me know.” I doubt even that crazy-ass woman would be stupid enough to fuck with Emmanuel by targeting his girl.
I turn to look at Lailani, and she’s gone again. I start searching the room and can’t see her anywhere. So I pull out my phone and send her a message. I need to see her.
Me:
Meet me at my place in an hour.
Her response comes almost immediately.
Lailani:
I’m busy.
Me:
Doing what?
Lailani:
Not you.
I chuckle. She’s not usually this feisty. Maybe seeing me with another woman really pissed her off.
Me:
She was my mother.
Lailani.:
Who?
Me:
The woman you saw me with.
Lailani:
Okay.
Me:
My place? An hour?
Lailani:
Still busy.
I shake my head and pocket my phone. If she’s not going to come to me, I’ll go to her. And I’ll wait around until she’s not busy.