Chapter Twelve-Nico
CHAPTER TWELVE-NICO
I walk into the Den pissed off and buzzing with energy. The smell of coffee is strong, fresh, and my head snaps to where Maria is pouring a cup.
She holds it out to me.
“Thanks, Maria. Why are you still here?” I ask.
It’s not unusual for the bartender to pick up a couple of extra shifts. But closing was three hours ago, and we don’t open again till noon.
“I just wanted to make sure you were alright, Boss,” she says with a shy smile.
I’m not an idiot. I know something is up with her, and I know she’s been flirting with me. I’m just not interested. Never was.
“Look at me,” I say .
Her smile disappears the second she makes eye contact. She looks away quickly.
“Any concern for my welfare belongs to my wife and my wife alone. I’m married and I don’t cheat, understand?” I tell her, noting her surprise.
“Yes, I-I didn’t mean anything, I was just, forget it,” she murmurs, laughing nervously.
But she stops before she can outright lie, and I respect her for it.
Maria is a nice girl. Whatever she is looking for, whatever boogeyman she needs to stay hidden from, well I hope she is successful. It just isn’t mine to deal with.
“Good. You can keep working if you want. But I have nothing else for you, understand?”
“Yes, Boss. Of course,” she says, smiling politely and shaking off whatever all that was.
I take my coffee and walk to my office, not surprised when I see Angel and Luc inside.
Luc is staring at the security screens, and he is not smiling.
Angel’s shirt is all wet, and I frown.
“What the fuck happened to you?” I ask.
“Ah, your wife’s little friend showed up. Thought I was you. Threw a glass of beer in my face for knocking up her bestie,” he says, but he’s grinning, and I’m confused.
“Why are you smiling if some woman threw some shit in your face?”
“Cause now she owes me,” Angel explains.
“Owes you? You know what, I don’t want to know.”
And I don’t.
“What’s the news with the bakers?” I ask.
Angel starts telling me what went down after I left the bakery with Anna. Luc adds what he discovered.
And none of it is good.
“That fucking cocksucker.”
I am talking about Anna’s brother.
“If he wasn’t dead, I’d fucking kill him myself,” I growl.
“Yeah, well, he did sell you a night with his sister to clear up his debts,” Angel states what all of us already know.
But it makes me fucking mad.
“Easy, Boss,” he grits, and I look down to see I have my hands wrapped around his throat.
“Alright, let’s make a plan,” I say and sit back down in my chair .
I’m not going to talk about my reaction to his statement. I don’t really want to think about how I tricked Anna into my bed.
She is there now, and that’s all that matters.