There are two men in the hallway. I saw two at the gate, and two more on the drive up to the house. I’ve no doubt there are more around, all here to protect him. But Danny said his dad supplied security. That Ernie was only in danger by association.
Ernie goes to a huge globe and lifts the lid, revealing a mass of bottles and an ice bucket. He plops two cubes in his glass.
“Where’s Brad and Ringo?” I ask Danny quietly, forcing curiosity to mask my panic.
“They’ve gone to get something to eat.”
Fear layers the dread as Danny helps me down to a chair. “I thought you never go anywhere without them.”
He smiles at me, laying my napkin across my lap like a true gentleman. “I’m at my uncle’s house. I think we’re good.” He motions to the armed men outside the dining room.
We’re good? We’re far from good. “Danny—”
“More wine, Rose?” Ernie asks, as if he senses my natural instinct to blurt out who he is. “Or would water be better?”
“Water, please.” I swallow, ignoring Danny’s inquisitive look pointing at my profile as he takes his chair. A maid pours for me, and I take my first sip with shaky hands, my eyes rooted to the glass.
“Tell me how you two met?” Ernie says casually, just making conversation.
I look at Danny, my mind blank. My dry mouth won’t allow me to talk, even if I had the words to say. Not that Ernie needs them. He knows exactly how Danny and I met. What’s going on? “Rose was my lucky charm in a game of poker,” Danny speaks up, reaching for my hand and squeezing. “We met in Vegas.”
Ernie’s bark of laughter has me jumping in my chair. I’m skittish, hot, and sweaty. “You can’t play cards for shit.”
“Shut up, old man.”
My shock and fear are getting out of control. I need to compose myself before I blurt out across the table what I know and get us both killed. Love’s made me weak. How could I let this happen? I’d usually laugh in the face of threats. Contain my misery and fear.
I look over my shoulder and see the men still loitering in the lobby. “I need the restroom.” I stand on shaky legs, placing my napkin on the table. “Please, excuse me.”
Ernie pauses with his tumbler midway to his mouth as he watches me, and Danny rises from his chair. “Would you like me to show you where the bathroom is?”
I falter, glancing at Ernie who mildly shakes his head, a thousand death threats in his stare.
“Second door on your right through the lobby.” Ernie points, resting back in his chair.
“Thank you,” I say robotically, leaving my purse on the table and walking away on numb legs. I’m not surprised when one of the men lurking in the hallway follows me. I slip into the bathroom and close the door behind me, falling against the wood. “Oh my God,” I whisper, looking around, trying to kick-start my brain. What the hell am I going to do? I try to straighten out my head, try to recall things I really need to remember. Danny’s uncle? Or cousin. Or whoever he is. He’s working with Nox. My hands come up, my fingertips pushing into my forehead. There’s too much information bombarding my head, making it impossible to think clearly and unravel everything.
A tap on the door startles me. “Make it snappy,” a man grunts.
I dash to the mirror to check my face. I’m flushed. My eyes are stressed. I frantically search my mind for a way out of this, coming up blank. Brad and Ringo aren’t here. There’s nothing I can do but hold my breath and pray. I need to be cool. Then we might just walk out of here alive. I’ve handled many situations over the years where I’ve held in my disgust, my fear, my anger, and let self-preservation and hatred for my situation fuel my confidence and bravado. And that’s what I need to channel now.
Composing myself, I exit and make my way back to the table, being tailed again by one of Ernie’s apes. Danny’s laughing when I sit down, swirling his drink in his hand. His obliviousness kills me. I’m screaming at him in my head. It’s all a waste. How can the man who’s been dubbed evil and an assassin not know how much of the devil lurks beneath the skin of the man in front of him? Because Danny isn’t