Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee
Chapter 11
With the fall gala at the Royal Flush a few days away, all hotels in Miami were booked and major players from around the country dined at every restaurant in town. Seth and Lexi served an endless amount of customers. Along with having to make drink orders, they also took overflow when the dining room was filled.
“Oh my god.” Lexi rushed behind the bar to make more drinks. “I didn't know this many people existed.” She took a quick gulp of water before tossing six glasses from one hand to the other to the counter.
“No kidding. I used to work here when ten customers made it a busy night…could have never foreseen the place this full.”
“Well, it’ll make the night fly by. Some of the customers can be pretty interesting. I know we aren't supposed to talk to them, but we can at least catch some of their stories.”
Seth smiled with a hint of sarcasm. “I remember when I had your enthusiasm,” he chuckled.
When Lexi finished with the six cocktails, she carried them to one table and brought back an order from another. For the next five hours, she repeated the same process. Deliver drinks. Bring back orders. During the entire time she had worked so far, it surprised her to see no sign of Rafa. Maybe Angelo had something more important for him to do. Angelo did own his time.
Around ten-thirty, the diners finally started to trickle off. Seth made the drinks while Lexi took care of the last few tables, putting in her final order when the hostess approached and whispered.
“Lexi, we sat a four top in the dining room. They’re requesting you.”
“Me? But I serve in the bar. Why didn’t they want to sit over here? I still have customers who haven't received their entrees.”
The hostess apologized and shook her head. “I'm sorry. They’re VIP's and only sit at table eleven. They want you.”
Lexi quickly checked on her current tables before walking to the dining area. As she moved closer, she stopped when she saw the table; her breathing ceased. She had never seen the man in the flesh. It was Angelo Tomassi—Boss. The leader of the Tomassi Group requested her personally. The thought passed her mind that he knew about her orders and planned to kill her without ever giving her a chance to explain.
When he focused his attention on her and waved her over, Lexi did not know what to expect. Angelo had a look in his eyes as if he knew exactly who she was and what she was doing. She took a deep breath and continued to the table.
“Good evening.” She gave them a moment to acknowledge her while she tried to find the courage to keep her footing.
“Lexi, hm?”
Of course he would know her name. Angelo wrapped his arm around a blonde-haired woman who sat next to him. Lexi guessed it was his wife Ella. She seemed sweet as she smiled, but Lexi could feel her eyes inspecting every inch of her body, as if she was looking for a weapon of some sort. Lexi knew a little about Angelo but nothing of his wife. The wife of a mob boss must pose some threat, even if she was not part of his group.
“My wife will have a vodka and water. Give me bourbon on the rocks…private stock for both, and”—he looked at the other two well-dressed, likely armed men at the table—”Jim…Ray,” he said and cocked his chin toward Lexi.
“I'll have straight scotch,” Jim answered. Lexi noticed his voice was deep, even for a man, and his right hand never left his lap.
“Give me a glass of merlot. A good one—your choice,” Ray said last and never took his eyes off her. Somehow, Lexi felt the scrutiny in the gaze of every guest at that table.
“I’ll get these right away.” Lexi hurried from their sight.
When she got to the bar, she took in deep breaths as she set a tray on the counter by the drink station. The sound of clinking metal instantly caught Seth's attention as he walked over to her.
“Don't be nervous. They’re probably inspecting our newest employee. They do that all the time.”
Lexi appreciated his concern, but Seth did not understand the true nature of the situation. Considering the expressions of the four guests, they were not there to see if the new employee was panning out. It was personal. Of that, Lexi was certain.
“Thank you, Seth. I will try to relax.”
Relax? Lexi would do anything but relax. For the first time ever, she wanted to go home. It was a bad time for Angelo to visit.
“The restaurant is almost empty now. Why don't you let me finish with your tables?” Seth offered, mostly out of pity, but Lexi shook her head.
“No, I can't do that to my customers. Thank you, but I have it covered.”
Seth nodded and went back to his tasks as Lexi brought the tray of drinks to the dining area, immediately setting them beside their rightful owner. When she finished, she smiled politely and asked, “Will you need a few more minutes to look at the menu, or are you ready to order now?”
“Actually,” Angelo raised his head to both Jim and Ray who stood in unison, each grabbing one of Lexi's arms and forcing her to sit at the table, “We aren't here for dinner.”
Lexi looked in Angelo's eyes, intimidating eyes that silently questioned whether he should let her live. “Then what are you here for, Mr. Tomassi?” Lexi kept her focus on him, giving into the conversation without looking away.
“So, you know my name?” Angelo stared directly at her, probing her for the truth. “Lexi, we think you’re a threat to one of my men. Do you know who I'm talking about?”
Lexi looked at Ella, trying to gain some knowledge of the situation as if Ella would tell her anything. Ella did not speak. Jim and Ray kept their silence, so that left Angelo. Lexi returned her attention to him. “I’m not a threat to him,” she said. It was all she could think to say in public.
Angelo studied her reaction and gave a small nod, releasing his wife and crossing his arms. “Why should we believe you?”
For a moment, Lexi considered this was the opportunity she had waited for—the chance to ask Angelo for help. They had to go somewhere private though, or everyone would hear.
She started to open her mouth, but instead, her face went pale. If Angelo's scrutiny was not enough, one of Moretti's most fearsome men entered the restaurant. His name was Jason, and Jason was ten times more ruthless than Royce was. If Jason came here tonight, it meant a harsh reality check for Lexi.
At first notice, shear panic reached her eyes. Angelo noticed that fear. He must have seen that same fear in the faces of many of his victims, pleading for their lives before the final blow.
Hoping he would discern the situation, Lexi slowly stood to her feet, giving the two men who stood behind a chance to act. She was glad when Angelo nodded at Jim and Ray, dictating silent orders with a tilt of his head. He was staring at where Jason had entered.
Lexi walked away and pushed some stray hairs behind her ear as she headed to the bar—the bar exit. Her tables were no longer a priority, rather fleeing the Sandy Shores and catching a ride to the rental house Abby leased for them earlier that afternoon.
Lexi hurried to the door, glancing behind to see Jim and Ray starting her way. She was sure that escaping the restaurant made her look guilty. Neither man had a chance to catch her. As soon as Lexi pushed the doors open, a large hand snagged her from behind, squeezing her waist with his arm and carrying her toward a black Mercedes parked three cars down.
Lexi fought. She paid no attention to anything but trying to free her body from the man’s grasp. She did not see Rafa. He was also waiting outside and saw her struggle with the man. He acted fast. Rafa jumped out of his car and yelled across the street, “Hey! Let her go!” Then he started to run after them both.
Hidden by lines of parked cars, Rafa pulled out his gun and aimed. “I said…let her go!”
No sooner had he sprinted toward the man that his Lexus burst into flames, erupting into a blinding explosion behind. Rafa sailed six feet forward with the ripple-like force and crashed to the pavement, knocked unconscious on impact.
“Rafa!” Angelo shouted amidst the flames as he darted out of the door. The blazing car was too close to another, and he plunged down the steps to Rafa, pulling him away from danger and dragging him until the second car exploded. “Shit!” Angelo voiced above the igniting roar and blocked Rafa's body with his own from any debris sailing at the two. A wound on Rafa's head began to spill blood when Angelo whistled at Jim and Ray. “Hey! Over here!”
The brothers could not see through the smoke but followed the voice to Angelo. Jim and Ray lifted Rafa's body without a spare moment and moved him inside the restaurant. Angelo followed and emptied the silverware from several napkins set on a nearby table. While Ella attempted to calm the scared customers and employees, Angelo held Rafa's head tight, trying to stop the flow of blood. Rafa’s fingers moved and then he came to with a jolt and started to sit.
“Lay down.” Angelo demanded, but Rafa sensed something was off by the look in his eye.
“God almighty,” he slurred, “what the fuck happened?” Rafa placed his hand over the cloth napkins covering his head and half-lifted his body anyway.
“About ten grams of gunpowder happened. I think your girlfriend tried to kill you.”
Rafa shook his head back and forth, recollecting the earlier events in an instant. “No, they took her. I saw it. She was fighting them.”
They did not have time to argue more over Lexi's involvement with the explosion when the first of several red and blue lights flashed outside the broken windows. The county head of the police department walked inside and looked at the two men on the floor.
“Way to keep a low profile, guys. How the hell do you expect me to cover this shit up?”
“Donnie…” Angelo acknowledged the brown-haired sheriff and stood, motioning for Donnie to follow him.
“Why are you doing this to me, Angelo? In three minutes time, every member of the force is going to be crawling around these parts. How do I explain this?” Donnie waved his arms through the air with frustration.
“You know we had nothing to do with this. I told you none of our shit would ever affect Miami. I think this has to do with Moretti, but I'm not sure yet.”
Rafa staggered out of the restaurant and leaned against the brick wall behind, pointing at the men while holding the blood soiled linens against his head. “You two aren't leaving me out of anything. What did the search pull up, Donnie?”
Donnie untucked a folded brown envelope from the back pocket of his pants. “Yeah, I was on my way to bring you this when all hell broke loose. I ran the name as Emmalyn Alexis Taylor this time, but nothing pulled up on her either—clean record.”
“But that’s her name then, right?” asked Rafa.
“Yeah, definitely real. So I made a few calls down to the station in Homestead. Seems the name Cinderella has a definite ring with them. But let me be the first to tell you; that force is on Moretti's payroll. As soon as I started asking questions, they went silent about the girl.”
“Who the hell's Emmalyn?” Angelo glanced at Rafa, questioning the name.
“You heard Donnie. It's Lexi's first name.”
Throwing up his arms, Angelo shook his head. “I told you she was trying to kill you.”
With everything pointing to the obvious, Rafa closed his eyes and tried to figure out another explanation for her involvement when more loud sirens of police cars came to a stop, interrupting his thoughts. Donnie looked at the two, whipped out a pen and paper from his shirt pocket, and started scribbling.
“Listen, you were eating and minding your own business when Rafa pulled up to join you. That should buy you a few days to dig up something on Moretti. You need to both get your statements straight too. Got that?”
“Whatever you say, sheriff,” Angelo puffed.
After Donnie left, Angelo walked closer to Rafa and whispered. “I had Jim slip a tracker on Lexi when she waited on us. Whatever her connection to Moretti, we’re going to know more as soon as this police shit is over.”