Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee

Chapter 43

Relief washed over Lexi as the Escalade sped away from her nightmare wedding trade-off. It did not surprise her. Her luck proved as much. She looked out of the window and closed her eyes, dreaming of the day when she would actually get married. She did not know when that would happen now.

Lexi yawned quietly, tired from sleeping in a chair. More than needing sleep, Lexi's stomach growled. She leaned over the barrier between the front seat and back and looked at the men in front. She had just met Thomas. He was in the driver’s seat with Ray next to him.

“Are you taking me home?” She tapped on Ray’s arm.

“No, I'm supposed to take you to the hotel. Rafa doesn't want you at home unless he's there with you.”

Lexi shook her head. “I can't go to the hotel. I need a shower and clean clothes…and food.”

“Those are the orders.” Ray glanced back. “Rafa will have my ass if I take you home against what he said to do.”

“Can't you call him?” Lexi pointed at the phone she knew was in Ray's coat pocket. He looked at her and let out a breath, reaching inside; then he pressed a button and waited.

“Hey, your girlfriend wants me to take her home… She wants to shower and change before going to the hotel… Yes, I'll tell her.” He hung up and tucked his phone back in his pocket. With a causal glance back, he looked at Lexi. “He said no.”

“That's it? Can't you at least stop and get me something to eat?”

“Look, he has everything in your room. Try to relax and you can talk to him when you get there. It's only a couple more minutes.”

Lexi sat back in her seat, feeling anxious about the hotel. Every horn and siren made her flinch. At least it was morning and she did not have to add in the flashing lights. Lexi felt on edge.

“We're here,” Ray said. He stepped out of the vehicle and opened her door. This time he waited, personally escorting her straight to the entrance. Lexi groaned in recollection, remembering the spectacle the cops caused with her the night before. She did not know if she could hold it in after what she endured.

“It's okay; come on.” Ray tugged her arm, sensing her hesitation by her dragging feet. “Rafa is coming down.”

Lexi nodded, glad that he would meet her. It lifted her spirits some. Right on cue, Rafa stepped out of the entrance as she walked up. Lexi lost her composure. She slid out of Ray's hold and threw her arms around him.

“It's all right. I have you now,” he said and pulled her to his chest, shielding her from the uncomely stares. “Let's go to our room.” He left his arm around her shoulder and led her to the elevator and then to the room.

After a shower, Lexi stared around the room with a smaller bedroom to its side. It had the works: A sixty-inch television, plush bedding, a Jacuzzi and amenities. Then Lexi gazed at the most fantastic view of the ocean that she ever saw. No wonder the hotel ranked high among the elite.

Lexi eased her body on the bed and opened the tray in front of her. It was like a gourmet meal without having to dress for a fancy restaurant. She immediately started eating, enjoying the steamed vegetables and seasoned salmon.

Three quarters of the way through, Lexi took slower bites, feeling the full force of fatigue wash over her. Her body started aching for a few hours of sleep.

“Hey.” Rafa looked up from his laptop from where he sat on a small blue sofa. “I can bring Maura to you later so you can rest.”

“Maura,” Lexi muttered to herself, remembering her mother's words. Even though she knew Abby took good care of her daughter, she debated on whether or not to bring Maura up anyway.

“Lexi.” Rafa walked to the bed and sat next to her, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. “I'm sorry that happened to you.”

Lexi took in a long, shaky breath, one that did not help her nerves at all. “It's not your fault; it's my mother's fault that happened.”

“Oh? How do you know that?”

“Because she's been creeping around since Kenneth disappeared. I never had the chance to show you the video of your campaign. Abby sent it to me. You can find it on my phone, but you probably have already seen it now.”

“Abby showed me the video last night.”

Lexi nodded. “But I know for sure it was my mother, because she visited me at the police station.”

“What?” Her words put Rafa into a worse mood than he already was. “What did she want?”

Lexi closed her eyes. “She wanted to do what she does best…make threats.”

“Threats, huh? How much did she want?”

“Yeah, I guess you would know that she wanted money.” Lexi gave him a look.

“You’re marrying into the mafia. She likes money. It makes sense.”

Lexi agreed with a nod. “She wants money, all right. That crazy bitch thinks she can get four hundred from the mafia.”

“Grand?” Rafa clarified.

“That’s right. I told her I’d go to jail first.”

Rafa digested the information before answering back. “And what if we don't give her what she wants?” Lexi stared at the wall, knowing there would be no satisfying her mother. Even if they gave her the money, she would demand more when it ran out. “I need to know what she plans to do, Lexi.”

“She thinks she can turn me in for the Moretti jobs I handled. I don't know if she's bluffing or not.”

Rafa said nothing else and stood, walking to the window and staring down at the beach. He slipped his hands in his pockets, silently fuming over the matter with her mother. Too mad to think, he pulled out his gun and began looking over the metal, pondering his next move.

“Did Donnie give you anything for me?” Lexi nodded and started to stand when Rafa held out his hand for her to stay seated. “I'll get it if you tell me where it is.”

“No, there's something else I need to show you too. It's more important than my mother putting me in jail,” she said while disappearing in the restroom for her dirty jacket. “Gloria told me she would take Maura if I wouldn't ask for the money.” Lexi came back out, noticing how Rafa's arms clenched stiffly against his chest. He never reacted lightly to blackmail. “I attacked her for what she said; then the damn guard jumped on me.”

“What do you mean he jumped on you? Where the hell was Donnie?”

“Hold on.” Lexi held out her hand to him. “So then I attacked the guard and two other men came in. I thought it would get ugly, but Donnie stopped them before anything serious happened to me. He was one pissed off cop.”

Rafa huffed, wrapping his hands around her cheeks. “He's extremely lucky that you’re sticking up for him. Are you okay?”

“No, not really. First Moretti threatens Maura—now my mother. When does it end?”

“You know what needs to happen, don't you, Lexi?”

She chuckled, scoffing at the nerve of everyone trying to threaten her by taking her child. For a split second, she imagined her fingers having choked her mother dead had the guards not interrupted. Then she slipped her hand into the front pocket of Rafa's slacks and pulled out his knife, making Rafa question what she was doing.

“What needs to happen,” Lexi repeated and kneeled to the floor, flipping open the pocket knife. “Apparently my mother secretly visited Maura when Moretti forced me to do jobs. What for? You know what for.” She showed Rafa the picture of Maura and Gloria before slicing it straight down the center and standing again.

“Gloria will never get her, Lexi.” He lowered both arms against her sides and looked in her eyes, trying to comfort her, but the thought that Gloria would threaten his family made his entire body hot. Lexi stayed calm. Her face did not have a hint of emotion. She was trying to push the thought of losing Maura away from her mind.

“No, she won't, Rafa.” Lexi slapped the part of the picture with Gloria against his hands. “You are the mafia. Make sure she never touches my baby again.” Lexi stumbled slightly dizzy, weak from exhaustion, tired of the whole damn thing.

“I'm going to talk to Angelo. Why don't you get some sleep?” Rafa pulled her face against his chest and gently stroked his fingers against her back.

“I guess I should,” she said, slipping from his hold. Lexi backed away to the bed and pushed her feet underneath the blankets. “I have Gloria's number. It's in the pocket of my jeans.”

He nodded and kneeled in front of the bed. “Get some sleep. When you wake up, come to the banquet hall. You can find me in the conference room.”

***

Hours later, Lexi woke up at nearly three in the afternoon. She groaned with the thoughts of her time at the station. The more she dwelled on that joke of an arrest, the angrier she became. Lexi realized they would never stop threatening her even with the powerful Tomassi group taking the lead. Something had to give or Moretti would keep finding ways to impose on her life. Lexi knew what she had to do.

Feeling revived and thinking more clearly than ever, she got up and saw a couple of her outfits hanging in the closet. Rafa must have grabbed them from home. She guessed a pair of black slacks and a white buttoned blouse would be acceptable in a place like this. She discarded her jeans and tee, dressing the part. Lexi was too familiar with playing roles.

On the nightstand, she found her purse and phone with a room card and note. The note said to use her phone to get into the conference room. Rafa must have added some sort of a sensor. She checked her phone. She missed Maura but Abby had not sent her a message. Rafa probably told her not to disturb her. Thinking about Maura made her angry all over again. She left the room in a huff.

Lexi had to stop. She was not used to the large hotel and needed to collect her bearings. She pressed the only button that she knew would lead her somewhere familiar—the ground floor. If she remembered correctly, the banquet hall used a separate elevator from there.

Lexi looked into the open lobby as the two doors slid open. She gazed in awe of the elaborate room. It looked like something out of a magazine, so grand and luxurious that it made her wonder about knowing the man who owned it. She briefly reflected on how she ended up in such a place from her poor situation in Homestead. Lexi checked herself fast. There was no time for self-deprecation when her daughter’s life was on the line.

She walked straight to the other elevator and waited. There were a few guests walking around but not many at that time of day. Maybe they had all checked out that morning since it was Sunday. It was only a passing observation. She did not really care and entered, pressing floor two and waiting again.

In the banquet room, Lexi stopped to stare. The room was still decorated beautifully for the night before. Abby’s description came short in the way she described the decorations. The place was much more amazing than words could describe. It also reminded Lexi of the wedding that did not happen.

Lexi did not want to feel the loss of her own wedding anymore and looked away, marching down the hallway to the conference room door. She swiped the card and tapped the small black plate with her phone. When she went inside, she did not expect the conference room to look like a fully-fledged group meeting at this hour. It certainly did. Angelo and Rafa, along with others she met and some she had not officially met sat in a group, talking about what was to come.

“Right on time.” Angelo looked at her and motioned her to an empty recliner that the men had left vacant. She sat and noticed that some men stood, waiting for their next order. If Jim, Ray and Brett sat, all the others must be lesser in rank. Maybe they were not allowed to sit or not brave enough to try.

“Yes,” she said, feeling less than enthusiastic about his thoughts.

Before he continued, Angelo glanced at the rest of his ranks and pointed to the door. Without a word, the room emptied, leaving Lexi alone in the five men's company.

“We were talking about this situation with your mother. You understand that she crossed the line?”

“Crossed the line? Isn't that putting it mildly?” Lexi scoffed.

“We decided to give her the money.”

“What?” Lexi's jaw dropped with disbelief. What did he say? “Why?”

“Because a person like Gloria doesn't care about whose side they’re on, as long as it's the side emptying their pockets to her. We'll use it against her.”

“Go on.” Lexi could feel her nails drawing blood in her palms, but she was listening though she did not like what she heard.

“So we'll give her more money and turn the tables around. She can bring Moretti to us—half down. The other half when she delivers.”

“You think that’ll work?” Lexi leaned back in the chair. “Moretti already knows Kenneth is gone. He’ll know what my mother is up to.”

“But somebody was working with her at the station. Gloria would have never gotten inside by herself. Moretti is already working with her.”

“Yes, but he's using her, the same as you. He doesn't care what happens to her. You’re going to need me on this one.”

“I can’t let you go with a woman who already threatened you? You expect me to put you up in that shit? That’s not how my group works.”

“And yet you sent me shopping for Kenneth?”

“That was different. If I thought you were in danger, I would have never let my wife go with you?”

“Rafa?” Lexi said and turned to him next, knowing he would think logically whether he liked her idea or not. “What do you think about me helping?”

“I’m not doing this, Alexis. I’m not.” Rafa shook his head.

“For Maura. For our daughter, Rafa. Tell me what you think for Maura.”

With locked jaw, Rafa stared at Lexi, angry she would throw this at him. “Fuck,” he said and closed his eyes, trying to separate his personal feelings from the situation. He ran every scenario through his mind. “It’s feasible. That’s all I’m going to say.” He did not like her idea at all. “So you want us to put you in the same danger that you tried to escape?”

“You know what?” Lexi shrugged. “I have a better idea. Why don't we surprise Moretti at his own front door? If we catch him off guard, it’ll be easier to trap him. We should choose a day when Rafa has a campaign and skip the campaign…go to Homestead. Moretti will never see it coming. As for my mother,” Lexi almost smiled, “she’ll be a walking corpse without Moretti telling her what to do. We’ll have nothing to worry about with her.”

“Not going to happen,” Angelo stated pointedly. “You have about a thirty percent chance of coming back. You came to us because we’re different than Moretti. Now you expect us to shove you in it like he did. I think the station got to your head.”

Lexi stood and lifted her arms in the air with defeat, looking at each set of eyes staring back. “Angelo,” she said. “Last night, I was surrounded by the mafia. If you didn't notice, your group had to stand and watch. The cops…they took me into custody; then they let my mother have her say. You say it’s too dangerous.” She shook her head with the most determined expression on her face. “I say I would do anything to protect my daughter. I know you can understand. And I know you would do the same.”

With that, Lexi pushed her hair behind her ear and stepped around the men, leaving them to think about the harsh truth behind her words.