Dangerous Conceit by Ali Lee
Chapter 9
After dropping off Lexi, Rafa sped to the hotel, caring nothing for cops on the road who might pull him over. Whatever the matter with Angelo, it had better be a life or death situation. Rafa screeched into the round drive of the Royal Flush, leaving the keys in the ignition and pointing to valet; then he walked past more guests than he was used to seeing at this time of night. Rafa ignored them and the workers who tried to greet him. He made his way to the back of the lobby, to the conference room. Rafa punched in the code and swiped his card, barging through the door to stare at Angelo.
“What’s this about?”
Scooting out his chair, Angelo pointed to the seat in front of the desk and took a seat himself. “Donnie's check on Royce Payton came back. He gave me a call and I sent Brett to pick up the info.”
“Yeah…and—” Rafa crossed his arms and focused on Angelo's face, attempting to decipher whether or not the news was good or bad. Judging from his expression, Rafa would not like what he found in the least.
Angelo tossed a brown manila envelope in front of Rafa while gesturing with his chin. “You need to read that.”
Breathing annoyed, Rafa unfastened the clasp and pulled out some papers. He started on page one of three but made no reaction at the news when he finished; instead, he let it flop back to the middle of the desk and asked, “What of it?” He already knew the answer but figured he would make Angelo dictate his orders to him anyway.
“You know what of it. You can’t trust that woman.”
“And if I couldn’t trust her, don't you think I would’ve known before you told me?”
“Yes, at any other time; but you aren’t thinking straight on this one.”
“No, you’re wrong. I mentioned Payton's name to her. It sent her in a panic.”
“Did she admit to knowing him, Rafa? I'll bet she didn't. She’d be too smart to say she knew one of Moretti's men, especially one who roughed her up at work.”
“Maybe true,” said Rafa, “but she did tell me she’d talk about it.”
“That means nothing…that she’ll talk about it.” Angelo mimicked the words. “When, Rafa? When she tries to kill you?”
“Listen, I've been in this business long enough to know she's not talking for other reasons. I can sense when someone is up to no good. You're being paranoid.”
“Paranoid? The hell I am. When you have fucking enemies at every corner, it's called being cautious.”
“Have I ever been wrong about anyone? Tell me that, Angelo.”
Angelo had to consider it was true. Rafa had never been wrong about the intentions of anyone. Good or bad, Rafa was able to peg them immediately. “Don’t you think she knows who you are, Rafa? What you do for a living? Does it seem like she's trying to pry information from you?”
“What do you take me for? If she was being nosy about the group, don't you think I would’ve told you by now? When she asked what I did, I told her I was a business consultant.”
Angelo grunted at his statement and then crossed his arms. Rafa could see it in his eyes. He was not going to take what Angelo had to say well, especially when it concerned Lexi.
“Rafa, she's a plant. She knows very well who you are, and you’d have your head up your ass to think she didn’t after the Payton thing. Moretti put Lexi at our restaurant to get to us. I won’t take chances. You know that. It doesn’t matter if you think she’s trustworthy. There’s too many risks with her. We don't know enough about her, and with Moretti trash walking the streets, I can't afford to let this go.”
“So what are you saying? You want me to stop seeing her? You tell me to find someone but she’s not good enough for you?”
“Rafa, we don't just let any woman prance their way in our ranks. One like Lexi is sounding alarms in my head.”
“Leave it the fuck alone. Let me handle her.”
“Handle her? Rafa, I won’t see my most important man dead because of a woman. If you want to see her, fine. But not until we get to the truth. Is that clear? Do you get that, at least?”
“Oh, I get it all right.” Rafa stood and acknowledged. “I understand your position perfectly.”
Rafa started toward the door, no longer wanting to look back at Angelo when Angelo stopped him mid step. “Hey! You remember the hell we put Ella through. She wasn't an exception from the rules either. I'm not ordering you to do anything I wouldn't do myself. Remember that.”
True or not, Rafa did not care. Angelo should have let him do as he saw fit. He had never been wrong and slammed the door behind to emphasize he did not approve.