To Have and to Heist(66)

“You seem to attract trouble,” Garcia said.

“Maybe trouble attracts me.” I grimaced and shut down the runaway train of my free-form thoughts. “That didn’t really make sense.”

“Very little you do makes sense, and yet every time I see you, I leave with a smile.”

Was Garcia flirting with me? Or was he trying to lighten the mood after telling me I was in bed with the mob and likely to die a horrible death if the wedding didn’t go as planned? I typed myself a reminder to find my earmuffs as soon as I got home. I’d seen Reservoir Dogs. How would I tuck my hair back if I only had one ear?

“I can’t bail on her now,” I said. “The wedding is in one week. It’s not her fault who her father is. I’ll do the job I was paid to do and hope for the best.”

“You have my number,” Garcia said. “Call me if you ever need me. I promise no questions.”

“I’ll try not to call because I know that will be a strain for you.”

Garcia smiled and brushed his lips over my cheek. “Watch your back,” he whispered. And then he was gone.

* * *

◆ ◆ ◆

?“You shouldn’t have made Mario angry,” Bella said after the police had cleared out. We were sipping a calming tea in the lounge while her mother talked to the seamstress about the new set of alterations that would be necessary after the scuffle.

“I have a feeling angry is his natural state of being.” Just like “mob” was his family and Sicilian neckties were probably what he gave to people he didn’t like at Christmas.

I had a strong feeling that Chloe and I had just earned a spot on Mario’s necktie list. We’d headbutted, kicked, and punched him. We’d sent him running out of the bridal shop covered in kitten heel scratches and without a shred of dignity. He was probably waiting outside right now with ten machine-gun-wielding mafiosos in trench coats and fedoras who were going to give us a bullet sandwich when we left the building.

My lungs seized and I bent over, struggling to breathe.

“Simi.” Chloe bent over beside me, her forehead creased in a frown. “What’s wrong?”

“Maaaaaaa. . . .”

“What?”

“Maaaaaaaafffffffeeeee . . .” My throat was closing like it did when I ate poppy seeds. Maybe I was allergic to violence.

“Mafee? Coffee? Do you need coffee? Something stronger than tea?”

“I’ll go ask the shop assistant to bring her a coffee,” Bella said. “I could use one myself.”

“Maaafia,” I managed to spit out after Bella was out of earshot, and then I managed to tell Chloe the rest.

“We attacked a mob boss’s son.” Chloe covered her mouth with her hand, but her shock was real.

“Hence my inability to breathe.” Bile rose in my throat. “He’s probably a made man. Made men have guns. He could have shot us right here in the middle of the meringues. I cut him off when he was trying to swear at me. I told him to say ‘sugar.’ I disrespected him, Chloe. ‘Sugar’ is going to kill me, just like Dad said. My dad was right about sugar.”

Chloe gave my arm a squeeze. “You’re not going to die because of sugar.”

“What if he shows up at my house to teach me a lesson?” My lungs tightened again. “What if he gives me a Sicilian necktie? My neck is my best feature, and it will have to be covered up at my funeral. My mom will be so upset.”

“Put your head between your legs.” She pushed me down gently. “He’s not going to off you because then the wedding won’t happen. He needs you alive.”

“For now.” I sat up and dropped my head in my hands. “What about after the wedding when he decides to clean up some loose ends? We’re loose ends. His men won’t respect him if he doesn’t deal with the women who beat him up and told him ‘sugar.’ We’ve robbed him of his dignity.”

“We’re also going to rob his father-in-law of a $25 million necklace,” she said. “We’re going to rob a mob boss. Think what would happen if we were caught. Why didn’t Jack tell us?”

“I can’t think. My brain is replaying every mob movie I’ve ever seen. Every type of torture. Every death . . .”

“We need to tell everyone,” Chloe said. “They have a right to know what we’re walking into. It was one thing when we thought they were just ordinary criminals. This takes it to a whole new level.”

“I’m more worried about what’s going to happen when we leave the shop,” I said. “What if they’re waiting outside?”

“I’ll text Gage,” she said. “He’s supposed to be the muscle in our heist/wedding planning gig.”

Gage. For a moment I’d forgotten about the night she’d blown me off for him, and the pain came rushing back.

“Your eye is swollen,” I said. “If he threw Kyle down the stairs just for knocking on your door, who knows what he’s going to do if he sees you like that? We can’t have him running around in a protective frenzy trying to find Mario so he can toss him down the stairs. It will compromise the mission.”

“He’s got a gun,” Chloe said. “He can keep us safe.”

“We kept ourselves safe,” I retorted. “We beat up a mob boss’s son. We don’t need Gage. We’ve always been fine on our own.”