Chapter 17
MATTEO
“WHY DIDN’T DOMINICinvite us?” Amalia asks as we’re pressed against the wall and waiting for the right moment to lower from the rooftop. “Those weren’t his regular allies.”
“Who knows what he called them for? And just because he seems to like us doesn’t mean he’s ready to work with us.”
She turns her head and frowns at me. “Yeah, I know this is a slow game, but... What if we did something wrong? What if he believes we were snooping around his office and is holding that against us?”
“Well, we were,” I say, just glad that my cock is no longer raising a tent in my pants.
I don’t know what it is about Amalia, but when she pressed herself against me, all my blood went to all the wrong places. Hell, I didn’t have such a reaction to anyone since I was a teen. It’s embarrassing and ridiculous.
“Yeah, I know,” Amalia says, “but his guard caught us kissing. Just because we were in there doesn’t mean anything. He can assume that we know something, but until we make an obvious move, he can’t just treat us like enemies. Besides, it’s his fault for leaving it all out there in the open like that.”
“He just met us, and it makes sense that he’s cautious. You would be too.”
She presses her lips into a tight line. “How long have we been here? I don’t even know if Dominic’s still in the restaurant. It feels like we’ve been up here forever. Maybe they’re all already gone.”
“Last time I took a peek, his men were posted out front,” I say. “They wouldn’t bother if the meeting was over.”
“Right.” She bites down on her lip, and I focus a little too much on it. “Let me check.”
She pushes herself off the wall and carefully inches closer to the edge. “The cars are gone now, and the guards too.”
I move forward and look down at the street too. Right. The cars that lined the curb earlier are gone, and the restaurant looks closed. No visible lights or anything.
“So either he left,” I say, “or he wants it to look like he did.”
“Check that guy over there,” she says, nodding toward a guy strolling down the street.
“He’s one of Dominic’s. Why leave guards if there’s nothing inside worth guarding?”
It’s a fair question, and the answer is obvious enough. Something important might be in there, or even Dominic himself. He just wants anyone watching to think he’s gone and the restaurant no longer matters.
“We need to go closer to the restaurant and take a look,” she says. “Maybe we find something. Or someone.”
I arch my eyebrows. “Down there? With his guys posted? Just because we can’t see more doesn’t mean they’re not there.”
“Yeah, but it’s dark and the guards probably aren’t that close by. We can try to sneak inside.”
I should talk her out of it. Marco would have a heart attack if he knew. But Amalia’s already zipping her bag.
“Of course,” she adds, “if we see danger, we’ll just go back. But if there’s a chance to get in, I’ll take it.”
The fire escape groans as we go down, and we cut around the long way through the back streets to make sure no one sees us. The alley behind the restaurant is narrow and dark. No guard back here, which either means we got lucky, or there’s nothing interesting actually inside. Who knows why the guards might besticking around? It could be for some other reason not related to the meeting.
Amalia presses herself against the wall by the door and tips her head at the lock. “Can you open it?”
I crouch and take a look at it. It’s nothing fancy, so I look around the alley for a piece of metal or something I can use to pick it. When I find it, I focus on the lock.
“Do you actually know how to do that, or are you only going to scratch at it?” Amalia asks.
“Not my first time,” I say as I carefully push the metal inside.
After a few tries, it actually works and the door unlocks.
“Not bad.” She actually sounds impressed, and I’m more pleased with myself than I should be.