Maria
Luckily, I have the address etched in my memory. Larissa and Naomi look skeptical when we pull up to the shabby walkup with neon signs in the dusty windows, but I sigh with relief. I just have to ditch them, and then I’m free.
Mercy’s back is to me when I enter, but the bald bartender stares hard as we walk in. His eyes widen for a moment when he sees us, but he points to a table near the door anyway. My sneakers bounce against the tiled floor as we take our seats. From the corner of my eye, I notice the bald guy call Mercy over to the bar. He extends his index finger slowly, and hell comes swooping down on me.
Mercy storms over to the table, her teeth grinding and steam coming out of her ears. “Where the hell have you been?”
Larissa and Naomi exchange a startled look as Mercy goes on a rant worthy of reality TV.
“You just disappeared and didn’t come back? What the fuck is wrong with that? Your da – oww!” She leaps back and then glares at me. “Did you just kick me?”
“Is something wrong?”
Mercy finally turns her attention to Larissa and glares. In my mind, I know that Mercy will have no problem taking Larissa in a straight-up fight. But Larissa is the beloved sister of a vicious crime boss who just walked unscathed out of exploding buildings.
And I don’t intend to get my cousin killed.
I jump up, putting my hand on my stomach. “Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom.”
I run toward the back of the bar and down the dark hallway that leads to the bathrooms. I’m 100 percent sure that Mercy is right behind me. I push the door open, and she races toward me-ready to shout. I place my hand over her mouth and hold it there tight.
“Mercy, I don’t have any time to explain,” I hiss. “I need a phone … any phone. I need to tell Dad that I’m safe and warn him.”
She pulls my hand off her mouth. “What are you going on about, Marie? Your dad is in the city looking for you. Where have you been?” Her eyes widen when she spots my finger. “And what is that?”
“The gallery that blew up last week? Belongs to the guy who kidnapped me.” I cut her off. “There’s a lot of shit happening right now, and I need you to listen!”
Mercy freezes long enough that when Larissa walks into the room, there is silence. Nothing suspicious is going on. I glance at Mercy’s hair and hope Larissa doesn’t notice the resemblance.
“Is everything all right?” asks Larissa calmly, her eyes never leaving Mercy.
Mercy huffs and places her fists on her hips. “I hired this girl, and she disappeared on me.” She gives me a dirty look. “And how do you still not have a phone?”
I look at my feet. “I told you I lost it.”
Larissa steps between us. “Maybe we should eat somewhere else, Maria.”
Mercy opens the door to the bathroom and yells down the hall at the waiter, “Three menus. Table four.” Mercy smiles at Larissa, but it looks painful. “We have a table ready for you, ladies. You won’t find better burgers or margaritas anywhere other than Somewhere.”
I don’t know what to say or do.
Mercy straightens her shoulders and walks ahead of us. “Look, all I’m saying is no hard feelings. Give me your address, and I’ll mail you the day’s pay. Honest pay for a less than honest day’s work.”
Larissa pauses long enough to stare at Mercy, and Mercy gives back exactly what she receives. As soon as Mercy is out of earshot, Larissa approaches me. “We should eat somewhere else. I don’t want that woman harassing you.”
A sick feeling slides down into my gut. “Okay. I just wanted to apologize to her. She was really cool when I got here. I don’t like treating people the way I treated her. Disappearing and all that.”
I stare hard into Larissa’s eyes, hoping she will say something or at least stop pretending that her brother and I are a normal couple.
Larissa’s smooth forehead is marred with a frown but only briefly. “It’s late,” she says. “Why don’t we head home and eat there?”
In silence, we leave the hallway and return to our table. Naomi is on her second drink, an empty cocktail glass by her elbow. A pink concoction with a piece of dragon fruit stuck to the rim is pressed against her lips.
Mercy stands behind the bar, watching, but says nothing when we stand up to leave. With a sharp gaze, she watches Larissa approach her and straightens her back as if she’s ready to dig into the other woman.
Larissa holds out her credit card. “We’ve changed our minds. This is for the drinks.”
Mercy rolls her eyes until she catches sight of the card. She reads it and her face pales under the dim lights. It’s the only time I’ve seen her look like this. She waves the card away.
“It’s all good,” she stammers. “Drinks are on the house. Apologies for yelling earlier.”
Larissa smiles sweetly, but I notice the cold gaze in her eyes that makes her look so much like Mikhail. “Good.”
The bar is stone quiet; only the faint sounds of a Mets game can be heard in the background. Larissa waits for Mercy to make eye contact. And when she does, Larissa’s smile drops slightly. But she doesn’t say another word.
Something is going on. Does Mercy know who Larissa is?
I hate being kept in the dark.
My heart pounds as I sit in the back of the chauffeured Mercedes. We’re heading back to the most spectacular prison in Manhattan, and all I want is to be back in the bathroom of that rundown bar. I close my eyes and recall the alarmed expression in Mercy’s eyes.
She knows something.
And if Dad’s in the city, then he’ll know too.
I just hope I didn’t make a mistake.
For all their sakes.