Scene #108
Angelo cut the words from her lips with his icy stare. Even in the
dark car she could read his cue with pinpoint accuracy. What in
the hell have I gotten into? The window crank embedded in her upper
arm threatened to leave a permanent mark, but she remained immobile
against the door and wondered if leaping out of the car on the
expressway would give better odds of survival.
"You know how it is," Angelo bobbed his head and exchanged a
knowing look with Eddie, then turned to Maria and switched his tone
to a low whisper, "Why don’t you come away from the door, this is
not the time to make a scene."
Why don’t I come away from the door? Why don’t I just tell you and
your posse exactly where to go?
The words remained spinning inside her head. Angelo’s expressions
were ghetto, but his eyes spoke volumes about the precarious
situation, issuing a silent warning.
She peeled her skin away from the door and skittered across the car
seat until their bodies touched and his arm wrapped along the curve
of her shoulder. A new bead of sweat ran down the center of her
cleavage, melting into the stain spreading across the center of her
tank top.
"Oh, go on, kiss and make up already," Eddie grinned, flashing a
glint of gold in the upper corner of his mouth.
Could this guy get any more creepy?
"This isn’t a show Eddie," Angelo said, narrowing his eyes until
they almost appeared closed.
Dog collar boy took the hint and turned back around.
What was Angelo doing with these thugs? What was she doing with
these thugs? And where were these thugs taking them?
Against her better judgment, she got in the car only because the
meat-grinder told her that Lucy was going to be there. Maria
realized she still didn’t know the big guy’s name.
Angelo squeezed her shoulder in what she assumed to be a reassuring
gesture, but the move had the reverse effect. If he felt the need
to reassure her, then they must be stuck in an awfully bad
situation.
"Angelo," she whispered in a small voice, barely audible in the
gust of hot air rushing through the open care windows, "tell me—"
He silenced her with his lips, calling her to submission in more
ways than he intended. He released the pleasure, trailing a row of
soft kisses, until his mouth rested near the bottom of her earlobe,
"Not now. Don’t worry, just play along with me, okay?"
He nipped her ear and then brushed a trail back to her mouth. She
pushed away from him, needing to flee the fire he fanned with every
tease of his tongue. She wanted answers not a resurgence of her
repressed desires.
He pulled her back to him with an unexpected force, and whispered
with harsh finality, "For both our sake, and for Lucy, trust me."
Angelo relaxed his grip and settled back into the seat cushion.
Trust him? He had to be kidding. She hardly trusted herself.
