"Yes."
"You're a member of a social club."
"Yes."
"Is that a euphemism? Like a gentleman's club?"
"No, no strippers. No women at all, generally, although sometimes they bend the rules. It's more of an exclusive hangout that you need membership to get into."
"And what do you do there?"
"Socialize," I say. "Drink."
Conduct business.
Plot schemes.
"So it's a special kind of club," she reiterates. "Where you drink and hang out with other men like you."
"Essentially."
"You know that sounds a lot like a gay bar, right?"
Laughing, I cut my eyes at her. "I suppose, when you put it that way, but it doesn't really matter what it sounds like. It is what it is."
She shrugs, looking away from me to gaze out the window. "Can I see it?"
"See what?"
"Cobalt."
"Uh, like I said, women aren't generally allowed…"
"I don't want to go in," she says. "I just… I want to see where you were... where it happened."
I don't have a response for that.
I'm not sure why it matters.
Neither of us says much else on the ride into the city. She eventually pulls out her phone, swiping her finger across the cracked screen to send colorful birds flying through the air at little green pigs.
She needs a new phone. I'm not sure how much longer that one's going to survive. As much as she drops it, I'm surprised the thing still even works.
I don't know why I'm doing it, but I drive straight to Cobalt to satisfy her curiosity. I pull through the alley, into the back lot, and swing the car around, idling there. There's no sign outside, nothing to indicate what the building is. "Cobalt."
Karissa's brow furrows, and I can see she has more questions as she turns from the building to look out the side window. "So it happened here?"
"What?"
"This is where you were shot."
"Oh." I glance around. "Yeah, over by the light."
She nods, looking at the light for a moment before turning back to me, offering a small smile. "Thanks."
I don't dawdle, putting the car into drive again to leave. I pull out of the lot and hit the breaks when I reach the end of the alley. I'm about to merge into traffic when a sleek black limo swerves like it's going to pull in beside me, instead coming to a stop near the entrance, blocking my exit.
My stomach sinks, my insides coiling as I grip the steering wheel tighter at the sight of it.
Ray.
He gets out from the back of the limo, holding the door open after him for Brandy, apparently trailing along yet again. Ray shuts the door after she steps out, his gaze shifting my way, eyes meeting mine. He looks as if he's going to walk away, to let the fact that I've avoided him slide, until he takes a look at my passenger seat and his expression shifts.
Shit.
Ray hesitates, his arm around Brandy, his focus going from Karissa back to me. Leaning over, he whispers something into his girlfriend's ear, her face perking up when she looks at my car. She starts waving frantically, excitedly. I just sit there. From the corner of my eye, I see Karissa offering them a slight wave.
That's the only invitation the blonde needs.
Brandy rushes over to the car, motioning for Karissa to put down the window, but she doesn't move. Begrudgingly, I lower it for her, my eyes fixed on Ray as the man slowly strolls over to join his girlfriend.
Brandy starts rambling, endless, pointless chatter. Hey! What are you doing? How are you doing? Where are you going? Karissa stammers through answers, offering what little she can, what little she knows, as Ray stiffly nods to me. "Vitale."
I return his nod, not saying anything.
"Ray and I were just going to grab something to eat," Brandy says. "You guys should have lunch with us. What do you say?" Before either of us can respond, she turns to Ray, grasping his arm, a hopeful look on her face. "What do you think, Ray?"
"I don't know, Baby Doll." He lets out a deep sigh, eyes fixed squarely on my face. "I'm sure Vitale has better things to do today."
I still say nothing.
It's a test; I'm sure of it. A test as to whether or not I'll prioritize him, if I'll put the man who's like a father to me, the organization that made me a wealthy man, a family that saved my skin time and time again, above everything else going on in my life.
I want to.
I should.
Even when I had nothing, when everything good had been torn away, leaving a gaping void of blackness, one thing persevered: my loyalty. I dedicated what was left of me, every last fiber of my being, to the man in front of me, to honor his bloodline, to make right how they were wronged.
I should park the car right now, get out and go have lunch with the man who picked me up when I hit bottom, who gave me purpose to keep on living. I don't go to church, I don't even know if I believe in a just God, but I always believed in Raymond Angelo.
He was my savior.
But now I'm starting to lose faith in him, too.
Tempted by the evil beside me, the original sin… my forbidden fruit. I took a bite of her on a whim and realized, despite what the world led me to believe, she wasn't rotten to the core. He wants me to toss her aside, throw her away, let her decay into the ground where he thinks she's meant to be, but I'm not sure anything else could ever sustain me.
I drank from the Holy Grail.
He's not taking that away.
My gaze shifts from Ray to Karissa, who sits quietly beside me, hands folded in her lap. As deep as my loyalty runs to the Angelo family, something brews even deeper, something so strong it momentarily startles me.
The love I have for this woman.
A woman who's finally giving me the time of day again.
I look back at Ray, and I still say nothing, but I don't have to. He sees it in my eyes. I know he does, because I see it in his, too. I see the sense of betrayal he's starting to feel, chipping away at our allegiance.
"Another time then," Ray says, taking a step back, pulling Brandy with him before she can object. "Do what you gotta do, Vitale."
I watch as he backs up, serious eyes fixed on me for a moment, before he finally turns around. Sighing deeply, I close my eyes as I shake my head, before brushing it off. I can feel the tension in my muscles, tension him retreating won't ease.
I should've gone with him.
I should've picked loyalty.
But I couldn't, not this time.
I failed his test.
"Where to now?" I ask Karissa, reopening my eyes. "Anymore suggestions?"