Page 31 of The Don
Ruben and I walk in, and Ruben pulls out a seat for me before he sits opposite. “Bring us a bottle of wine.”
“Water for me, please,” I say in a small voice as not to humiliate Ruben. Last time I said that to him, I ended up with a split lip because I embarrassed him with my insolence.
Ruben lifts his hand to stop the host. “Water, and I’ll have a coffee.”
“Yes, sir.”
The host leaves, and I look around the room. “I’m so sorry,” I say as I sit on my trembling hands.
“Why are you apologizing?”
“I shouldn’t have disrespected you.”
Ruben’s eyes are focused on mine as he intakes a sharp breath. “You didn’t disrespect me just because you wanted water.”
“I’m sorry,” I find myself apologizing for apologizing. I push up off the chair about to burst into tears. “Excuse me.” I’m such a damned idiot.
“Where are you going?”
“Bathroom,” I say as my voice breaks.
“Dante,” Ruben calls.
“I’ll find it.” I shake my hand at him as I back out of the room. I look up and down the hallway and see a sign indicating the bathrooms. I walk in, run the water, and splash it on my face. I reach down for Storm, but he’s back in the dining room. I look into the mirror and shake my head. “What is wrong with you?” I bring my hand up and smack my temple a few times. “He’s not him,” I say as I keep looking at my reflection.
The door opens and a young woman enters. She looks me up and down and steps toward me. “Are you okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, I am.” I try to placate her with a kind smile.
She heads into the cubicle, leaving me to gather myself before I have to head back to the table. Once she’s finished, she opens the door and stands beside me at the other basin. “You could always leave,” she says as she washes her hands and looks in the mirror.
“Sorry?” I narrow my eyes as I lock onto hers in the reflection.
She turns to face me, and I mimic her posture. She shoves her hand in her pocket and forces something in my hand. “You’re not his wife, and lying to the FBI is a federal offence. You don’t have spousal privilege.” I skim the card looking for her name, but I’m nervous and can’t seem to focus on anything but the letters FBI. “You don’t have to keep apologizing to a man like Ruben Sacco. He doesn’t deserve your apology.” How the hell does she know I’ve apologized to him? Shit. I push past her and she grabs my upper arm to stop me from leaving. “Be smart, Eliza or you’re going to end up in prison, like Ruben, Dominic and your sister.” I forcefully shrug out of her grip. “Be smart,” she warns as I open the door and head back to the table.
“Amorina,” Ruben says when I burst into the dining room.
I walk over to him, throw my arms around him and push my body into his. Ruben’s arms clamp around my body, holding me close to him. I whisper into his ear, “The room is bugged.”
Ruben doesn’t move or attempt to push me off of him, but I pull back and gesture for him to give me his phone. He uses his face to unlock it, opens a notes app, and gives me the phone. I type out, I was accosted by the FBI in the bathroom. I show him the message, and hand him the card the woman gave to me.
He reads the message, takes the card, and opens the door to find Dante standing guard. He hands the card to Dante and points toward the bathroom.
Dante mouths, “Fuck.” Dante looks at me, the card, and down the hallway.
“Amorina,” Ruben says and extends his hand for me to take.
I link my fingers with his, and we leave the way we came in. The host attempts to talk to us, but Ruben is moving with purpose toward the cars. “Storm,” I say once in the car.
Storm jumps in and climbs over me to sit against the door, forcing me to sit in the middle again. The car takes off with speed causing the tires to squeal on the road. “What happened?” Ruben asks.
Storm repositions himself up against me. “I didn’t say anything,” I say to Ruben. “I promise, I didn’t say a single thing.” I stare at him, silently begging, hoping he believes me.
He lifts his arm to drape over my shoulders as he pulls me into his side. He kisses my temple and tightens his arm around me. “Of course, you didn’t.”
“You believe me?” I ask, looking up into his dark eyes.
“There’s no reason for me not to, but I do need to know what happened. Everything, and don’t leave anything out.”