Blood in the Golden Palace

Chapter 11: Angelo-3

“Two days.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.”

“Angelo.”

“Yeah?”

“Do not let your guard down. Around them or the girl.”

“Goodnight, Pop.” Angelo hung up the phone and ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t intended to let anyone in on Penny’s presence except Hank. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, this complicated things. Turning back to the bed, his anxieties were put aside for now, and he approached. “Is the mouse sleepy?” Penny nodded. Angelo glanced down at her fully clothed body. “Why not take off your shoes and your jeans? They can’t be comfortable to sleep in.”

“Mmm.”

“Do you want some help?”

“Mm-hm.”

Angelo unlaced her sneakers and tossed them aside. After that, he sat on the edge of the bed and started to unbutton her jeans. Once she was unzipped, Angelo turned his head, letting her shimmy out of them on her own. Angelo tucked her in, and Penny’s heavy eyes lifted to him with a smile. “You…”

“Me?”

“You’re…mmmm…you’re bad.”

Angelo chuckled. “Bad, huh?”

“Yeah. You’re a…a bad guy.”

“Is that right?”

Penny nodded. “A bad guy. You do bad things. And you hurt people.”

Angelo’s smile was starting to fall. She wasn’t wrong. “I guess I am,” he said quietly. Penny reached out and took Angelo’s hand.

“You’re bad,” she repeated. “So then…how come you’re so good?”

Now that he was not expecting. For a moment, he could only stare, letting the question linger between them. Fortunately, he didn’t need to answer. Mere moments after Penny asked, her eyelids drooped, and she fell asleep. Hard. Angelo pulled his hand from her limp grasp, though he did not stand from the bed. Reaching out, he tenderly tucked a tuft of hair out of her soft face. Freckles, faded from days of youth, were now prominent in the amber lamp light. Though his father’s words still rang in his ears, Angelo leaned down to give her temple a long, gentle kiss.

With that, Angelo left the room, deciding he needed a few drinks at the hotel bar.

* * * *

There were plenty of similarities between Los Vet and Santa Notte. Both cities were major metropolitan areas surrounded by little to no contemporaries. Both purported residency in the millions, and both were in direct competition for the most fruitful criminal enterprise. Hotels, casinos, restaurants, mass entertainment; it was difficult to find a single major retail front without the Corsettis’ influence. Growing up, Angelo was always told that Los Vet had eyes of their enemies in the very walls of the city. Now as an adult, Angelo wasn’t completely sure it was an exaggeration. Fortunately, Angelo had Penny. As Neanderthal as it sounded, being in the company of a woman was a perfect shield from suspicion.

“Oh!” Penny stepped away from Angelo’s side to press her face against a bakery window. They were in the more touristy part of town, as Angelo was determined to give Penny a little room to stretch her legs. Hands to the glass, she watched as confectioners finished up a batch of chocolate sweets. Penny nibbled at her bottom lip mindlessly, and Angelo checked the building. The Amber Gate casino and resort. Angelo searched his memory, but couldn’t determine whether or not it was part of the Corsettis’ influence. It seemed sterile enough.

“What even are those?” Penny asked. Angelo turned his attention to the bakery display. It looked like the bakers were creating some kind of chocolate sphere, brushed on with gold leaf and far too many embellishments.

“Could be little cakes,” Angelo theorized. “Or maybe truffles?”

“They look delicious,” Penny swooned.

“You want one?”

“Huh?” Penny turned to him. Her trademark sheepishness was already settling on her face. “Oh no, that’s all right. They’re probably way too expens—” Penny stopped talking as Angelo took her hand. Without shame or prompting, he walked her through the door of the Amber Gate café and right up to the counter. The part time girl at the register smiled politely.

“Good afternoon, how can I help you?”

“Hi, I was wondering what the bakers were making in the window.”

“They’re just finishing up a batch of raspberry mousse truffle cakes. I think a few are ready. Would you like one?”

Angelo turned to Penny with a smile. “Well? Would we like one?” Pink as a peach, Penny nodded. “I’ll take one of those and a cup of coffee. Light roast, please.”

“Of course, sir. Room for cream?”

“No thanks.” After paying the bill without a thought, Angelo handed Penny her treat, and they found a table by the window. Penny took her plastic spoon and prodded at it, almost afraid to break the shell. “Well don’t just look at it. Go on.”

Penny beamed. She scooped up a chunk of the cake and took a bite. Her eyes closed and she sighed through her nose in satisfaction. Angelo watched with what he could only hope was an unassuming expression. Though he almost couldn’t be blamed for watching Penny with desire; good food was like an orgasm. Now that Angelo had seen the real thing, he had a comparison, and Penny’s face wasn’t much different in either situation.

“Do you want a bite?”

Of you or the cake? “Sure.” Angelo took a spare spoon and helped himself to a bite. Beneath the chocolate shell was a vanilla sponge cake, covered in raspberry mousse and chocolate swirls. The whole thing was decadence at its finest. “It’s really good.”

“It is.” Penny took another bite. She glanced out the window beside their table. Her face softened as sunlight glinted delicately in her pale eyes. “Thank you.”

“Hmm?”

“For letting me come with. I know you didn’t have to, but it means a lot.”

Angelo’s smile strained. “Don’t thank me just yet,” he said, sipping his coffee. “So. We have a whole day to ourselves. Shopping, food, dancing, you name it. What are you up for?”

“Oh gosh…” Penny fiddled with her napkin. “I don’t know. There’s so much to do, I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

“Well why don’t we start here?” Angelo gestured behind him at the café. “A lot of casino resorts have things like malls and restaurants. Could be fun to do a little exploring.”

“Do you think this place has a bookstore?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Once Penny was done with her cake, and Angelo with his coffee, they headed further into the Amber Gate. First, they crossed the carpeted main hall of the casino, weaving in and out of flashing lights and relentless jingles of the machines. Beyond the threshold, they came to a corridor leading down to an underground mall. Penny first gravitated toward a souvenir shop, attracted to the baubles and weird trinkets on display, and took particular exception to a pair of gaudy, plastic sunglasses in the shape of snake eye dice. Further in, they came to a small clothing outlet, a fast food restaurant, an arcade, a bar and lounge, a candy shop, a few more souvenir stalls, and a convenience store. Pausing there, Angelo stepped in to grab a fresh pack of cigarettes.

“I guess they don’t have a bookstore.” He went to the counter and handed the pack to the cashier. “Sorry, Penny. We can check somewhere else.”

“You folks are looking for a bookstore?” the cashier asked.

Penny looked up, hopeful. “Yeah,” she said. “I was hoping to find one here…”

“Yeah, books don’t sell that well in a casino,” the clerk continued. “But there’s a huge one down in the red district.”

Penny lit up. “How huge?”

“Oh man, like, massive huge. It’s three stories. And it’s got a big used section, too, so you never know what you’ll find. It’s called The Shelf. It’s on the corner of Elm and Fifth. Crazy old brick building, you can’t miss it.”

Bright eyed, Penny rounded to Angelo. “Can we go check it out?” But Angelo was not nearly as eager as his companion. Paying for his smokes, he thanked the clerk and stepped away.

“I don’t know if that’s a great idea, Penny.”

Penny’s face fell. “What? Why not?”

Angelo stopped out in the corridor. “He said it was in the red district. Los Vet’s red district isn’t a place for tourists. It’s a really shady part of town. I’d rather not take you somewhere so dangerous.”

“Oh…” Her shoulders slumped, and she wrung her hands behind her back. “I see.”

Angelo tried to ignore the knife twisting in his gut. “We can go check other places a little closer,” he said, trying to lift her spirits. “There are plenty of places to shop downtown. We might find something there instead.”

Penny looked up. The disappointment in her eyes was palpable, but she forced a smile anyway. “Okay,” she said. “Whatever you think is best.”

“Come on, don’t look so sad.”

“I’m not sad.”

“Yes you are. You’ve got those big puppy eyes.”

“They’re just my eyes.”

“I’m telling you, the red district is really sketchy.”

“I know. I believe you.”

“Well then don’t—”

“Don’t what? I’m not doing anything.”

“Yeah but you’ve got that face.”

“What’s wrong with my face?”

Angelo stopped before he could push forward. All this back and forth was adding to the distress in Penny’s expression. Angelo put his hands on his hips and tapped his foot. He and Penny stared each other down, either waiting for the other to budge. Angelo took a deep breath through his nose and closed his eyes. “If we go,” he said, “you have to promise to stay in my sight at all times.”

Like a switch was flipped, Penny’s joy rekindled. “Promise!”

“No running off, no getting lost.”

“Absolutely!”

“And if I say it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”

“No problem!”

What was that Pop said about her handling me? “All right. I’ll give Hank a text. He’ll be our chaperon.” Angelo pulled his phone from his pocket and brought up Hank’s info, when he felt Penny’s arms wrap around his middle, hugging him tightly. Angelo’s trepidation subsided just enough for him to affectionately pet her earthy red hair.

Hank arrived not long after in their rental car. Driving through the city, Penny kept her window down, letting the cold air splash across her freckled face. It was twenty minutes of traffic before they came upon the red district. Far from the eyes of Los Vet’s tourist population, the streets were left to ruin beneath trash and grime. Homeless tents popped up along back alleys and narrow walkways. What trees the area did have were bare bones and wilting. A few store fronts were boarded up with plywood, with signs condemning the area to prevent squatters. Angelo leaned over.

“Penny, are you sure you want to find this bookstore?” he asked. “This really isn’t a great area. We can still turn around.”

But Penny only shrugged. “Looks fine to me.”

“Are you serious?”

“There it is!” Ignoring Angelo’s question entirely, Penny poked her head out of the window in awe. Angelo followed her eyes. Indeed, there was a bookstore named “The Shelf.” Built from old, crumbling brick, bushels of ivy crawled up the north side, nearly blocking off every window with vivid green foliage. The signage itself was falling apart, rusted from shoddy weather and the unforgiving treatment of time. Once they were out, Hank drove off to park, and Penny skipped her way in through the massive, oak doors in the front. Once she was inside, she froze in her tracks.

The clerk had not exaggerated when he said that The Shelf was huge. The whole building was open in the middle, with its two upper floors acting more as balconies with bookshelves and tables. A maze of display shelves stretched from wall to wall on the ground floor, and in more than a few corners, Angelo spotted displays of local art for sale. Along with its catalog of books for sale were shelves upon shelves of crafting materials, art supplies, stationary, records, DVD’s, kitschy souvenirs, kitchen equipment, and even a snack aisle. Penny looked like she’d died and gone to heaven.