Mafia and His Dangerous Angel

Chapter 6: Grace

In the end, I ended up staying with Devon. I didn’t want to because it seemed like he had his hands full with his girlfriend, Shelia, but he easily kicked her to the curb for now. I nervously sat in the empty living room, staring at my phone in hand. Devon had left to drop Shelia off, but the feeling of being watched kept growing by the second. Did Devon have cameras? I glanced around his apartment, trying to see if I could see any lenses, but nothing popped out at me.

I dropped my head in my hands and let out a quiet sob. I’m paranoid now. The PTSD is kicking my ass to the point where I’ve let my guard down. I couldn’t believe I let that prick get close to me. I can’t believe I didn’t see him and didn’t try to catch him or even alert the police. I stiffened as a cell phone went off, but it wasn’t mine. I glanced down the hall where the bedrooms were. Did Devon forget his cell phone? Maybe Shelia did?

I quickly hurried down the hallway and opened the door to what I assumed was Devon’s room. A California king bed sat in the middle of the room on a platform. The patio doors were open, blowing the curtains in. Maybe he sleeps with them open? The ringing stopped. I hurried over to the bedside table, but no phone was there, not even in the drawer. I frowned, glancing at the other side of the bed, but there was only one side table. My heart rate went through the roof.

The ringing started again, but this time, I heard it coming from the closet. I narrowed my eyes, trying to calm myself down to think logically. I was in the military for f**k’s sake, I shouldn’t be this spooked. Taking a deep breath, I cautiously approached the closet. The ringing grew louder, so I knew I was spot on. With a shift movement, I swung open the closet door, revealing a phone on the upper shelf going off. It didn’t look like Devon’s usual iPhone. I quickly grabbed it and pressed answer.

“Hello?” I said into the phone.

There was complete silence at first. I said ‘hello’ again and then ‘click’! I frowned down at the phone. Upon closer inspection, it was a Motorola. Maybe it’s his backup cell in case something happens.

There was no lock on the phone, which I thought was insane. I’m guessing that he didn’t think anyone would find it. I opened the main screen to see that the messaging app had 2 missed calls and 3 new messages, all from the same number. I quickly memorized it and made a mental note to run a search for it later. Opening the messages, my stomach did a small flip.

All of the messages had been previously deleted, but today’s were still present;

‘I f****d up. She wants nothing to do with me now. What’s the next move?’ Devon texted the number.

‘We had a deal. Keep your promise, or I’ll break mine.’ The mystery person responded.

There were no other text messages except one sent about an hour ago. It was while Devon was getting dressed and telling Shelia she had to leave. A knot formed in my stomach as I read the message, ‘Deal is back on. She’s here with me. When do you want to collect?’ There were no other messages after that, but that’s when the calls started to come in.

I couldn’t shake the feeling of dread creeping up my back. Who the hell was Devon talking about, and what kind of f*****g game was he playing? I grabbed my phone and took pictures of the conversation as evidence. Just how deep was Devon in this s**t, and what does he mean when he said ‘collect’? I quickly put the phone back on the shelf and closed everything. I retreated from the room and thought for a moment.

I needed to leave now! I shouldn’t be here when he comes back. I grabbed my car keys tightly, dragging my feet to the door. I can’t drive my car. Devon will just tell whoever is looking for me the make and model. He can get the license plate number from the front desk as well. f**k! I couldn’t stay at my place either. Panic slowly began to set in.

I slammed my head against the wall. I need to calm down and think! Think, Grace! How the hell can I get out of this? I stuck my hand in my cargo pants pocket, and something scrapped against my knuckles. I plucked it out of my pocket to see Nico’s business card. I bit the bottom of my lip. Maybe he’ll know what to do. I took a few deep breaths, walking out of Devon’s apartment while punching in Nico’s number. I realized I had called his business number when it didn’t pick up after the first few rings. I swallowed hard, making my way outside through the alley entrance while calling his personal number.

After two rings, a very annoyed, raspy voice answered, “Hello?”

I swallowed my pride, “I need to speak with Nico.”

There was silence for a moment, and then another voice said, “This is Nico. Who am I speaking with?”

“It’s Grace. I need your help.”

Some more silence, and then, “Meet me at Minnie’s café on 6th Street.” Click!

Thankfully, I wasn’t too far from 6th street. Minnie’s café was the place my old caseworker used to take me for lunch or dinner whenever I switched families or came back from court. I used the alleys to navigate through the city to Minnie’s. I didn’t want to be seen if someone was watching for me. I was thankful that I had grabbed my hoodie before leaving the house. I yanked it on and pulled the hood up, covering my face the best I could. I looked like a drug dealer, but at least I wouldn’t get recognized right away.

Minnie’s wasn’t packed like it usually was, but then again, it is close to midnight. I swallowed hard, glancing up and down the street before hurrying across the street. Angie, a waitress who has been working here for ages, greeted me with a smile. Her once bright red hair was now a little orange with silver shining through her ponytail. The crinkles around her deep green eyes as she smiled told me she recognized me.

“It’s been a long time, kid. Just you?” Her southern accent was soothing.

I swallowed hard, “I’m meeting some… friends.” I said, my heart was pounding so fast I bet she could hear it.

“Pick a table.” She said, gesturing around her, “I’ll bring by some menus and water in a minute.”

I nodded and made my way to the back corner so I could watch the exits just in case anything happened. Minutes passed, and still nothing. I was getting antsy. Angie had brought over water for me and a piece of peach cobbler, my favorite.

“I remember that it was your favorite. I haven’t seen you in a while. I had thought the worst for a while now.” Angie said, sitting down across from me.

I lowered my hood, smiling back at her, “I ended up joining the army as soon as could.”

“WOW!” She said, practically jumping in her seat, “Thank you for your service! I didn’t even know.”

I shrugged, “I didn’t really want anyone from home knowing.”

She nodded with a sad look, “I understand, sweetheart.” She reached across the table and patted my hand, “I’m glad you're back, though, and you're safe. You deserve a happy life.”

I laughed in my head but smiled outwards, “Thanks, Angie. How are the kids?”

Angie pulled out her phone and showed me some pictures of her kids. They had the same flaming red hair as her. She showed me baby pictures and current pictures of them as an adult. She talked about her marriage and her divorce. She talked about getting promoted at work. We were talking about her boyfriend and how he takes such good care of her when Nico and his men walked in. The old man in front gasped and hunched over like he didn’t want to be seen either.

Nico gestured to his men to sit at other tables in the cafe before coming over. Angie raised her eyebrows at me, "Friends, huh?"

Nico smirked, "For now." He sat down where Angie had been. He waited until she was out of earshot before turning to me, "I didn't think that we would be meeting so soon, honey."

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, "What do you know about Devon?"