Mafia: Neo Zone ► Lucas Wong ◄

Chapter 15 - Best Friend → 119 ✔

I opened the door slowly, trying to school my expression so Heidi wouldn't suspect there was anything wrong. She gave me a slightly odd look when she saw me, and I thought my pretenses were for nothing, but then she smiled quickly.

"If you guys are ready, we can leave now." She said.

"Let me just get my shoes on." Aaron's voice sounded childish and foolish again, and I struggled to hide my shudder at the sound. "Thank you so much for the change of clothes, too!" I could hear him stumbling about behind me, and my gaze shifted to the carpet beneath my feet. "I was a bit worried I'd have to try to wear damp clothes on the car ride back."

"It was the least we could do." Heidi's voice was the epitome of grace. "Are you sure you have everything you need?"

I could feel her gaze on me, but I didn't trust my voice to answer her. If I opened my mouth, I might accidentally spill the truth, and everything would be horribly ruined. Thankfully, the memory of Aaron's gun placed so neatly and menacingly in his coat pocket put a spell on my mouth and kept it clamped shut.

"I put all of our belongings into the bag you sent up with our clothes, so that should be it." I felt Aaron's presence right behind me and fought the urge to flinch away. "You'll have to forgive her silence: she didn't sleep well last night. It's probably the excitement of finally being able to go back home."

"Yes, I'm sure it is." Heidi sounded doting as though she'd never met someone she thought was as stupid as Aaron. "There definitely wouldn't be any other reason for her sleeplessness."

I looked up at her, knowing she knew exactly what had caused my sleepless night. As if she had barely spared Aaron more than a cursory glance, she was still staring at me, and I quickly looked away again. The car ride back to the apartment was going to be torturous.

"All right, let's go, princess." Aaron took my hand and pulled me out of the room.

Though the act would appear to an outsider to be a loving husband caring for his wife, the way his fingers tightened painfully around my hand said something else entirely. He was warning me to improve my act in order to avoid suspicion and reminding me that it wasn't an empty threat. I straightened slightly, but honestly, knowing what she knew, Heidi wouldn't expect me to be bounding around with excitement.

With a last glance at the two of us, Heidi turned and led the way down the hallway. When we reached the lobby, a hint of fear welled within me. What if Lucas was there to bid a final farewell? He would immediately be able to see through my act, and then all hell would break loose. Every muscle in my body tensed, and unwittingly, I held my breath as Heidi led us toward the front door.

A tiny part of me wished he would be there just so I could see his face one last time. It would have given me the necessary courage to make it through this mess, but he wasn't there. Fresh air struck me in the face, bringing clarity with it. As comforting as it would be to have Lucas by my side right now, it would only prove disastrous, because I couldn't guarantee he would catch on before Aaron put a bullet through him.

The beep of the car as Heidi unlocked it pulled me fiercely back to reality, and I clenched my teeth. Aaron pulled me into the backseat with him, keeping my hand securely in his, and I sucked in a shuddering breath. It wouldn't be that much longer now.

"Hopefully, we're leaving early enough to avoid most of the traffic, but it might be a bit of a drive regardless." Heidi shot me a glance through the rearview mirror.

"That's all right." Aaron said. "We're just glad to be on our way home, aren't we, Sweetness?" His voice was dripping with honey, and I wanted to gag at the sound but held myself back.