The Business Arrangement | Mafia Romance 18+

Chapter Ten: The King (Part 1/🔥spicy-adjacent)

POV: Maya 

I still haven't decided how best to confront Henry by the time we reach the apartment.

Should I just come out and say it?

Or should I try to ask him again what he does for work?

He holds open the door for me to enter the penthouse. I try not to let my hands shake as I make my way in and to the couch.

Better to sit down for a conversation like this, right?

The sharp click of a lock startles me into action, and I take a seat on the cold leather couch.

The same couch Henry and I...

Never mind. Probably best not to think about that right now.

Henry slides the chain lock on the door into place as well, and my nerves grow in intensity.

A harmless gesture on his part, surely.

And yet, I can't help feeling like by locking the door, he's also locking me inside.

If I need to run out of here, I won't likely have time to undo both locks before Henry can reach me.

He turns slowly to face me, and I change my mind about sitting down.

"Are you thirsty? I'm thirsty," I stammer, shooting to my feet.

Henry watches me walk to the kitchen without a word, though he eventually follows.

Hands shaking slightly, I fix myself a glass of water, then drain it.

When I turn back to the living room, Henry is standing in the way. His cold blue eyes reveal no emotion. No sign of what he's thinking. He simply waits.

For what, I'm not quite sure.

"I think I'll take a shower," I squeak, in an effort to delay the inevitable, I suppose.

I make to move past Henry, but his words stop me in my tracks.

"Aren't you going to ask me?"

I turn, trying to ignore my pounding heart, and face him head on. His eyes flash briefly to my lips, then back to my face. My heart rate increases by a thousand.

"Ask you what?"

Henry sighs, as if disappointed.

Slowly, he removes the silver Rolex from his wrist and sets it on the kitchen counter.

The movement sends chills down my spine. Out of anticipation or fear, I'm not quite sure.

"Ask me," he says softly, "about your conversation with Sofia Vitale."

My heart stops.

Everything stops.

I can't breathe, can't even muster the words to respond.

I just stare at Henry, mouth agape, for what seems like ages.

Then, slowly, my common sense returns to me. Along with my ability to speak.

"You knew," I hiss, realization dawning on me at last. "You knew Sofia would tell me who you were, and you let it happen."

"Did I?"

He shrugs out of his jacket, revealing two twin pistols strapped beneath his arms. Stark black against his starched white dress shirt. Another blatant flaunting of the knowledge he's kept hidden from me.

To my surprise, I recognize them as the same type of gun he had in the hotel. In my foggy, drug-hungover state of mind, it somehow didn't occur to me that having a gun on him was anything but normal. It was Mississippi, after all.