Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60700 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 304(@200wpm)___ 243(@250wpm)___ 202(@300wpm)
I sit at the bar and wait for Gina who had been promoted to working behind the bar instead of cocktail waitressing. Rather than come over, she sends one of the cocktail waitresses over to me with a Glen Livit, studiously avoiding my looks when I try to catch her eye.
I don’t care if I have to wait all night. The aggressive frustration I had the last time I tried to talk to her is now replaced by calm determination. I need to find Lexi, and Gina knows where she is. I'll figure out the right words to say to get her to open up.
It’s a sign of how loyal she is to her friend that she ignores me for an hour and a half, willing to put an end to my big tips. Willing to piss me off in an establishment where I pretty much rule the roost.
Finally, she makes the mistake of glancing at me, and I catch her gaze and motion her over. Her lips thin, but she comes over. “Another drink, Mr. Manghini?” she asks politely.
“Gina, hear me out. I fucked up with Lexi. I didn’t mean to hurt her, but I did.”
Some of Gina’s prickliness disappears. She’s paying attention. That’s the most I can ask for at this point.
“I would do anything and everything to make it up to her. I love her.”
That softens Gina completely. Her expression softens, and the stiffness leaves her chest.
“I think you know she cares about me, too. I’ll do whatever it takes to get her back—make whatever changes she wants. I know she told you not to tell me how to find her, but I am begging for your help right now. I can make her happy. And I won’t hurt her again. You have my word on that.”
Gina’s green eyes scan my face, warily. Then she shakes her head. “I can’t.” She pushes back from the bar.
“Wait!” I cover her hand with mine. “Please. Just give me a hint. Anything—I have to find her.”
Gina looks around the bar as if searching for the correct answer.
“Please, Gina. Do it for Lexi. I can make her happy. I’ll marry her if she wants. I would never hurt her. And if she hears me out and still wants nothing to do with me, I promise I’ll walk away and never bother either one of you again.”
I can see Gina crumbling.
“I know you want what’s best for her. That’s all I want, too. Even if that means a life without me. I just need to explain myself to her. Will you give me that chance? To try to make amends?”
“She said you’d be persuasive.” Gina still gazes past me, into the throng of people.
“If you don’t want to tell me where she’s living, call her and ask her to come down here. You can have your bouncers kick me out if she’s uncomfortable.”
Gina shakes her head. “She’s not afraid of you. She just doesn’t want to take you back.”
“I think she does,” I counter softly.
Gina meets my eye. She purses her lips. “Maybe you’re right,” she agrees.
I hold my breath.
She sighs. “She’s in Las Vegas,” she says. “She started that new job, and they sent her there to observe a workshop.”
“Where in Las Vegas?” I will get on a plane tonight. I don’t give a shit about the Feds or the IRS or any of it. The only thing that matters is seeing Lexi. Making her see what she means to me.
Gina shakes her head. “I don’t know where she’s saying in Vegas, but she flies back tomorrow morning. She’s staying with me until she finds a place to live.”
I don’t want to wait until tomorrow, but I’m also not going to make any more demands when I just got Gina to soften. I hand her my phone. “Text me your address? I’ll be respectful. I promise.”
She nibbles her lip for a moment then takes my phone and enters her address in a text. “I sent it to myself, so you have my number. Text first, okay?”
I slide a hundred dollar bill across the bar. I’m not paying her for the information, but she definitely deserves a tip now. “Thank you.”
As I walk out, my hands tighten into fists of determination. Lexi comes back tomorrow. One more day, and I’ll see her again.
Hold her again, as if there is a God.
I need to figure out what I can do to prove she meant everything to me.
Chapter Twenty-One
Lexi
I sit at a table in a small room facing two FBI agents who picked me up from the airport when I landed in Newark. My stomach’s in knots. My mouth dry.
“We’d like information on Bobby Manghini,” Agent Sully says.
I break out in a cold sweat. This is what Bobby was trying to protect me from when he told me not to call him at his home or office. Stupid me, I made myself a target.