It’s late. Actually late, a couple of minutes earlier than midnight. I knock on Dominic’s door, my coronary heart racing in anticipation. A couple of seconds later, he opens it. “Gabby,” he greets me, his lips tilting up in a smile. “Come on in.”

I step inside. His eyes are shadowed, and his hair is tousled. “You look drained,” I inform him. “Lengthy day?”

He nods. “It was each busy and irritating.” He lifts his shoulders in a shrug. “Ah nicely. You win some, you lose some.”

“We might have taken a raincheck on hanging out.”

“We might have,” he agrees. His eyes relaxation on me. “However I wished to see you. I’m glad you’re right here.”

His phrases take my breath away. I’m so used to Manhattan, the place ladies outnumber guys two-to-one, and everybody likes to maintain their choices open and their emotions caged. Not so with Dominic. He’s a beautiful man, however much more importantly, he’s good. Direct. He doesn’t play video games. It’s stunning and refreshing on the identical time.

Carter comes out of the kitchen, wiping his fingers on a tea towel. “I bought takeout in case you had been hungry,” he says, pointing to the Styrofoam containers on the eating desk. “Do you want Thai?”

“I find it irresistible.” I give him a hopeful look. “Any pad thai?”

“And that settles the ‘I hope she isn’t allergic to peanuts’ debate.” He grins and pushes over a container in my course. “All yours. Drink?”

“One thing chilly, please.”

I choose a glass of chilled Riesling. We sit down on the desk. For a couple of minutes, we deal with our meals, after which, once I’ve taken the sting off my urge for food, I clear my throat. “About yesterday,” I start. “Look, I can’t take your cash.” I attain into my bag, pull out an envelope containing a handful of pay as you go bank cards, and push it towards Carter.

He doesn’t decide it up. “What is that this?”

“My winnings from final night time.”

“No.” He shakes his head instantly. “No. We had a deal. You retain your winnings.”

“You wished me to search out dust on Ed,” I reply. “I discovered nothing.”

I glare at Carter. He glares again. Dominic cuts in earlier than our standoff can escalate. “Inform me about final night time,” he encourages. “How many individuals had been there? Did you are feeling secure? Your textual content didn’t get into the main points.”

“About twenty,” I reply. “Two tables. Oh, and Vittoria Vitale was there with just a few of her associates.”

Each males stiffen. “Was Denton Mitchell there?” Dominic calls for. He shoots a glare at Carter. “I assumed you stated you had been watching the place.” He pulls up a photograph on his telephone and pushes it towards me. “That is Mitchell.”

I survey the picture. “No, he wasn’t there.” I give Carter a questioning look. “You had been watching? From the skin?”

“I instructed you I’d be shut.”

“What in the event you’d been seen?”

“I wasn’t. I’m good at what I do.”

“So modest,” I tease. A thought strikes me. “Did you get a have a look at Plaid Man?” I absorb his puzzled expression and elaborate. “Caucasian man, in his thirties or early forties. Clear-shaven, no seen tattoos. He was carrying a plaid shirt and denims.”

“He left an hour and fifteen minutes after you went in?” Carter asks. “Yeah, I bought a photograph of him. Why?”

I bear in mind the chilly look in Plaid Man’s eyes, and even the reminiscence of it makes the hairs behind my neck rise. “He creeped me out,” I reply. “He went head-to-head with Ed, and he misplaced some huge cash. He went from chilly to sizzling to chilly once more in a second. It was…” I make a face. “I’m in all probability simply playing around.”

Dominic units his chopsticks down. “I don’t like this,” he says, a frown on his face. “Carter, we agreed that if there was even the slightest trace of hazard, we’d drop this ridiculous plan.”

“There wasn’t any hazard, you guys,” I minimize in. “My creativeness might be simply on overdrive, that’s all. I’ve watched too many motion pictures or one thing.”

“By no means ignore your instinct,” Carter responds. “I’ll look into the man.” There’s a troubled expression on his face. “You requested me yesterday what the endgame was with Ed. Dominic’s been telling for months that I must bury the hatchet. Perhaps I simply must let this go.”

Dominic will get one other bottle of Riesling and tops us up. Carter stares into his drink. “Noah doesn’t speak about Chloe any longer,” he says, his voice so low that I can barely hear him. “To not me, to not his therapist. To not his academics. I don’t suppose he remembers her.”

Understanding blooms. “You suppose he’s going to neglect you,” I whisper. “That’s why you don’t wish to hand over custody.”

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