Gian (Trassato Crime Family #1)(56)

She pushed up onto her tiptoes, brushing her lips against my neck. A shiver of disgust rushed down my spine.

“What your fiancée doesn’t know won’t hurt her. We’ll have a good time. Do you want to go somewhere private for a do-over? You won’t regret it. I promise.”

If Angela thought I’d lay a finger on her drunk ass, she was thicker than I suspected. I gritted my teeth and the edges of my vision blurred, pulsing in time with my escalating anger.

Anger at myself for entertaining hooking up with her to get Evie out of my head. Anger at her for misreading every blatant dismissal I tossed in her direction. Anger that I didn’t fire her earlier in the week.

While I would never lay a hand on a woman, right now she was tempting me to do exactly that. “Go into my f*cking office. I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. We need to talk.”

Grinning like an idiot, she took a few micro-steps backward. “Right now? Are you sure you don’t want me to work?”

I flicked my wrist. “I’ll grab one of the other bartenders. You’re done for the night.”





CHAPTER





THIRTY-ONE


Evangeline



“Did you get a hold of him?” Carmela’s voice echoed through the speaker of the car I’d borrowed from Gian’s garage.

“No.” I flipped on my blinker. “He’s not answering my phone calls either, but I’m pulling up in front of the club.”

Carmela heaved out a breath. “Thanks so much for doing this. I would’ve gone, but I don’t want to leave his side, and my mom needs me. I can’t leave her alone.”

I turned off the ignition and opened the car door. “I understand, and you don’t have to thank me. What’s happening now?”

“He’s better now. His blood pressure is down, and he’s asking for Gian.” Her voice quivered.

I jumped out of the car, half-walking, half-jogging. “I’ll do what I can to make sure he gets there as soon as possible.”

“Call me as soon as you find him. I need to talk to him, preferably before he meets with my dad.”

“I will. See you soon.” I disconnected the call and cut directly in front of the line curving around the side the building. My head down and my hands shoved deep in the pockets of my long cotton cardigan, I ignored the groans and taunts as I approached the bouncer at the entrance.

“Hi.” I beamed. “I need to get inside to talk to my fiancé for a few minutes.”

The man folded his bulky arms across his chest, his gaze raking over my less than club worthy appearance. “Wait in the line.”

My eyes narrowed. “What’s your name?”

“Andy,” he grumbled. He opened the red velvet roped and waved two people inside.

“Well, Andy. I’m Evangeline Jeffers, Gian Trassato’s fiancée, and it’s really important that I speak with him right now. Something happened to his father, Antonio Trassato, and he would want to know about it.”

He scanned through the names on his clipboard. “Sorry, you’re not on the list. I can’t bend the rules for anyone, even Mr. Trassato’s fiancée.”

I gritted my teeth. I didn’t have time for this shit. Gian needed to add me to the list so I didn’t have to stand outside like the pathetic spurned fiancée.

“If you don’t trust me, you can use that walkie talkie thing clipped to the back of your belt and check. Call Gian or Tony. Either one of them will clear me to go inside.”

“No can do. They can’t be interrupted tonight.”

“Please.” I knitted my fingers together and pressed them to the center of my chest. “Just call. I promise you Gian won’t be mad. Or better yet, do you know his sister Carmela? I can call her, and she’ll tell you to let me inside.”

“No, don’t bother her.” He groaned. “I’ll call Gian.”

With his dark eyes fixed on me, he held the black walkie-talkie to his lips. “Mr. Trassato, Evangeline Jeffers is here to see you. I told her to wait in the line, but she was insistent.” He paused, his eyes widening fractionally. “Right. Of course.”

He fastened the walkie-talkie to his belt and unclipped the rope. “You can go in. Gian will meet you right inside.”

“Thank you for your help.” I squeezed his arm, ignoring the urge to gloat. He was simply doing his job.

I stepped inside, halting briefly to let my eyes adjust to the flashing lights. The loud bass vibrated my insides. I didn’t understand how Gian could work here every day. One week of working in a club would be more than enough for me.

Gian’s giant strides closed the space between us in a matter of seconds, and he hooked his hands around my upper arms. “Evie, what’s going on? Why are you here?”

“It’s your dad. His blood pressure spiked, and your mom is worried about him. He’s okay now, but he’s asking for you. You weren’t answering anyone’s calls, so I came here.”

Stunned, he stared at me, the torment in his eyes slicing through me. “Dammit,” he muttered. “Do they know why?”

“Not really. Since he’s in home hospice care, they won’t do anything except try to make him comfortable.”