Adriana turned toward the group of eager, bloated men. They'd been eyeing me like wolves circling a lamb.
At Adriana's instruction, the associate handed me her phone.
I grabbed it and immediately called my friend, begging her to get the money here within thirty minutes.
The minutes bled away, one by one. Ten minutes left.
Adriana couldn't wait any longer. She stood up.
"God, I'm such an idiot. I actually believed this tramp? That some friend of hers is going to waltz in with cash to cover her tab?"
"Exactly! She was just stalling for time."
"Manager, have your men break her hands and feet first. Nobody's stupid enough to cross the Ricci Family by bringing her money. Stop wasting time."
The manager advanced with his crew of soldiers, their faces twisted and menacing. I raised my hand to block their path.
"Wait. There's still ten minutes."
"When those ten minutes are up, someone will be here with the money."
"Pay my ass. When those ten minutes are up, or hell, even if I give you an extra ten minutes and nobody shows up with cash, I'll bite that raw steak myself and crawl out on all fours like a dog."
My eyes lit up. "Those are your words. Remember them."
"Damn right they are. Everyone here can be my witness."
The back room erupted again. "This is too good. I don't even want to go home!"
"Who knew coming here for dinner would include dinner theater?"
The ten minutes were almost up. One of the fat men lost patience and reached over to grope me.
"Don't touch me!" I slapped his hand away.
"Heh heh heh. That chest, that figure. I didn't even get a proper feel and I can already tell. Not bad."
"Mr. Ricci, why don't you just give her to me?"
Rocco laughed, drained his glass of red wine, and flicked his lighter open and shut.
"Why not? If she can't pay the bill, you're all welcome to do whatever you want with her."
"Ha! Then I'm going first."
Every person in that room was certain I couldn't pay. They stopped caring about my protests and closed in.
My voice dropped cold enough to kill, but those men couldn't have cared less about my fury.
Adriana watched with mocking amusement and snapped at Rocco's soldiers.
"Hold her down. Pin her so those pigs can have their fun."
"Yes, ma'am!" The soldiers surged forward, surrounding me.
I looked at Rocco. Every last shred of feeling in me went dead.
We were still bound by alliance, husband and wife before God and the Families, and he was handing me over to other men. The disgrace was his as much as mine.
He didn't care. "Stop looking at me like that. I'm not going to help you."
"All I need is for Adriana to feel better."
With that one sentence from Rocco, the pack of them grew bolder.
"Come on, sweetheart, come with me!"
"I've got money, babe. I'll cover your tab!"
"No, no, no, come with me. I've got more cash than him, and I'm thinner too."
They barked orders at the soldiers pinning me down while reaching over to tear my clothes.
I fought with everything I had. The men in the room roared with laughter.
I memorized every single face. "You think this is funny? In a few minutes, you'll be the joke."
"And you."
Adriana spat at me. "Rip her dress off. Time's up. No reason to let her keep stall—"
She never finished. The doors burst open and a squad of enforcers in black suits poured in, moving with military precision. One by one, they threw off every man surrounding me.
The laughter died. Not gradually. All at once, the way sound leaves a room when a gun is drawn.
Right behind them walked Sofia D'Angelo, caporegime of the Moretti Family's financial arm and the most feared fixer on the East Side.
She strode in carrying a briefcase, her expression carved from stone.
"Mrs. Moretti, I've brought your money. Looks like I made it just in time."
