Blindfolded Innocence. Alessandra Torre

front doors. A doorman held the door for us, and we exited into the hot summer air.

      The town car sat in front, Jeff standing by it. As he opened my door, he handed me a small plastic bag. Giving me a casual smile, he gently shut the door once I was fully inside. I peeked into the bag and pulled out a small bottle of Advil and a bottle of water. Sweet salvation. My headache jumped up and down, cheering. I twisted open the Advil bottle, popped three in my mouth and sucked down half the bottle of water.

      De Luca spent the ride back to the office on the phone. I leaned back in the seat, the heavy food and wine making me sleepy. We were back in the garage before I knew it, and I glanced around before reaching for the door handle.

      “Relax.” De Luca spoke from the other seat, having disconnected his call. He reached over and grabbed my knee, trying to reassure me—I think, but the connection of our bodies was a shock to my system, and I stifled a gasp.

      I swatted his hand away. “If Broward finds out I—”

      “Do you always do as you’re told?”

      I gave him a death glare, but his demeanor didn’t waver one bit. “Yes, I typically do.”

      “You should learn to bend the rules.”

      “You should learn to follow them!” I retorted, smiling a bit. “Good afternoon, Mr. De Luca. Thank you for the ridiculously expensive lunch.”

      “I enjoyed it.”

      I didn’t know how to respond to that, and opened the car door. Jeff was standing there, and I gave him a small smile and rushed to the elevators. I pressed the button and waited, glancing back at the black car. It stayed there, idling, Jeff once again in the driver’s seat. The bell dinged and the door opened. Thankfully, the elevator was empty. I entered, pressed the button for the fourth floor and leaned against the wall. I felt as though I had dodged a bullet, had skipped across glowing coals and then had tied myself securely to the tracks of an oncoming train. The bell dinged, sounding eerily like a far-off train whistle.