#Chapter 16 – The Truth

There’s a long, tense moment when I do seriously wonder if Christian is going to punch someone. But he shocks us all, I think, when Christian flicks his eyes to Nico’s beer. “Is there more of that?” he asks, his voice dry. “Yeah,” Nico says, immediately jumping out of the chair and heading for the fridge, pulling out a bottle. A little frantic, and I think wanting to make up for being caught unawares, Nico looks around anxiously for the bottle opener. But it’s already in my hand, stretched out towards him. Nico scowls at me as he snatches it and opens the bottle, carrying it over to Christian. As he does, I slip my eyes back to the Mafia King, who I’m surprised to see watching us carefully. He accepts the bottle from Nico as he looks at me, taking a calm and observant sip. “Looks like you made some inroads here, Iris,” he says quietly when he lowers the beer. “Not really,” I say with a casual shrug. “Frankie threatened to put my ankles in chains if I wasn’t good.” Frankie sputter