Her brow furrows, the frustration melting away to genuine concern. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," I say, giving another glance in the rear view mirror just as the light turns green. "I'm listening now. What were you saying?"

"I asked if your hands were cold."

"No. Why?"

The response is from my lips before I give it any thought. My eyes drift to my hands clutching the steering wheel, to the leather gloves I'm still wearing.

She doesn't answer, knowing she doesn't need to.

She sees me look at them.

I have no explanation for her.

I wait until I hit the next red light to pull them off, reaching over to toss them in the center console.

Karissa watches me, shaking her head. "It concerns me when you're like this. Last time you picked me up this distracted, I thought you were mad at me. You didn't look at me the entire drive, cancelled our plans and went straight to your house."

I know exactly what day she's talking about.

I had a body in the trunk then, too.

"I'm not mad at you," I say in place of an actual response.

"Good to know, but something has you on edge."

She doesn't say another word the rest of the drive. When I get to Ray's, we're already fifteen minutes late. Cars pack his driveway and the area around his house. I find a place to park across the street and cut the engine, remaining in my seat for a moment to try to clear my head. Karissa is staring straight ahead out of the windshield, anxiously biting on the inside of her cheek.

"Here," I say, reaching into my pocket and pulling out a peppermint, holding it out to her. "Take it."

She hesitates before snatching it up. "Are you suggesting my breath stinks?"

"Not at all." I pull out a piece for myself and slip it in my mouth. I tuck it along my cheek to suck on it. "It's a little trick I learned. Whenever a situation makes you nervous, suck on a piece of hard candy. It's psychological. Your brain thinks if you were in any real danger, you wouldn't be eating something, so it reasons that you're perfectly fine."

Also, it'll keep her from talking so damn much.

She pops the mint in her mouth. "I've never seen you eat one of these before."

"Very little makes me nervous."

"But you're nervous now."

Not a question.

I hope that doesn't mean my anxiety is obvious.

"Yeah, well, I don't want to be here any more than you do, sweetheart."

I lock up the car once we get out, my eyes skimming along the trunk involuntarily before I turn away. I offer Karissa a smile when I see she's fidgeting, reaching over to take her hand.

Linking our fingers together, I squeeze lightly, running my tongue along the peppermint in my mouth.

She stays in step with me, fingernails digging into the back of my hand when we reach the porch. I ring the doorbell, the front door opening instantly, animated voices streaming out from inside. Kelvin stands in front of us. I wonder how much Ray paid him to go from working the door at Cobalt to watching the door at his house.

"Vitale," he greets me, his gaze dropping right away as he steps aside. "They're waiting for you."

I say nothing, pulling Karissa inside as Kelvin shuts the door behind us. She stares at him briefly, wide eyed, before pushing herself closer to me.

"I know him," she hisses under her breath.

"He's the bouncer at the club you frequented," I say, filling in any blanks for her. "He also works at Cobalt."

She looks between us in shock before her eyes ultimately settle on me. "You have him watch me?"

"No, he just happened to recognize you that first night."

She doesn't look as if she believes me, but I don't have a chance to convince her otherwise. Before either of us can speak again, Ray's voice calls out from his den where everyone has gathered. "Vitale!"

Taking a deep breath, I squeeze Karissa's hand reassuringly before pulling her that direction. There are about two-dozen people hanging around, chatting and drinking, waiting on dinner to start. I stroll right over to Ray, Karissa in tow, and nod politely. "Ray."

"Glad you could make it," he says. "I started to worry when eight o'clock rolled around and there was no sign of you."

"I got a little caught up with business," I explain. "I wouldn't miss tonight for anything."

"Good, good." Ray slaps my shoulder, patting me on the back, before turning his focus on Karissa. Before she can react, he grabs her free hand. "I'm happy you could join us, Miss Rita."

I tense at his intentional use of that name—Rita. Karissa doesn't acknowledge it. He smiles at her silence, bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it.

"Thank you," she says quietly, "for inviting me."

"Of course." He lets go and stares at her for a moment before turning to me. "Vitale, come… say hello to the men while the women chit-chat."

Karissa shoots me a panicked look, but Ray's waltzing away before I can refuse him. I lean toward Karissa, kissing the corner of her mouth, before whispering, "You'll be okay. I'll only be a few minutes."

I have to pry my hand away, seeing Ray watching me from his office door, waiting for me to join him. I walk past him, inside, and he slips in after me, shutting the door. A few men lurk in here, some of the top guys in the organization, sitting around, sipping scotch and discussing business.