Chapter 7: You working for us

SADIE'S POV.

When the last group finally left Brodo, I slumped into one of the chairs at the bar, thoroughly exhausted. Ro grinned at me and slid a glass of whiskey my way. I hadn't eaten in hours, and right now, just the sight of the amber liquid was enough to make my stomach turn.

"You're a natural at this, Sadie." He winked, reaching across the bar and wiping up the sticky remnants from all the spilled drinks of the night. "Are you sure you're not a bartender back in Colorado?"

"Trust me, my day job is much more stressful than this." I smiled, letting my hair out of the bun it had been in.

Ro arched his eyebrow. "More stressful? We served close to five hundred people tonight."

"But I didn't get puked on and I don't have blood on my shirt. That's a win for a nurse." Not to mention people were only counting on me to serve drinks here, not save lives. Way less pressure. It was fun even.

"Yeah, well, give it some time." Alex chuckled, joining us at the bar. "It's only your first week."

"I'm not kidding! I think you're seriously missing your calling here." Ro grinned. Unlike his friend Dante, he had proved to be quite charming. All night we were laughing and joking behind the bar, and he had been insanely helpful and patient as I relearned how to do all of this. "The people love you."

"Of course, they do." Alex smiled in agreement, giving my shoulders a squeeze. "Everybody loves Sadie. But you've been here all day, why don't you head home?"

"You don't have to tell me twice." I laughed, standing up. All I wanted to do was sink down into a bubble bath and then fall into my bed.

"Let me call a car for you." Alex insisted.

"I live two blocks away, Alex. You don't need to..." My protests were quickly cut off.

Alex shook his head firmly. "Not a chance. This isn't a good neighborhood to be out this late by yourself. And besides, Brandon would kill me if he found out I let you walk home. Give me two minutes."

I rolled my eyes, letting out a heavy sigh. There was no point in arguing with an Avenetti, stubbornness was their calling card. This was a battle I wouldn't win.

Alex disappeared to make his call, and Ro eyed me suspiciously. "You and Brandon?"

"It was years ago." I shook my head, not wanting to get into the details. The less I let myself remember, the better off I was going to be.

All of a sudden, realization seemed to wash over Ro's face, and then he burst out laughing. "Well, I'll be damned."

I looked at him curiously. What could possibly be so funny?

"I should have known you were that Sadie from the moment you walked in here. You're pretty famous around these parts." He smirked, continuing to wipe up the bar.

"Famous?" Now I was even more confused.

"Everybody says you're the reason Brandon is such a hard ass." He chuckled, shooting me a goofy grin. "Now I get it."

I let out a nervous laugh, unsure of how to respond.

"Car's here." Alex announced, coming back into the room. "Thanks again for everything, Sadie. Get some rest." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and ushered me towards the door. I had the sneaking suspicion that he was trying to get me out of there because he had some business to take care of.

I needed more information to give Herrera but right now, I was so tired I couldn't even think about that.

Alex's driver took me home and waited outside until I was all the way inside my building. It seemed a little bit overkill, but I gave him a quick wave to let him know I was okay. Brandon had always been overly protective and it seemed like Alex was the same way.

Once I got inside my apartment, I threw my bag and jacket onto the kitchen counter and started to look for something I could eat. It was two in the morning so I wasn't going to make a full dinner, but I knew I needed to get something in my stomach. Herrera had stocked my pantry with the very basics, but I would need to go grocery shopping tomorrow to get a few other things. Settling on an apple, I grabbed one out of the fruit bowl and threw myself onto the couch. No sooner had I turned the TV on, than there was a knock at my front door.

"Pizza delivery." A voice called from the other side.

Pizza? I hadn't ordered a pizza. Cautiously, I stood up and crept towards the door. Maybe I was being paranoid, but I wasn't about to open it for someone I didn't know, especially at this time of night. It wasn't a stranger on the other side though, it was worse.

Herrera. Dressed in a delivery uniform and holding a pizza box.

In a fit of irritation, I flung the door open. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

Herrera glanced at his watch. "About a quarter past the time you were supposed to get me information about the Avenettis." He gave me an arrogant grin and waltzed right past me into the apartment.

"There better actually be a pizza in that thing." I grumbled, shutting the door behind him. This was the last thing I wanted to deal with tonight.

"Don't worry. There is." He slid it onto the counter and grabbed two paper plates out of the bag he was carrying, dishing a piece of pizza onto both. "I figured you wouldn't have had a chance to get to the store yet, so I thought we could eat while we talk. You're not a vegetarian, are you?"

I shook my head and took one of the plates from him eagerly. "I've only been there a few days. I don't have anything yet. Can't we talk about this tomorrow? I've been working for the last sixteen hours and I really..."

"I wouldn't even have to be here if you had worn your wire like you're supposed to. What the hell happened?" He growled, taking a bite out of his pizza.

"I told you. They were already suspicious of me and one of the men tried to pat me down for it the other night. I didn't want to take the chance." I folded my arms over my chest, leaving out the part about Dante feeling me up. The memory made me shiver. Who knows what would have happened if Brandon hadn't walked in when he had?

"That's not your call to make." Herrera narrowed his eyes at me. "You're working for us here, Sadie. I don't think I need to remind you what's at stake."

"You don't." I snapped. "But I know them better than you do. And if you want this to work, you're going to have to do things my way. If we make a stupid mistake, the entire thing will be derailed, and you'll force them underground and never get your collar."

Herrera glared back at me, angry that I was challenging his authority, but he considered my words. He and I both knew that I was his best shot at this, and right now, that gave me the upper hand. I was walking a tightrope, and one wrong move could send me toppling in either direction, but if I was careful, I could play both sides. At least until I knew what I wanted to do.