Page 159 of Merciless Daddy
“Yelena.”
“What?”
“You dropped those.”
“Prove it.”
“There is a camera.”
I looked up at the security camera.
Then back at him.
“It is actually considered rude to review date footage.”
His laugh came low and warm. “You are unbelievable.”
“I’m winning.”
“You are cheating.”
“Those are not mutually exclusive.”
At pinball, Sal beat me again. His hands worked the controls with maddening calm. The silver ball flew through ramps and flashing targets while I watched his score climb.
“Mafia corruption,” I accused.
“You think I have influence over a pinball machine?”
“You have influence over everything.”
His gaze shifted to me.
Not playful now. Something more careful.
“Not you,” he said.
The answer caught beneath my ribs.
Before I could recover, he went to the claw machine.
The prizes inside were terrible. Neon bears. Deflated cartoon rabbits. A stuffed grey wolf with lopsided ears and a suspiciously vacant expression.
“I want that one,” I said.
“The wolf?”
I nodded.
Sal fed tokens into the machine.
His first attempt failed. The claw caught the wolf by one ear, lifted it two inches, then dropped it.
I covered my mouth.
Sal looked at the machine.
The machine hummed innocently.
