Free Breaking Bones (Mariani Crime Family Series Book 2) by Amanda Washington

you look at her. Get her a damn present.”
    There was no denying my attraction to her. Sure, Ariana was fine, but there was so much more than her appearance. “She’s a cool broad and all, but you know how things are. I can’t…”
    Angel knew how the family worked, so I didn’t need to say more. He nodded.
    “Well, when we get out of here…” He let the promise hang in the air.
    “Yeah.” I refused to voice the giant “ifs” that inevitably followed.
    If I managed to find Matt. If Carlo decided to let me go. If Ariana came with us.
    Before heading home, Angel and I did a little Christmas shopping, while I kept one eye open, watching for Matt.
     

CHAPTER NINE
    Bones
     
    L IGHTS OFF, EVERYONE else in bed, I sat on the couch and struggled to wrap my mind around the idea of Angel getting married. Since he was the son of the Las Vegas Capo di capi , or boss of bosses, I’d always expected my friend to be forced into a political marriage. That’s the way things were done in the family. Only Angel had broken the mold somehow, and now he’d be able to make his own life decisions. The family couldn’t be happy about that, and I wondered what their retribution would be. I was still puzzling out the situation when Ariana ventured into the kitchen to pour herself some water. The clock on the wall told me it was well past midnight.
    “The sandman hasn’t visited you yet either, huh?” I asked, sitting up.
    She let out a little squeak and fumbled her cup, barely catching it before it hit the granite countertop. “Dammit, Bones.”
    “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.” I did, though. It was fun.
    She filled a second glass, carried them both in, and sat beside me on the sofa. “The sandman’s a hater, but he’s not the one keeping me up tonight.” She offered me the second glass.
    Wondering what she meant, I thanked her. Before I could take a sip, she clinked her glass to mine.
    “To the stupid decisions that keep us up all night. May they go straight to hell.” She downed her water and set her glass on the coffee table before sagging back into the couch.
    “What’d you do?” I asked.
    She turned her head and considered me for a moment. I watched her as I sipped, trying to look as trustworthy and non-threatening as possible. I got people to open up all the time, but usually I had a baseball bat or a gun in my hand. I’d never tried this method before, but I really did want to understand what was bothering Ariana. Turns out I’m not so good at looking trustworthy and non-threatening, because she turned away and crossed her arms.
    “Doesn’t matter. It was a long time ago.”
    “But it still keeps you up?” Meant she had quite the conscience. I filed that bit of interesting information away.
    “Are you trying to psychoanalyze me?” she asked.
    I shrugged. “Just trying to understand you.”
    She laughed. “Good luck with that one. Let me know if you figure anything out.”
    “It would help if you told me more about yourself,” I replied.
    “Says the man with more secrets than an international spy.” Then she huffed and turned to look at me again. “Fine, I’ll play. What do you want to know?”
    I really wanted to know what was bothering her, but that topic seemed off limits, at least for now. Sticking to a safer subject, I asked, “Why Vegas?”
    Her brow scrunched up.
    “If you want to start up a music career, there are lots of better choices. New York, Nashville, L.A. I looked up the best places for aspiring musicians online and Vegas didn’t even make the list.”
    “You looked it up?”
    After my conversation with Angel, I wanted to know what it took to get discovered in Las Vegas, so yeah, I looked it up. But I couldn’t exactly admit any of that to Ariana without disclosing our plans for her birthday. “Yeah, I was curious.”
    Something in her expression shifted. She tilted her head slightly and asked, “Why?”
    This was not at all how I’d imagined this conversation