Sold to the Capo-Chapter 41: OF BOOKS AND BAIT
ADRIANA’S POV
The bell chimed as I pushed the door to the bookstore open, exhaustion in my stride.
It had been 4 days after the incident already and I had distracted myself by looking at the locations of my father’s last whereabouts in this town over the last few years and I had reason to believe he frequented this bookstore at least 5 times a week for two years In a row.
He probably knew someone here and now I just needed to know if they knew something about him. The other places I had gone to had usually ended up with me being turned out and scowled at for hogging up the line.
"I don’t think whoever is here can help you" Henry who was right behind me commented, his hands tucked into the pockets of his black leather jacket.
As expected, Vincenzo had offered me no help but rather Henry who was to follow me around to make sure I didn’t do something stupid or run away.
At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had placed a tracking device under my skin while I slept. Yeah, I was that paranoid.
"If you aren’t here to help me then maybe let me do what I can" I hissed back at him, walking right to the bookshelves, nodding at the librarian while I did so.
The young girl who was wearing a blue shirt and a simple black shirt came over to me, her ponytail bouncing and a smile on her face as she looked me and Henry over, her gaze lingering on Henry a bit more.
"Welcome to Carson’s home. What can I help you with? What are you looking for?" She said in a happy tone that was probably rehearsed and reserved for customers.
"Oh hi. I was hoping to go through your romance novels" I smiled at her, wondering how to bring up the main issue.
She looked back at Henry who was staring at me from the corner of his eyes. "And what about you?" Her tone turned softer, almost affectionate and I’m guessing that was why he snapped his head up to look at her confused. "Can I interest you in some... sci-fi novels?"
He quickly shook his head, not bothering to hide his frownㅡ, or rather scowlㅡ at her. "No, I’m with her" He gestured to me.
That fake employee smile spread across her lips again and she looked at me, her gaze curious and hopeful. "Are you two...?" She let the question hang but I cleared my throat nervously and quickly shook my head.
"Ah no, we’re not... together that way... now the novels" I quickly corrected her and her eyes brightened up, darting back to Henry who this time effectively ignored her.
She nodded and clapped her hands together. "I’ll get you my best. Wait right here" Then she disappeared between the shelves, the sounds of her clacking boots against the floorboard audible.
As soon as she had disappeared around the corner, I let out a low chuff of laughter at Henry. "What?"
"What?" He repeated, his tone annoyed.
He was touching the spine of the books on the nearest shelf, disinterest evident in his stance but he was giving his full attention to it.
"You could clearly tell she liked you" I smiled at him.
"Well I hope she could tell that I don’t like her" He grumbled.
"Not into Brunettes?" I joked.
"Indeed I am not. Blondes are better" he muttered under his breath like it was the most obvious thing.
I stilled but he wasn’t looking at me, a frown still tugged at his lips but he was intentionally staring away from me. "Not you, Adriana. Calm down. Don Enzo would kill me. Okay fine, I don’t really give a fuck about hair color and all but she’s just not my type" He finally looked at me and shrugged.
This time I cracked a smile. "Sure"
"She’s a kid. Not more than 20 if I’m reading her correctly" He immediately went silent as the girl came back around the corner with some books in her hands.
"Here" She muttered, dumping them on the nearby table as I looked through them, I wasn’t interested in the books but I needed some sort of cover as to why I was here.
She came back and dumped more books on the table making a heap.
"Find one you like?" She asked, leaning forward and my fingers traced the edge of one.
"You know what? I’ll just have them all" I smiled at her as wide as I could.
She blinked. "All... 30 of them?" She looked skeptical.
Henry behind me stiffened but I didn’t care.
"Yeah," my smile didn’t falter.
The girl’s eyes widened as she began to calculate the total cost of the books. "Okay, let me just... um... add these up for you," she stuttered, her fingers flying across the calculator. After a few moments, she looked up at me with a hesitant expression. "The total comes out to be... $543.99."
I smiled sweetly at her, trying not to flinch at the exorbitant price. Henry, however, leaned in close to my ear, his voice low and warning. "You do realize that it’s Don Enzo’s card you’re about to use, right?"
I whispered back, not caring about the cost. "I don’t care."
I removed the card from my purse and handed it to the girl, who took it with a curious glance at Henry. She processed the payment, and I signed the receipt with a flourish.
As she began to pack the books into a large box, I turned to her with a friendly smile. "Excuse me, can I see Mr. Frankfort, please?"
The girl’s expression turned hesitant, and she glanced nervously at Henry before responding. "I’m afraid he’s not around right now. But I can take your number, and I’ll make sure to give it to him."
I beamed at her, knowing that she only offered because of the massive purchase I just made. I handed her my number, and she took it with a smile.
As we prepared to leave, the girl slipped a piece of paper into Henry’s hand, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "My number," she whispered, winking at him.
Henry looked mortified, his face reddening as he quickly shoved the paper into his pocket. "Let’s go," he muttered, grabbing the box of books and striding out of the store.
As we got into the car, Henry turned to me with a scowl. "I’m never going back to that bookstore again."
I laughed, teasing him. "Aww, come on, Henry. She seemed nice. Maybe you can ask her out on a date."
Henry shot me a withering look, but I just chuckled and leaned back in my seat, feeling a small sense of satisfaction and hope that maybe, just maybe I would get what I wanted from Mr Frankfort, the man who owned the store.
I had really high hopes for this place and it would kill my spirits if he didn’t give me what I wanted.
