A Cat Called Kat

Chapter Fifteen - Interrupted Dinner

"Good evening, Beautiful," he said, offering me a Bellini. He was drinking something that looked like whisky... and had been for a while from the smell of his breath.

"Good evening," I replied, forcing myself to accept the drink... and the compliment... with a smile. "Thank you. The dress is lovely."

"To our future," he said, clinging our glasses together. I couldn't quite bring myself to echo the toast but I managed to meet his eye and smile before taking a sip of that delicious drink.

We stood together for a while, looking, as it were, down to a sunless sea and there was a bit of an awkward silence. I guessed that Slimeball had been waiting to get his hands on me for so long and, now he had finally managed it, he didn't quite know what to say.

"Should we eat?" he suggested at last.

The meal started with the normal sort of antipasto with olives and tomatoes and paper-thin ham and that sort of thing. With the whole nervous tension thing, I kind of wanted to stuff my face but I listened to my invisible Caroline and forced myself to stay in control.

Of course Slimeball tried to do the smalltalk thing. I mean... I wasn't trying to be deliberately difficult; it was just that I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to say to him so the conversation was not particularly comfortable.

Then the main course arrived - a delicious paccheri pasta dish with a cheesy, tomatoey sauce and lumps of sausage. I'd eaten it before and it was one of my favourites and I at least managed to produce something a bit like a natural smile as we started eating.

But before I was halfway through my dish, there was a slight disturbance and one of the guard captains stepped out onto the terrace. I didn't recognise him so I guessed he had to be one of the new guys.

"Sorry about disturbing you, Boss," he said in Italian, "but the chief yellow nose told me to come and get you." I guessed he meant the Vanguard. "I told him that you..." I didn't quite understand the next bit but it sounded like some sort of crude reference to sex stuff and me... "but he said that you had to get your arse over there right away."

This look of wild rage and frustration flashed across Slimeball's face and, just for a moment, I thought it was funny as I realised that, even though he'd sold out Nonno and his personal honour to become head of the Family, he now found himself totally under the thumb of this rival 'association'.

But then a wave of anger and revulsion washed over me. This was the Andretti Family... my Family... that we were talking about - this was the Family's honour!

But of course I couldn't let any of this show on my face. I simply couldn't let him find out that I understood what had just been said.

He quickly managed to get his own face back under control. "Excuse me, my dear," he said with a sort of slimy smoothness, "but, regrettably, I have to deal with this matter immediately. Captain Moretti will entertain you until I return."

He stood up and slimed his way from the terrace. Captain Moretti stepped over to the drinks trolley and poured himself a whisky - a large whisky - then sat down in Slimeball's seat. He sort of inspected me for some time... well... my body, at least... and then he nodded.

"Where you stay?" he asked.

"The room next door," I answered.

His eyebrows flicked but then he growled, "No... before."

"A little place up in the hills - I think it was called La Conia or something. It was really pretty."

"Where you stay there?"