Sam propped her elbows on the table so she could stare at her watch. She watched the second hand sweep around the face sixteen times before she lowered her hands to her lap. She started to count under her breath, feeling like she was going to jump right out of her skin. She almost did when the door blew open to admit a big burly man wearing a windbreaker with bold lettering on the back and waving an automatic weapon. He rushed to the middle of the floor, waving his weapon around the room. “FBI! Did anyone come through here in the last few minutes? Is there a back door?” he bellowed.

No one moved, no one said a word until Joey stood up and said, “No, my son, no one has come through here. I don’t know if there’s a back door or not. I’ve never been here before.”

The senator’s security detail was there in the blink of an eye, surrounding the senator and his guests. More men, probably Mike’s people, rushed in. One of them shouted, “We think we have him covered down by the corner.” The room cleared as suddenly as it had filled, with the exception of the senator’s security detail. It sounded like the security detail wanted the senator to leave, but he insisted on finishing his dessert.

“Heads down, ladies,” Joey hissed, as Kyros and Pappy sprinted for the kitchen and the back door.

Sam looked up in time to see both men’s backs. She felt light-headed. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she mumbled.

“No, you are not going to be sick. Take a deep breath,” Slick ordered. She turned around to see the senator banish his men to the doorway, where they stood guard. It was clear he wanted them to leave the restaurant for the comfort of the other diners. Finally, they did leave, but they stood right outside the door.

“Now what?” Sam asked as she looked around the table at the shocked expressions on everyone’s faces.

Joey bit down on his lower lip. “We’re here. I say we go through with what we were planning. Slick, head for the restroom.”

A bit of confusion followed as the other diners were arranging to pay their checks and leave, allowing Slick to make her way to the restroom at the far end of the dining room. She scurried inside but peeked out through the narrow opening. She took a deep breath and counted to thirty to still her pounding heart. When she was breathing normally, she washed her hands, flushed the toilet, and counted to thirty again. Satisfied with her steady nerves, she exited the restroom and minced her way toward the senator, aware that all the eyes at the table were on her.