Wait For You - 'Look After You' Sequel - A Michael Jackson Fanfiction

Chapter 13

Evelyn
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The crowd was moving like clockwork...bodies weaving through the low amber light, voices rising and falling in rhythm with the bass.

Club 30s breathed like a living thing. Every sound, every motion, right where I wanted it.

And yet, something still felt off.

Not wrong. Just ... aware.

I could feel it long before I saw them. The weight of new eyes in the room. The shift in the air that came when people were pretending to belong.

I knew it was Michael's men.

Ramon I spotted first near the stage, his posture too stiff, hand never leaving the side of his jacket.

Two others, subtle but not enough, posted at opposite corners of the room, watching, learning.

I smiled to myself, turned toward the bar, and asked the bartender for a glass of water.

When I looked back through the mirror behind the bottles, Ramon was still pretending to text.

Luca's reflection appeared beside mine. "You see them too?" he said quietly.

"Hard to miss."

He folded his arms, eyes tracking the floor. "He's got them spread wide. Two on the edges, one central. Classic sweep."

"It's ... Efficient," I said.

"Obvious," he corrected. "He wanted you to notice."

"Of course he did."

Luca glanced at me, smirking. "So ... what's the play?"

"We let him think he's winning."

He chuckled under his breath. "That's cute. You really think Michael ever believes he's losing?"

"He will," I said simply.

Luca studied the reflection of Ramon in the mirror. "He sent his right hand. That's a bold move. He's testing us."

I nodded. "He wants to see how I run under pressure. If I panic."

"You won't."

"Exactly."

He tilted his head. "So we keep business as usual. Let his guys think they're invisible."

"Better," I said, taking a sip. "We'll make them useful."

That got his attention. "Meaning?"

"Meaning ..." I nodded toward the back hallway. "Let them follow our shipments. Let them see the numbers. Let them report it all. When Michael gets those updates, he'll know we're clean. No leaks, no noise, no flaws. It's exactly what he wants to see."

Luca's lips twitched. "You're feeding him the story you want told."

"Exactly."

He looked at me sideways, that spark of admiration flickering in his eyes. "You really are his student."

I smiled faintly. "I'm my own teacher now."

The crowd swelled as another track rolled in. Ramon started to move again, cutting toward the bar.

Luca and I both turned our backs to the mirror, pretending to talk business.

When Ramon finally passed us, I looked up just long enough to meet his eyes.

One second. Maybe less.

Then I said, easily, "You sure you don't want that drink?"

He stammered, shook his head. "No, ma'am. I'm good."