Chapter 131

• VALENTINA
• ~•~
• The Black Anchor smelled like every dive bar I had ever hated: stale beer, old cigarette smoke, and the faint sourness of spilled drinks that never quite got cleaned up. The place was dim, lit mostly by neon signs buzzing over the bar and a couple of weak hanging lights that threw long shadows across the scarred wooden tables. I sat at a corner booth with Amato, resting loosely together on the tabletop like we were just another couple out for a quiet drink.