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Vice
Isit in the empty apartment and wait. Miles is on standby, ready for when I call, but for now, I’m alone.
I check my cell for the time and curse when I remember I was supposed to call Alessio. I have his number, of course. I didn’t want to admit to Nova that I’d added all her shit to my cell phone, including messages and contacts, so I could look through them and get a better understanding of my wife.
I place the call and wait for it to connect, despite the late hour, knowing men like us don’t ever really sleep.
“Alessio,” he answers immediately.
“It’s Vice.”
He says nothing for a minute before I hear the breath rush out of his lungs.
“Tell me she’s okay.”
He surprises me. Despite what Nova has said, I couldn’t get my head around Alessio’s role in this. I sure as fuck didn’t see him caring for her, yet I can hear the worry in his voice, and somethingin me settles with it. I’m still not sure what side he’ll end up on when the dominoes fall, but for now, I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt. But only for Nova’s sake.
“Aldo cornered her. She managed to talk herself out of there, but not before he got a few shots in.”
He curses, and I hear something break in the background.
“How bad? The truth, because she sure as shit won’t tell me.”
“Bruised mostly, split lip, sore throat where he choked her.”
“I’ll kill him,” he snarls, and I relax in the chair. This is the reaction Vigo should have had.
“That’s not all. She went to Vigo’s. She wanted to show him the kind of man he planned to give her to.”
“Shit, fuck. Vigo is… He’s not the man he used to be. There is no reasoning with him. I don’t understand what the fuck is going on in his head. He?—”
“He hit her.”
Silence.
“What did you say?”
“You heard me. He hit her. Nova went to him with a bruised and bloody face, and he fucking hit her.”
“That son of a bitch.”
“He also brought the wedding forward.”
“It doesn’t matter, not now that she’s married to you. It just means the truth will come out sooner. You need to get her moved in with you where she’s safe. As much as I fucking hate it, she won’t be safe in the pool house anymore.”
“Don’t worry, she won’t be going back.”
He’s quiet, but he doesn’t hang up, so I wait him out.
“I’m not sure I’ll come out of this in one piece. I don’t evencare anymore, but Nova will. Promise me you’ll keep her safe. I might not be her biological father, but she’s always been mine.”
“And now she’s mine, and I won’t let anyone take her from me.”
“Good, that’s good,” he mutters, relieved.
“Look, I’ve gotta go. With the timeline moving up, I have things I need to finalize. Tell Nova I’ll call her tomorrow.” He hangs up before I can say anything else, which is just as well since I can hear a key in the lock.
I check that my ski mask is in place and shove my phone back in my pocket before pulling out my gun. With the lights off and me dressed from head to toe in black, I’m virtually invisible. Aldo walks right past me, not sensing a thing.
