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I nodded, took a bottle from the cabinet, and opened it. I poured two glasses then downed my beer and put the bottle in the recycling. She picked her glass up and sipped it.
“Good?” I asked.
She nodded, a little surprised look on her face. “Really good. What is this?”
“Friend of mine in California makes it,” I said. “He sent me a few choice bottles as a gift for my birthday last year.”
“Oh? How old are you?”
I laughed. “I’m thirty-two. And you’re twenty-three.”
“Did some digging on me.” She frowned and sipped the wine again. “This really is good.”
I heated up another pan, added some oil, then began to cook the sausage as the sauce continued to simmer. “Gino said you haven’t left your room yet,” I said.
She looked away. “Haven’t felt like it.”
“Listen, the house is all yours. I don’t live here most of the time.”
“But you do,” she said. “I mean, live here sometimes.”
“You hiding from me?”
“I am,” she said.
I turned away and moved the sausage around. I didn’t want her to see my face. “You don’t have to.”
“Where are my clothes?” she asked.
I turned and nodded at the bags in the corner. “Ryan broke in. Sorry about the locks.”
She said nothing as she opened one of the bags and let out a groan of pleasure. She picked out a pair of shorts, a new t-shirt, and some underwear. She stared at it for a long moment then looked at me. “Thanks,” she said.
I nodded. “Toothbrush and toothpaste and your other toiletries are in the other bag. He grabbed a Kindle and a laptop too, plus their chargers.”
She brightened. “Really? My Kindle?”
“Guess you’re a reader.” I shuffled the food again and began to take it out of the pan as it finished, putting it on a paper towel to drain. “Never got into it myself. I’m more of a movie guy.”
“Let me guess. You love The Godfather?”
I shrugged. “I’m a simple man, I guess.”
She laughed a little and the sound made me smile.
“Look, I’m getting changed. And that, uh… that smells good. So I’ll eat dinner with you. But that’s it, okay? Don’t get any… ideas.”
I turned to her and tilted my head. “You mean, don’t think I’m going to get you drunk and fuck you tonight?”
She blushed and I knew that was exactly what she was thinking. “Just, no ideas.” She hurried out of the room and I heard her go back upstairs. The shower started a couple minutes later.
I grinned, put on my apron, and finished cooking. By the time she came back down twenty minutes later, the sauce was nearly done, the pasta was cooked, and the sausage was finishing in the sauce.
I grabbed some plates and put together two servings. She looked good with wet hair. Her skin glowed a little bit, and she seemed like she was smiling a little earlier. She wore a tight white t-shirt and short gray cotton shorts that just barely covered her thick, gorgeous ass. I brought the meal over to the table and gestured.
“There you go,” I said. “That’s a real ass Italian home-cooked meal.”
“I have to admit, I didn’t think a guy like you would, you know, cook.”
I shrugged. “Mom taught me. She did a lot of cooking back when I was a kid. It always calms me down after a shitty day.”
She sat down and took a bite. I watched the pleasure flit across her face. I could tell she was surprised it was good. I grinned a little, sipped my wine, and sat down, stretching out my legs.
“Shitty day?” she asked. “What happened?”
I waved her off. “Nothing worth talking about.”
“Come on. Does it have to do with that Russian guy, what’s his name? Vlad?”
“Vlas,” I corrected. “And it might.”
“Then tell me. Whatever happens with him matters to me, remember?”
I grunted. She had a point, although I didn’t love the idea of telling her my business. Still, she seemed bright, and she was right. Whatever happened with Vlas was going to affect her life one way or the other.
“I sent him a message this morning,” I said. “Reached out about the peace offering I sent.”
She stiffened. “Meaning my father’s corpse and the money he stole.”
“Correct.” I tilted my head and didn’t react to her bait. “But apparently, one of his boys told my lieutenant to fuck off. Do you know what it means when someone tells my lieutenant to fuck off?”
She shook her head. “I’m guessing it’s not good.”
“No, Aida. It’s not good at all.”
“Shit. So what’s going to happen?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted. “But we’re not taking any precautions.”
“So I guess you’re really not going to let me out to go on some long walks around the neighborhood.”
I stared at her for a long moment, my eyes drinking in her pretty lips and small button nose. “This is a safe place,” I said. “But I don’t know exactly how safe. It’s better if you stay in and don’t risk it.”
