Kirby mimicked Mancini’s movement, leaning toward him, and cocked his head with another charming smile. “No.”
“As entertaining as this is, I’m on a schedule. What truth are we talking about here?” Ardan sighed and grabbed his Coke, taking a long sip. He winced, because it really didn’t taste that great, and returned it to the table. His attention danced to Mancini’s bourbon for a moment too long and he forced himself to settle back in his chair. Other than Guinness, bourbon and whiskey had been Ardan’s go-to drinks when he’d fallen into the spiral of despair. He’d made it his mission to avoid even the sight of them, but showing weakness to Mancini had never been an option.
“You’re here to kill him because he betrayed Leonardo Folliero.” Kirby tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, and his black painted fingernails caught Ardan’s attention. “But what Gabe is not telling you is that he turned against Leo because of me.”
“Because of you? Explain.”
“Don’t explain,” Mancini said sharply. “This has nothing to do with Kirby.”
“It has everything to do with me.” Kirby glared at him. “I was Leo’s lover.”
“Lover?” Ardan tore his gaze off the tumbler of bourbon. He hadn’t even realized his attention had returned to it. Glancing at Kirby, he waved his hand. “I didn’t know Leo was gay.”
“Not many people do. The Italian mafia aren’t as open as your boss is about sexuality.” Kirby ran a hand through his hair and he sighed. “I was his secret that only his own guards knew about. Gabe was one of the men who knew about me. I stayed with Leo for three years with the promise he’d take care of me. He didn’t. He beat me instead.”
Mancini swallowed, mouth pressed in a thin line. He didn’t reach for his alcohol—barely moved at all—his focus fully on Kirby.
“I thought I’d die there, until Gabe decided enough was enough. He took me away in the middle of the night and brought me here, to the Courtesan. It was the safest place for me.” Kirby smiled at Mancini, his blue eyes shiny. “He saved my life.”
“It took me too long,” Mancini said roughly, surprising Ardan.
“You came through when I needed you to.” Kirby reached over and touched Ardan’s knee. “Leo would never have stopped searching for me. He was obsessed. So Gabe did what he needed to. He fed enemies Leo’s location and he watched them take Leo down. He did it forme.”
“This isn’t about Leo.” Ardan thought about pushing Kirby’s hand away. He hated people touching him without reason, and this Kirby looked the kind of person who touched others whenever he got a chance. Ardan drummed it up to that horrible tightening sensation that began pulling at his chest though. This was a side of Mancini he hadn’t seen and he didn’t think he liked it. Mancini… was a human driven by something other than money. “Mancini killed our customs agents for Folliero’s bastard son.”
“What?” Mancini frowned at him. “Why the fuck would I do that? That would start a war with Killough, something I was trying very hard to avoid.”
“You tell me. It was your handywork.” Ardan raised his eyebrows and did brush Kirby’s hand off his knee. “It smells like you.”
“And what do I smell like?” Mancini’s lips tilted into a smirk and he finally picked up his drink, the ice chips clinking against the glass as he raised it for a sip. “Do you smell me often?”
Ardan’s jaw clenched and he breathed through the anger that twisted inside him.Calm. Emotions weakened assassins. “You know what I mean.”
“I didn’t kill any customs agents. If you’re referring to a time right before Toscani kidnapped your boss’s pet, then I can provide proof I was in Germany that month.”
“Why were you in Germany?”
“Does it matter?” Mancini took a longer sip this time before he returned his glass to the table.
Ardan’s gaze followed the way the brown liquid sloshed side to side with the movement. “I don’t believe you.”
“Because you want to kill me.” Mancini shrugged. “You’ve wanted to kill me since I betrayed Leo.”
“I told you—” Kirby started but Mancini shook his head.
“Go upstairs.” Mancini waved his hand in the direction of the exit. “I don’t need you defending me. Go, bug.”
The nickname made Ardan startle and he studied Kirby for a few seconds. Whoever this man was, he’d charmed Mancini into giving him a nickname. It was odd. Everything Ardan knew about Mancini indicated he didn’t make emotional connections. The hitman preferred to be off the grid, a lone wolf in a park full of bears. Yet, he had someone he calledbugand who he protected.
Kirby hesitated, gaze swinging to Ardan with a warning before he rose and circled to Mancini’s side. He placed a kiss on Mancini’s temple, and with a final look at Ardan, he left.
“You care about him,” Ardan said.
Mancini inhaled deeply and grabbed his bourbon, finishing it off. “He’s a good man and didn’t deserve what Leo was doing to him.”
Ardan could respect that, much to his own dismay. He didn’t want to understand why Mancini would do something, but this time he did.
“For three years, I watched it happen, Ardan.” Mancini cradled the glass in his hand and leaned back in his chair, eyes slipping closed for a short moment, like he was reminiscing. “I watched as Leo beat the hell out of him. He didn’t have to do anything dramatic. He could sneeze and Leo would find it a reason to beat him. I had enough when I found him on the floor in the hallway, barely able to move or speak. Leo had broken his arm and punched his jaw. I’m surprised he didn’t break that too. I saw those bruises, listened to the way he cried, and I was done. That night, I carried him out of there.”
