Page 109 of Worth of Waste

“I know who he is,” Karen said, “but I thought you had already figured that out, too.”

“Not by a long shot.”

Karen frowned. “Don’t you already know without needing to ask me, Dino?”

“I don’t know anything anymore.”

“I’ll go wherever with you. You only have to ask.”

Because she loved him, he realized.

Karen had never cared much about the details, or the parts of him he kept tucked away. She didn’t ask to see the monsters biting at his back day and night, she just cared for the man sitting beside her when he allowed her to. She didn’t want to be a part of the life that suffocated him, and maybe that was what kept her so perfect away from it all. She never talked about the funerals he had gone to over the last month, but he suspected she thought he might have had a hand in at least one of them.

His uncle’s, to be specific.

No, Karen didn’t care.

She just loved him—loved the fuck out of him.

“Pick one,” Dino repeated, “and we’ll go.”

Karen nodded. “Okay.”

She didn’t ask how or when.

He wasn’t surprised.

“Hey, Dino.”

Dino’s head flew up from the screen of his cell phone as he walked out of the strip club. Business hours were about to start soon, and he wasn’t interested in sticking around. Lily’s wedding was the next day, so he needed to be up bright and early for all of that.

“Dean,” Dino said, trying to beat back his urge to scowl.

Walter Artino’s son leaned against the brick wall of the club looking like he owned the damn place. Except he didn’t; Dino did.

He still didn’t trust this kid, or the guy’s snake of a father.

Ever since Ben’s death, the Artinos had been making things particularly difficult for Dino and Theo on the business side of things. All too often, Dino found himself locked in a battle of wills with Walter on things like territory and splitting up crews.

Walter felt entitled, due to his friendship with Ben.

Dino felt like putting a bullet in Walter and Dean’s head.

He couldn’t afford the attention, so he chose not to do it.

Yet.

Dino looked the Artino kid up and down. “You need something?”

“Could you give me a ride home?” Dean asked.

It seemed innocent enough, but something felt off about the whole thing. Dean was more likely to ask for something from Theo, not Dino. If only because Theo had more patience for the kid and his nonsense, and he worked under Theo a great deal of the time.

It was odd for him to ask Dino for anything, really.

“To your father’s place?” Dino asked.

Dean nodded.