Page 96 of Revere: A Legacy Novel

Cross stuffed his hands in his pockets. “You’re working my nerves.”

“I do what I do. Nobody said you had to fucking like it, asshole.”

“We’re never working together again after this run,” Cross said. “We would kill each other. I can almost see it.”

It was a guarantee.

Andino shrugged. “Fine by me. Have you got the rest of this run figured out?”

“It’s a pretty basic run,” Cross replied, “but for the whole keeping your boss out of the loop bit. It usually tends to make a boss feel more comfortable when they know it is me running their guns.”

“Yes, well, not Dante.”

“Definitely not.”

Andino eyed Cross again. “Although, I hear through the grapevine that you’re still seeing Catherine.”

Cross smirked. “So?”

“Playing with fire, don’t you think?”

“Not at all.”

“We had dinner on Sunday,” Andino said with a chuckle, “and you happened to come up in the conversation. I can’t say I have ever seen Dante be that quiet and angry at the same time.”

“Funny,” Cross drawled.

“I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Catherine’s like every Marcello principessa. She can do no wrong in her father’s eyes. She’s got him wrapped around her pinky finger, and all she needs to do is smile and bat her eyelashes.”

“Yet, I think he would still gut me like a pig if he thought he could get away with it and keep me away from his daughter once it was all said and done.”

“Probably,” Andino agreed, “but that won’t happen. I mean, Dante can hope it will, but clearly Catherine has her own ideas about you.”

“Clearly,” Cross echoed.

He was not about to go offering details regarding his relationship with Catherine, or … whatever in the hell they were. They were still trying to figure some shit out, after all. She let him take her out occasionally, and she stayed the night when she wanted to. Cross didn’t push. Catherine didn’t seem to want labels for the moment.

Cross could deal with that.

For now …

“Give Dante time to get used to you being around again,” Andino said with a shrug. “Or you know, keep a low profile and hope he doesn’t figure out a way to be rid of you and keep Catherine in the dark at the same time. They’re good at that, those two.”

Cross’s brow furrowed. “Good at what?”

“Lying to one another. They’ve been doing it for years. I don’t think they know how to sit down and have an honest conversation with one another when all they want to do is keep the other one in the dark, and happy at the same time.”

Andino laughed under his breath, adding, “The funny thing is, what they want to keep from the other one, and what they lie about, the other one already knows. Strangest relationship I’ve ever had to deal with, honestly.”

“Wait,” Cross murmured, stepping close enough to the table that he could set his hands down on the edge. “Are you talking about Catherine’s work for you and stuff?”

“Yeah, for one.”

“Seriously?”

Andino glanced up from the map, and cocked a brow. “Her parents—but more Dante—made the decision long ago not to bring up Catherine’s work with me unless she brought it up to them first. She doesn’t want them to know. She lies. They lie. Everyone is happy … sort of. Like I said, it’s strange.”

“You’re telling me that she still doesn’t know that they’re aware she’s hustling drugs for you?”