AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I know how you feel," the words are out before I can stop myself.Fuck.I raise my glass to my mouth and drain it. The liquor burns its way down and the harshness of the world seems to recede a little. I sway as I slam my glass back onto the counter. "Uh, I think it’s time you left," I blurt out.
"Hold on, back up," he shakes his head, "did you just say what I think you did?"
"Yeah, I told you to fuck off," I reach for the bottle, and this time, he snatches it away before I get to it.
"You want to fight again?" I growl, then reach for the bottle, but he evades me.
"You can’t change the topic of conversation,fratello,"he mutters. "I know you miss her."
"You don’t know anything," I growl.
"That may be the case," his lips kick up, "but I do know what it is to stay away from the woman you love because your ego doesn’t allow you to return to her."
"I am doing the right thing." I grip the edges of the counter. "She deserves better than me."
"No argument there from me," he smirks, "but for some inexplicable reason, Theresa is in love with you."
"Not after how I treated her," I rub the back of my head, "I broke her heart and sent her away."
"Nothing that a bout of groveling won’t fix."
"You don’t understand." I squeeze the bridge of my nose. "She can do better than me. It’s best if I start divorce proceedings and set her free to pursue a future different from mine."
"Oh?" He tilts this head, "So you’ll be fine if she decides to fuck someone else? If she meets someone else and decides to share her life with him. If she—"
I lurch forward, grab his collar.
He chuckles, "That’s what I thought."
I glare at him, and the motherfucker laughs in my face. "You’re a goner, man. You’re so fucking pussy-whipped that you are standing here in the darkness thinking about her instead of manning up to your mistake and returning to her and asking her to take you back."
"Fuck," I tighten my grip on his collar, "fucking fuck."
"You know I am right." He brings his glass up to his mouth and takes a sip.
"Bloody fucking hell." I release him and lower my chin to my chest, "I am so fucked."
"Welcome to the real world, brother," he agrees.
"What the hell am I going to do?"
"You are going to clean yourself up and put on a fresh set of clothes, then you are going to return with me to Palermo and throw yourself at her mercy."
"I can’t do that," I push away from the counter and begin to pace, "I am a cop. I don’t think you realize what that means. I’m a cop and you guys are—"
"The Mafia? Thanks for pointing that out." He smirks,
"Though I may not be one a few weeks from now," I raise a shoulder, "maybe that will make things easier."
"What do you mean?"
"I am going to resign from my job."
"Why would you do that?" He scowls.
"Because we are on the opposite sides of the law?"
"So?"
