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Only once she’s flat against the chair again do I remove my fingers. I calmly walk to the sink to wash my hands, then I open the door.
“I’m done. Clean her up,” I tell Lazzaro. The porn vid is still going, now nothing but crying and loud smacks.
I pick up my phone and close the video. It was crude, but effective. I almost admire Pavone for his creativity in revenge, although it’s a waste too. A pretty woman like Elena would have brought in a lot more funds without the disfigurement.
But it’s not my problem if Pavone lets his feelings get in the way of profit. I go to undo the cuffs around Lucia’s wrists.
“One more thing, doctor,” I say. “I need her to be on birth control. If she’s clean, I don’t want to bother with condoms.”
“I could see about getting an IUD for her? That’ll be easier than making her take pills—”
Lucia makes a distressed sound, and without permission, she unhooks the gag. “I’m—I’m already on birth control.” She points to her arm. “An implant.”
God, her voice is completely ragged. Holding it open for so long must have dried out her throat completely. There’s a faint red imprint from the straps too, and a few salty trails along her cheeks.
I lift my phone and snap a picture of her.
She flinches away from the camera, but it’s too late. Her face is immortalized like this. I’ll send it to Santino later so he can add it to the collection.
“Fine. No birth control.” I finally deign to smile at her. “I look forward to having some real fun with you, Lucia.”
11
Saint
Even though I want to go back inside and play with Lucia a little more, I need to spend some time with the guys. We’ve all been so focused on Lucia and her father that we haven’t had any time to just relax. Everything has been about mindfucks and games, and while it’s fun enough, that’s Victor’s thing.
I grab a couple of beers for me and Angel—Victor can get his own aged scotch or whatever it is he’s drinking on his own, wherever he’s got it stashed away from the staff—and head outside to the fire pit.
Angel’s already there, on his knees while he plucks weeds from his precious garden. I can’t help but look at him for a long moment there in profile, thinking about how fucking good he looks on his knees and how it could easily lead to something more—
I slam the door on those thoughts almost as soon as they appear. I’m not thinking that way about Angel. He’s my best friend and comrade, but he’ll never be anything more than that because I’m not bi like he is.
“Brought you a beer. Where’s Victor?” I ask, forcing myself to get out of my own head.
“Don’t know. Aren’t you the one who usually keeps tabs on him?” Angel retorts, flashing me a grin before throwing a clump of dirt at my legs. It falls harmlessly a few feet away from me, and I roll my eyes.
“No one ‘keeps tabs’ on Victor. That’s like saying you keep tabs on a cat,” I say.
Angel rolls his eyes at me. “Yeah, sure. You don’t have a GPS tracker in all of our phones? And I’ve seen how you look at Victor—”
My hackles rise and I’ve got half a mind to start a fight, but that’s when Victor opens the veranda door and starts walking over. He’s got a drink in hand, and for the first time in days he even looks a bit relaxed.
“Yo!” I wave at Victor. “We’re all set up here.”
“Thank you.” Victor sits down in one of the patio chairs and takes a long sip of his drink.
I try to figure out what exactly Angel was insinuating. I respect and admire Victor, but that’s it. He’s been there for me when I was at my lowest, when the entire world seemed to have it out for me. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Victor saved my life. If not for him, I probably would have died in a ditch somewhere. Of course I look up to him.
Whatever; there are better things to talk about. I take the chair next to Victor and sigh happily. It’s a beautiful view, with the fire and the sky just starting to turn dark. It’s early summer still, so the nights are a bit cooler, but that’s what the fire is for.
Angel finally finishes playing with his plants and comes to join us. He takes the beer I offer him. “Damn, when’s the last time we got together like this?”
“Two months ago,” Victor answers. “You were out on that job, and after that, we had that trouble with Bellini’s men in the northern warehouse district. And of course, all the planning that went into kidnapping Lucia.”
I break out into a grin. “Lucia’s great, isn’t she?”
Angel holds his beer out towards me, and I clink it. “She is, even if I’m still mad she lied to us.” He takes a swig of his beer. I extend my bottle in Victor’s direction, but of course he doesn’t react.
