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“It’s not… exactly…” Santino trails off. “We just all have the same goal, right? For you to be in charge, to bring down Pavone? Why shouldn’t we have an alliance about it?”
I’m sure that’s all Santino is considering. He still hasn’t even looked at Angelo, which leads me to believe there’s a lot more going on here.
“It’s nice that the two of you kissed and made up,” I say, and I’m gratified with how Santino flinches.
Angelo starts laughing. “We did a lot more than kiss.”
Santino looks at Angelo, aghast. “Angel!” he squeaks out. “We don’t need to talk about… about that.”
“What? It happened, didn’t it?” Angelo asks, shrugging as he grins at Santino. “Victor doesn’t care that you’re bi. We all knew you were bi anyway. We were just waiting for you to admit it. Right, Victor?”
“How you spend your time is none of my concern,” I say. Angelo is right that I’ve known about Santino’s attraction to men for years—since I met him, in fact. It would have been hard not to know about it, since he’d been introduced to me by a man I suspect was Santino’s boyfriend at the time.
“It wasn’t—anyway, Lucia was there. It was about her,” Santino protests.
That draws my interest more than anything else so far. “Was she? Pavone lets her out of his sight, unprotected?”
“Not unprotected,” Angelo says. “I was there.” He smirks. “There’s nothing wrong with having the resident fag babysit your bride-to-be. No need to worry about her virtue anyway, sullied as it was by the villainous Victor Corvi. You know he still believes she was a virgin when you got your hands on her?”
I can’t stop the amused chuckle. Lucia’s still a fine actress, it seems. The most surprising thing is that nobody else has revealed the truth to Pavone, but I suppose I wouldn’t want to be the person to give Pavone that kind of information.
I hate the fondness I feel at hearing about Lucia pulling the wool over Pavone’s eyes. I should cling to the anger and annoyance instead.
The server comes around then, and we quickly place our orders. I notice Angelo asks for the most expensive dish on the menu, along with a very pricey bottle of wine.
“It’s your treat, right, Corvi?” Angelo says once the server is gone again.
“Pavone doesn’t pay you enough?” I retort. “You might earn better as a freelance contractor, then.”
“The pay is fine,” Angelo answers, although his expression darkens. “But I gotta say, he’s not half as charming as you are. I don’t think I’d ever share anything with him.”
“Speaking of!” Santino interrupts. “That’s what we’re here to talk about, Victor. Finding new employment for Angel and getting you a promotion. Because now we’ve got some insider information.”
Santino knows me well enough to understand the promise of information will always intrigue me. I make sure not to give my interest away, though. “Forgive me if I think this sounds too good to be true. It was made very clear to me how little you wanted to associate with me, Angelo. And I doubt Lucia agreed to any of this.”
“Lucia did agree,” Santino says earnestly. “As long as we help her, her mother, and her sister get away from Pavone and his men. She’s coming back to us!” There’s a little triumphant sound to his voice, but it falters into something awkward almost immediately. “Well. Back to me and Angel. She didn’t mention you.”
I have my doubts that she truly wants Angelo or Santino either, and the way Angelo shifts, I can tell he knows it, too.
The server comes around with drinks and the wine. Angelo pretends to taste it, as if he has any real idea of wine quality, and gives his approval. The problem with restaurant meetings is the constant interruptions.
I take a sip of the wine once the server is gone and fix a stare on Santino. “How did you convince Lucia? And don’t tell me she didn’t need convincing, because I won’t believe you.”
“She… I…” Santino takes a gulp from his wine glass, his cheeks turning bright red. “It wasn’t that hard to convince her. She just wants Pavone gone.”
“She has no reason to trust any of us,” I mention bluntly. “Maybe you slipped something into her drink to make her agree?”
Angelo snorts and chokes on his drink. “Something slipped intosomebody.”
Santino pales and shakes his head. “No! I wouldn’t do that to her. I told you, I met Angel at QP. And… and he brought Lucia. I just told her we could stop the wedding. I promised her protection, and an exit plan.”
I’m having a hard time imagining exactly what happened, other than sex. But with how Angelo doesn’t contradict Santino, and with his insinuations… I’m certain that it was planned. Lucia needs our help. She got Angelo and Santino on her side once more. But the two of them alone aren’t enough to take down Pavone.
She needs me too, apparently.
“We already promised her protection,” I tell Santino. “She didn’t like how that turned out. I’m failing to see why I should cater to her whims now, when she’s already rejected me. She rejectedyou.”
“She didn’t reject me,” Santino says stubbornly. “She wasn’t thinking right when she left. And she knows I’m serious about wanting her back.”
