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“Raul. Update.”
I stifle a yawn down at my end of the table. Usually, I’d be up nearer the boss, but I’ve been relegated down this end with the meatheads. Punishment for letting myself get stabbed, I guess.
It’s not unreasonable. Walking along the docks whistling was a rookie error, but it’s extra hard to concentrate down here with Gianni’s cologne stinging my nose.
“The Bulgarians are laying low…”
Raul always sounds so goddamn serious when he gives his reports, like he’s reading the eulogy at a funeral. Snore. Though I guess I should be grateful, since two weeks have passed and Santo still has no clue about my bookshop beauty.
Leah’s safe. Sweet and sexy.
Mine.
The doctor leans back in his chair as he speaks and I squint along the table, fighting to concentrate.
It’s so warm in here with the fire. Stuffy, baking us in Gianni’s cologne. Will it draw attention if I get up and crack a window?
“…following up on a lead, but it’s not much to go on…”
Oh, come on. Can’t I just have been stabbed by a random piece of shit? Some desperate asshole with nothing to lose, out prowling for shits and giggles down by the water? I’ve guarded Leah for weeks now, and there hasn’t been a single peep.
Why has everything gotta be a goddamn conspiracy?
“Nico.” The boss’s voice is low and measured. He never has to raise his voice, Santo. He speaks with the absolute certainty that we’ll listen.
I straighten in my seat. “Yes, boss.”
“I hear you’ve been wandering off lately.” Seated at the head of the table, Santo swirls his drink, watching the liquid catch the light. With his dark hair and sharp jaw, his open shirt collar and the shadows under his eyes, a stranger might mistake him for any one of us. Overworked and hardened by life.
Not for long, though. Not once Santo’s piercing blue eyes land on you. Then you’re rooted to the spot, a bead of sweat trickling down your spine.
“Care to share?” The boss’s mouth quirks in a half smile, but there’s no humor there.
I fight a full body shiver and blurt, “I’m not stepping out,” like a prize idiot.
No shit. Only a fool would go behind Santo De Rossi’s back, spreading our secrets around the town. Even suggesting it is a death wish. A few seats down from the boss, Raul closes his eyes, like he can’t stand to watch this car crash a second longer.
“I never said you were.” That velvet voice could give a grown man nightmares. I force a grin like this is all a hilarious joke, like the boss isn’t staring at me without blinking. “But where have you been?”
My mouth is so dry.
Can’t tell him about Leah. Won’t do it. I’d rather end the night at the bottom of the river than sell out my girl. And you’d think I’d have seen this coming, you’d think I’d have an answer queued and ready, but I’ve been all tangled up in thoughts of Leah and now I’m paying the price.
My back is damp beneath my shirt, my stitches hot and itchy in my side. When I clear my throat, it’s way too loud, but Raul speaks before I can force out a lie.
“He met a girl.”
…Molten rage.
It courses through me; fills me up and cooks my skin. How fuckingdarehe. Any harm that comes to Leah, I’ll repay to the doctor ten times over—I don’t care how many times he’s saved my life.
“She’s nothing,” I say quickly, the lie bitter on my tongue. Leah’severything, but Santo De Rossi doesn’t need to know that. The less he knows about her, the better, because god forbid that Santo might think I’m too distracted. “A piece of skirt, that’s all. I’ll stop seeing her, boss.”
Santo leans back, stroking his jaw, still watching me. Always watching. Studying me like he sees inside my skull, all my most private thoughts splayed out for him to read. The fire dances in the grate beside the table, casting golden light across the room, lighting up the bottom half of the De Rossi family oil paintings.
Right now, they’re a bunch of over-intimidating legs. Not a helpful observation. And I’m all ready to push my chair back, to fall into a defensive stance, but Santo clicks his tongue.
This time when his mouth twitches, there’s a flash of warmth. A rare sight for our ice cold leader. “Check in more often, Nico. No more secrets, but keep your girl. I’d hate for you to sulk around the compound with a broken heart.”
