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"Well, I appreciate that sentiment. Because I'm sure not everyone would see it that way. I'm sure many guys would see it as a waste of time."
Breaking our conversation was something I did not expect. It made me jump out of my skin and grab my gun. I didn't take the gun out of my compartment, but my handmade to reflex. Next to me, at the window, was a slender tapping finger. The nail on that finger was beautifully done up. They had purple coloring to them. And I knew who that finger belonged to. Angelina.
I was caught. It was one of the few rare times my cheek took on a red hue. I could feel the heat in them. I didn't want to roll down the window because I knew I would have to find an excuse. I would have to conversate with Angelina and somehow undo the creepiness that I had just unfolded on myself. But I did roll down that window.
When I did, she had this look about her where it seemed like she was about to unleash. Her mouth was slightly open, her lower lip quivered, and her eyes cut at me.
"If you don't leave now, I will call your father." She told me.
It was one simple sentence, and yet it carried so much weight. It was also pretty shocking to me. That was the last thing that I had expected her to say.
"Can we talk about this, Angelina?" I kind of already knew the answer to that. But the question was asked.
"No. I have nothing to say to you. You shouldn't be here. You shouldn't be anywhere near here."
What was the man to do at that moment? I didn't want to disrespect her. And I didn't want to be any more problematic. But I also worried about her. "All right, Angelina. I'm leaving."
She folded her arms and gave me a measured look. I knew she wanted to say something else. What that something else was. I had no idea. And I would never know because she walked away after that. I rolled up the window, and I looked at Richter. It was more of a comical look because after everything he had just said, I had been chewed out for it.
"Like I said," Richter started. "Not everyone understands."
I nodded. "I'm going to go to my car. I need you to go around the block and continue to watch her. That doesn't mean my men can't be here if I can't be here. She can't be left alone. If they can't get to me, they will try to get to her. They going to use her as a message."
"I understand, boss. Don't worry about her. I'll catch anyone who tries to creep up. They won't even see me."
I felt comfortable leaving everything in his hands. I felt confident in my men and their eyes. The goal was to keep Angelina alive and safe. There were no guarantees in life, but I liked to prove those types of statements wrong.
Chapter 17
Angelina
Ididn'tneedtodo it. But I officially quit that job with Tomaso. It's not like I have been there as of late. Anyway, He had me on some sort of leave that made no sense on paper. I sent him an email. Even that felt super formal because of our history. Nothing I did felt right. Everything in my life felt just a little weird. Like there was an asterisk next to it.
This part of me was a huge sense of relief over quitting my job. It was partially a feeling of letting go. Moving on. Even though I knew that there was no moving on from the situation that I would always have to look over my shoulders even when I had gray hair, or at least that's how it felt, I could still move on in some way. And that was all that mattered to me.
At home, I shut my laptop and stared out into space. When I did that, of course, my mind went to Tomaso. Even though I was mad at him, and even though he had essentially ruined my life, it was hard not to miss him. It was hard not to think about him. Especially given that he had tried to watch over me despite our circumstances. It still showed me that he had a huge heart. And I'd hate to say it, but it also showed that he cared about me. It was a confusing mental space to be in, to say the least. But I was navigating. I wasn't thriving, but I was surviving. And the more time I put between seeing him and the current moment, the better I felt.
Of course, life wasn't that simple, though. When you tried to go one way, life told you to go another entirely. And I say this because my doorbell rang. I hope that it was the mailman. Even though I wouldn't expect any packages, I don't know. I irrationally hoped it was anyone but the man I was avoiding and trying to move on from.
When I opened that door, there was that very man.
I tried to shut the door, but he put his hand in the way. "Can you hear me out?"
It was like I couldn't say no. I wanted to. I wanted to with every fiber of my being. But I couldn't. " You have five minutes. And again, I will call you father."
He walked in with hesitation. He did have this smug smirk on his face. That's why I wasn't surprised when he said, "You don't have my father's number, but still, I appreciate the effort."
I shook my head. I had no time for his little quips. " Why did you come here, Tomaso? You and I are done. And don't pretend I don't see your men off in the distance occasionally. Because I see them spying on me."
When I said that, his cheeks went a little red. It made me smile. I had to turn away when I smiled. I couldn't let him know I was letting my guard down. But I'd be lying if I said things didn't feel normal with him in my house.
"You know this is a nice place. Goes to show you that you don't need a nice big mansion to be happy."
"I'm not here for small talk."
"No, you're here because you live here."
I rolled my eyes. " Just cut to the chase, okay. We don't have time for any banter or anything like that. I just want to move on with my life."
