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“We got three days to get the van to New York. Meet our own men and then make a delivery to the Kumarin’s.”
Kumarin’s?” Carlos’ face is surprised.
“Is that bad?”
He shakes his head. “Nah,that’sbig, man. I knew a couple guys from there while I was up there. Definitely hardcore. But it was very closed off. So if you manage to pry open a door with them, you must be doing something right. I think Sergiev is like the Iron Wall or some shit? Ex-KGb or… I dunno. Crazy though. Dangles mother fuckers off of buildings and shit just for fun.”
I whistle through my teeth. “That’s who Luca will meet if this goes well.” I click through and begin another game, determined to beat him. “But he said you’re all approved and in the system.”
Carlos nods and pokes his tongue out while playing. “Thanks man. I know I’ve been blase about it, but I’m just in a weird space at the moment. Shit’s going on, I gotta sort it out, and, well, you probably heard all about it, meeting Mom and Mimi wasn't exactly the best.”
“Oh yeah?” I perk up at the thought of hearing about Mimi, even if I’ve pissed in that pool of chance.
“Well I called Mom, said,What you having for dinner?She told me she was having some Salisbury steak tv dinner like we used to when we were kids. That she and Mimi were watching some old movies and shit. I called her out straight away, sayingNo, you’re not. I can see it’s a takeout burrito!They flipped. Saw me at the window and everything.” He’s grinning and looks properly happy for the first time since he arrived a week ago.
“Then what?” I asked, already knowing what came next.
“Mom got her hands out and started slapping me over the head and back, made me come down next to her chair so she could do that and kiss me.”
My cheeks are hurting from smiling at the image.
“It was good,” he says. “But I still gotta sort out my shit. Moving back was kinda necessary as well as convenient.”
I shrug. “If there’s anything I can do to help?”
“You already are a man. Putting me up. Giving me food. You gave me a job. We’re good. It's just one of those things of slowly restarting life after being out of the port for a while.”
“I know that,” I say. See, why couldn’t I have had such an eloquent answer for Mimi? Why did I stumble through some crap of head space and her being a sister. It doesn’t matter that she’s his sister. Well, I mean, it doesn’t matter when I want us to be together. Itmightmatter if we ever have to say anything, but—the way she stormed out, I get that I’m not going to be repairing that bridge anytime soon. The worst part is how she looked so good as she stormed out.Her ass, and that bikini hid nothing, and I couldn’t drag that image from my mind even if I tried.
Maybe going away for a few days will give her,and me, time to cool off? Calm down a bit. Maybe we can chat after it all? The fire I started in her heart might be quenched by then, at least. I know mine keeps racing.
We play games for a few more hours and then decided to go to bed early. I know we’re not leaving until ten, but there are a few errands I want to run before we go.
It takes me most of the night to fall asleep, purely because I can’t stop thinking about Mimi. After all this time, it’s like I’ve only just realized that she is a woman.
It’s just a shame that she's the sister of my best-friend.
I feel so lost.
˜
I wake to the sound of my phone vibrating. I blindly reach for it and answer. “Hello?” I’m looking around in the early light. The sun is up, and my clock reads eight in the morning.
“C’mon, chop chop! Out the front.”
I double check the clock. It iseight.
“What do you mean?”
“Van’s here. We’re waiting for the swap so you can go.”
I swear and rip the sheet from my body. I get out of bed and pull on some pants. My damn boner is pointing like a compass, and I tuck the thing up. “Hold on, I’m coming.”
“Good!”
Only after I’ve hung up do I realize that it was Sophie calling me. What the hell is she doing calling me for? What the hell is she doing delivering the van? Why would Luca do that?
I pull on a shirt as I pass through the living room, and I can hear Carlos snoring away. I unlock the door and head out, sliding on my slides as I go. I jog down the pathway and turn around the building. Sure enough, the van is out front. The windows are half tinted, and I can only make out vague shapes.
