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“Shit. You really did fall for her, huh?” Lorenzo asked as he watched me as I ran through the past few weeks.
I ignored that.
I was trying to think past that, past the crack that had started in my chest, a sharp sensation that I wanted to raise a hand and rub.
But it wouldn’t help.
Nothing would.
Except, maybe, figuring this clusterfuck of a situation out.
“If she was faking who she was in that house for the past few weeks, she’s the best goddamn actress I’ve ever seen,” I said. “I’m not saying that’s impossible. I just… I don’t know. It’s in stupid shit…”
“Like?” he asked.
“Like she found these two kittens when she was cleaning out the garden and she hid them in her bathroom where she was nursing them back to health. And when I ‘caught’ her, she fucking bawled her eyes out, apologizing and swearing she would bring them to a shelter, even though it was clear it was the last thing she wanted to do.”
“Okay…” he said, nodding. “I can see your point there. If this was just a job…”
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“Maybe we can work under the assumption that this was both a job and something real.”
“It seems the most logical conclusion. Honeytraps don’t cry over kittens. They’re cold and calculated. They don’t get teary as they do the job, then leave the fucking point of the job behind when they get caught.”
“Again, fair,” he agreed. “Alright,” he sighed. “First things first, we need to figure out more about this deal,” he said, waving to the paper.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
“And then we need to figure out more about Avery. Do you still have her paperwork?” he asked, making me slump back in my chair. “I’ll take that as a no?”
“I met her as my other applicant rammed into her on the way out. She dropped all her shit and her coffee spilled all over her paperwork. I… I never made her fill it out again. I just… I liked her,” I admitted.
“Hey, Milo,” he said, waiting until he had my attention. “I am not saying this is as fucked as it looks at first blush, okay? Don’t think I need to remind you of how crazy shit can get in our lives. People who are desperate and do what they need to survive. People conned into doing work they wouldn’t normally do. I wouldn’t get too in your head about it until we figure out more.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, but it was too late. I was in my head. And it was a terrible fucking place to be.
“We’re gonna figure this out,” he said, voice firm, but reassuring at the same time.
“Yeah,” I said.
“Look,” he said, tone more commanding, trying to get me out of the downward spiral. “Remember how I met Gia?” he asked.
Yeah.
That was the shit of legends in this Family.
He’d kidnapped her, tossed her in his trunk, and brought her back to the city to hold hostage in his apartment for his father because her father owed the Family money.
And that clusterfuck of a situation ended up with Lorenzo’s father murdered… and Lorenzo and Gia currently living out their happily ever after.
“And what about Salvatore and Whitney?”
She’d been on her way home while Salvatore had been carrying out a hit. She caught a stray bullet. He’d chained her to a table and operated on her.
“And, Milo… what about Isabella and Primo?” he asked, bringing up my sister’s situation, something he rarely did, knowing how much it had fucked me in the head.
But, yeah, he had a point.
She’d been forced into that marriage with a rival to our Family. But ended up falling for him.
“What I’m getting at is this Family is known for their unconventional, complicated pairings, okay? Do I understand why your head and heart feel all fucked up right now? Yeah. But I think we have a lot of evidence for why you shouldn’t give up all hope just yet.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, even as my insides felt like a endless pit that I was just going to keep falling into.
“I think your next step is your ma,” Lorenzo said, making my head whip up.
“What? Why?”
“Because she interviewed her,” he reminded me as my mind just kept swirling, making it impossible to grab hold of any one singular thought.
“Right,” I said, then, with more understanding, “Right. Yeah. I’m gonna go do that,” I said. “Brio is going to be at my place to look after the kittens,” I told him.
“I’ll talk to him after he’s done,” Lorenzo agreed. “Don’t worry about this part. I’ll handle the Family,” he said.
“Thanks, Enz,” I said as I got to my feet, feeling slightly better that I had a direction to go in, something to focus on other than the pit of unhappiness inside of me, growing wider by the moment.
“Take the driver,” he demanded.
