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She stays sleeping when I tear myself out of the bed. I leave my laptop behind. My phone’s lying on the kitchen counter. I stand in front of the windows, still naked, overlooking Dallas. I call Carmine and he answers right away.
“It’s late, shouldn’t you be asleep?” He sounds wide awake though, the hypocrite.
“Can’t seem to do much of that these days.” I put a hand on the glass. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to fall through the air. No net, no parachute. Only a fall and a landing. Sometimes I think I’vebeenfalling all this time. And Renata’s my landing. “We had a little job tonight.”
“The package thing? How’d it go?”
“Went well. Turns out, the box had fingers in it.”
Carmine snorts. “Fucker had you delivering severed fingers? That’s ballsy as hell.”
“Renata didn’t enjoy it.”
“That’s reasonable.”
I tap my fingers on the glass. “I don’t know if he figured out that I’m involved yet, but he will soon.”
“From what I’ve heard about Burian, you’re absolutely right.” Carmine sounds worried. “What’s the plan?”
“I hoped he’d overextend himself this time and make a mistake. But I’m starting to think that’s not happening.”
“You’ll have to force his hand.”
I grunt in response. “I’m not using her as bait.”
“I wasn’t going to suggest it.”
“That’s the most logical move, isn’t it?” I stare at the lights, at the street below. “Find a way to dangle her. Put Burian in a tight spot.”
“Really, Lanzo, I wasn’t going to suggest it.” He pauses, the sound of him adjusting the phone and a clink of glass. “Maybe a few years back, before Brice. But now? Some things are more important.”
I grin to myself. “A few days ago, I would’ve called you soft.”
“Is this girl making you start to understand?”
“There’s something about her.” I hesitate, not able to understand it myself, let alone explain in words.
But Carmine only laughs. “I know what you mean. Brice did the same damn thing to me. She’s still doing it every day.”
“Really? Even now?”
“There’s not a single day that passes where I don’t count myself the luckiest man alive to have found a woman like her. Except then I talk to Evander, Ford, and Gareth, and they all feel the same way.”
“I’m the last to fall then.”
“It’s not like that.” The sound of Carmine taking a drink. “Brice made me a better man. She made me more well-rounded. Before her, I was a selfish prick, bullying my way through the Famiglia, not giving a shit about what anyone else thought. She helps me find a better path.”
“Right now, the only path I want to find is the one that leads between Ren’s legs.” I grin to myself, but I know the joke’s only deflecting how I really feel.
The fall. The landing. Finding something solid. Something real.
Carmine chuckles half-heartedly. “You’ll see the light eventually. Now tell me more about the drop-off.”
“It went about how you’d expect. Except I found out something about the recipient.” I pause for dramatic effect. “He’s an FBI agent.”
Carmine whistles. “No kidding? Another one?”
“Deep cover. Not good cover, but still. That’s probably why Burian’s involved with him. If I can see through the ruse, Burian can too.”
