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“Can it be both?”
She sighs and I hear her adjust the phone. “He’s really handsome and everything but he came storming into my apartment like he wanted to throw you over his shoulder. That’s not exactly normal behavior, you know?”
“Lanzo’s different.” I squeeze my eyes shut. The last thing I want to do right now is defend him, but I can’t have Amy calling the cops or something stupid. “He’s protective, that’s all.”
“That’s putting it mildly.”
“We got this job—” I hesitate, trying to find a way to describe it. “It pays well. But it’s a little, uh, rough.”
“You mean, you have a dangerous job that this mysterious overprotective boyfriend is involved with?” She clears her throat. “You realize you’re making him sound like your pimp?”
I groan, leaning my head back on the pillow. “Why do people keep insinuating that?”
“Maye you need to reevaluate some of your life choices if this is a recurring theme.” She doesn’t sound amused.
“Seriously, Amy, I’m okay. Lanzo’s okay. We’re all okay. And I’m not a hooker.”
“You don’t have to be a hooker to have a pimp. I read about these girls that are kept in this big, really nice house, and all they do is stream on OnlyFans all day long—”
“I amnotstreaming on OnlyFans.”
“Whatever! I’m just saying I’m worried, okay?”
“I know.” I smile to myself. It feels nice to be the one people worry about instead of the one doing the all the worrying for a change. “But I promise, I’m good. And don’t think too much about that big guy you saw hanging around.”
“Oh, god. You know about Meat Face?”
“Meat Face? That’s such a bad nickname. Just don’t worry, everything’s under control.”
“That’s not making me feel better!”
I hurry off the phone before I can make things even worse.
Lanzo comes home that night. He knocks on my door, wants to talk, but I send him away. Strangely, he doesn’t fight me on it. After a little while of silence, I slink out into the kitchen, sneak myself some leftover pasta from earlier, but a shadow appears over my shoulder before I can escape.
“You’re not allowed to hide in that room forever.”
I flinch, whirling around. How the hell did a guy that big sneak up on me? “I’m not hiding.”
“You’re avoiding me.”
“No kidding. I’m angry with you.” I try to brush past him, leaving my dinner behind. I’d rather starve than talk to him.
But he doesn’t let up. “You’re pissed because I won’t let you get involved with a very dangerous, very possibly deadly job? Did that guy strangle the sense from you?”
“That’s not funny,” I snap at him. “And you know that’s not how it is. I want to help. I want to get back at Burian for what he did to me.”
“I’m going to do that.” He grabs my wrist. I try to tug away, but he holds on tight. I face him, and I hate that I still find him gorgeous, even after all this. I hate that I want him to pin me against the wall, to kiss my neck, my lips. To make me forget for a little while.
“I just want to feel like I’m useful for once in my life,” I say before I can stop myself. I snap my jaw shut before I can spill more.
But his face softens. “What do you mean by that?”
“It’s nothing.” I try to pull away.
“Renata.” He drags me closer to him. The big bastard. “What are you talking about, you want to feel useful?”
I seethe there for a moment, breathing in his smell. Hating him for the way he makes me feel. Until I manage to wrench my wrist away and stagger backwards, bumping into the wall. I look down at the carpet, unable to meet his gaze.
