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“Far as I know,” I said. “I haven’t really been in shape enough to look in the mirror.”
Allegra bit her lip, looking down at me. “I think I’ll go for a walk,” she said, her face looking pale. It wasn’t that Allegra was queasy around blood, exactly, but she didn’t grow up with it like I did.
“Stay on the hotel grounds,” I warned, and she nodded, leaving the room. She’d meet the food delivery guy in the lobby at least, so he wouldn’t walk in on me and Croaker. “How’s it look?” I asked.
“Not great,” Croaker said. “You’ve got an infection setting in.”
“It’s only been a day,” I argued.
“Still. Should have called me when it happened,” Croaker chided, digging in his pack for some kind of cream that felt amazing on my skin, cooling the sting. “That’s an antibiotic cream. Apply it twice a day. I’ll give you some oral meds, too. You got anything for the pain?”
“Oxy,” I answered.
“Go easy on it,” Croaker warned. “I’ve known too many guys who got hooked after an injury like this.”
“I’ve got it,” I said confidently. I wasn’t worried about having a problem with drugs. I didn’t like to feel out of it, didn’t even like to drink too much. I hated not being in control, and so I never fucked with drugs or alcohol, or at least only on social occasions. I’d had to do a line here or there while I was hanging out with the right crowd, just to get them to trust me, but I didn’t like the way stimulants or opiates or even alcohol made me feel, so I stayed away from them for the most part. Nevertheless, I’d let Allegra have the meds so that she could dole them out to me. Even guys who thought they’d never get hooked sometimes did, and I couldn’t risk that. Especially not when I had Allegra to protect.
“Thanks, Croak,” I said earnestly.
He waved a hand. “Your cash is all the thanks I need,” he joked.
I laughed. “Hand me that duffel bag, would you?” He tossed it over on my good side and I took out a stack of hundreds, handing it to him. Croaker slid it into his black doctor’s bag and put down a bottle of antibiotics on the side table.
“Take these once a day, and don’t fuck around,” he warned. “Don’t stop taking them if you feel better; take them ‘til they’re gone.”
I nodded. “Hey, Croak, I need a favor. I’m looking for two guys, maybe cousins, brothers, something.”
“You got a name?” he asked easily.
“No name,” I said, “but I know how good you are with faces. One bigger, one smaller. Big one had a scar across his nose.”
“Straight across?” he asked, looking up at me, and I held back a grin, knowing now that he knew who it was.
“Straight across. Big guy, taller than me, broader.”
“Sounds like Andres. Got a little brother named Giovanni. Was the little guy bald?”
I shook my head. “Full head of hair.”
Croaker hummed. “Yeah, I don’t know about the little one without more information, but the big one sounds like Andres Lombardi. He’s a low-level thug, works for anyone who gives him money. Doesn’t have loyalty to anyone.”
“So he’s got a brother? How old?” I asked.
“Twenty-five. He’s in the life, same as his brother.”
I nodded. Twenty-five was old enough. I was pondering what to do when the door opened. Allegra returned with two large pizzas and what appeared to be garlic knots, and my stomach rumbled. Maybe I was hungry after all.
Croaker looked at her and then back at me, raising an eyebrow. “Mind your business, Croak,” I barked, and he shrugged and grabbed his bag, shooting me a sloppy salute before leaving. Croaker was ex-military but I wasn’t, so I just chuckled as he walked out.
“How are you?” Allegra asked.
“Sore and hungry,” I said, leaning forward with a hiss to grab a slice of pizza when she opened the box. It was pepperoni and mushroom, my favorite. “You remembered?”
She scoffed. “Happens to be my favorite too, that’s all,” she mumbled, but I saw her eat out of the other box instead.
I gave her a grin. “Are you done being mad at me,stellina?”
She groaned. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
