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“Hey, you’re eating it, aren’t you?”
“I’m being polite.”
After the laughter dies down, I raise my glass. “To brotherhood.”
Van raises his beer to meet mine. “To brotherhood.” We clink glasses and drink. For the first time in a long while, things feel almost right in my world again.
Almost.
Van hangs around a long time, just like he always used to. We watch the game together, and when he finally leaves, I walk him out to his car. “Thanks for coming over. I’m glad we could talk things through.”
“Me too. And thanks for dinner. It was…edible.”
I clutch my chest dramatically. “I’m wounded!”
Van chuckles. “Keep working on those skills, chef.”
Standing there and watching him drive away, Van’s words about Max still echo in my mind.
DoI owe it to myself to find out the truth about Max? I hate the idea of that asshole worming his way back into my heart.
But if there’s a chance I don’t have the full story, don’t I owe him a chance to defend himself?
With a sigh, I head back inside to clear the table. Spending the evening with Van was good for me. Our friendship has always been my anchor in rough seas and I’m especially glad to have that anchor back now.
As for Max…
Well, maybe Ishouldhear the guy out. Give him a chance to explain. Can’t hurt to listen, at least.
And I also need to find out his thinking behind these questions he’s asking. Because even if Max and I are done, I’m still looking for the mole. Just like he is.
Blood for blood.
CHAPTER41
BRICKER
I spendthe next morning taking care of the small bullshit that’s been piling up—bills, laundry, the kind of stuff I let drop when the job went sideways. I feel better having restocked clean underwear, that’s for sure.
And I do Max’s laundry for him, too, since he left all his clothes here when he…No. Not when he left. When I threw him out of my house.
At gunpoint.
In the late afternoon I head out to see Nico at the hospital—for the last time, I hope, since he’s getting released that evening. I stop dead in the doorway when I see Anna-Vittoria in there already. The nurse has been real strict about one visitor at a time since all of us were crowded in here that time.
“I’ll come back,” I say, backing up.
“Come in, Fabrizio,” Anna-Vittoria tells me with a gentle smile. She looks warmer and happier than I’ve seen her for many months.
“I don’t want to interrupt,” I say, but I come into the room.
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not interrupting.” She holds out her hand to me, gesturing me over. I take her hand as she rises, and she pulls me closer to kiss my cheek, then lets me sit in her chair next to Nico while she moves to the corner.
“Okay, but if the nurse comes by, she’ll kick one of us out.”
“No, she won’t,” Anna-Vittoria assures me.
Yeah. I’m pretty sure no one in their right mind would try to order Anna-Vittoria around. I give Nico a gentle hug. He has a sling on one arm and he still looks pretty pale to me, but he grins exactly like he used to. “So I hear you’re getting out today,” I say.
