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It’s the touching of my gun that really gets to me. No one touches my guns. I take a step forward, reach out a hand intended to calm me as much as him. “It’s not what you think.”
He looks over. “Really? Because it looks like you’re building a device to spy on me and my crew.”
“That’sdefinitelynot what it is. Spying was never my intention. I’m not here to spy on you, I keep telling you that.”
“Then explain this!” Bricker snaps, waving a broken piece of plastic in my face.
I push his hand away. “I need a way to communicate with my Family. It’s bullshit to expect me to cut ties completely, and it’s not what my Boss agreed with your Boss, either.”
“Maestra. And even if you didn’t intend to spy, you know damn well that this could put us at risk, blabbing over the air about what we’re doing. You’re compromising the safety of my crewandthe success of our operation.”
“Bricker, come on,” I sigh, reaching out for him, but he pulls away. We’re both still naked, which makes everything feel slightly ridiculous. “I’m not trying to sabotage anything. I’m onyour side, for Christ’s sake.”
“Then why go behind my back? Why try to contact your old Family?” he asks, eyes cold and unyielding.
“They arestillmy Family, and I just wanted to let them know I’m doing okay.”
“Why? What the fuck is so important that you gotta tell them, huh?”
He’s starting to piss me off. “Put yourself in my shoes,” I tell him. “I need to be able to protect my Family’s interests, too, even if it means walking a thin line. I need to know what’s going on with them, even if I keep quiet about what’s going on here. They were talking about dealing with the Bernardis when I left and—”
“Fuck the Bernardis! And fuck you! I can’t believe I thought—even for asecond—that you meant what you said,” Bricker says with a hollow laugh. “God. Look at me, Max. A few days with you and you got me ready to suck your dick and let you talk me out of jobs.”
“That’s not fair,” I say, pointing at him. “That’s fucking unfair and untrue.”
“Man, you aregood,” he says with false admiration. “You Castellanis really know how to work a guy. Is that why you wanted to contact them? Let them know how fast you got me on the leash? Did you have a bet going with Julian, see if you could break his record with the Bernardi Lion?”
“Will you cut it out?” I snap, pushed too far at last.
And Bricker, surprisingly, does. He throws the broken device on the bed, puts his hands on his hips, and waits for me to say something.
“Look,” I sigh, running a hand through my hair, frustration and desperation swirling within me. “You Espositoscan’texpect me to cut all ties with my Family, Bricker. My Boss is going to come down hard onyouif I don’t let him know I’m okay. That’s all I had planned. But this radio, it doesn’t even work.”
“Yet.”
Well, he has me there. “Yet,” I admit.
Bricker gives a bitter laugh. “You expect me to believe that’s all it is? Max Pedretti, security specialist, planted in my crew—”
“I wasn’t planted; your own Bossputme here!”
“Maestra,for fuck’s sake!—and I’m supposed to believe you just wanted to send back an All’s Well to your boys? Bullshit, Pedretti.”
“Believe what you want,” I tell him, my patience waning, “but I’m telling you the truth. I’m not trying to undermine you, your crew, or the Esposito Family. But I need to keep up my connections. If you were in my place, you’d do the same.”
He glares at me, and I try real hard to keep my eyes from wandering down his naked body. He’s still gorgeous, even mad as hell.
He turns his back on me. “We can figure this out in the morning,” he throws over his shoulder as he strides out of the room, and a few seconds later I hear what I expected to hear: the key turning in the lock, keeping me in for the night.
* * *
Breakfast the next morning is a strained affair, and I don’t get eggs or bacon or any special treatment at all. I get cereal and not enough milk.
“Bricker, come on,” I say, after we sit there crunching in silence for a while. “Do you really believe I’m betraying you and the crew like that?”
His eyes are hard, giving away nothing.
I shake my head. “Sometimes there are things bigger than just one Family. There are threats that require cooperation between us all. Talking to my Family was meant to ensure the safety of everyone,includingyour crew.” I pause, allowing my words to sink in, hoping he’ll see the truth in them.
