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A wave of panic curled up Ayesha’s spine as “Josh” left her side and went to stand next to Mo. They could onlyassumeGiorgio wasn’t there, and it had always been safer to err on the side of caution when it came to him. They also assumed Giorgio understood that Mo didn’t want anyone else but him. Still, it didn’t make his response to people crowding her space a particularly sane one.
Josh tapped the side of Mo’s arm with an index finger. Ayesha stared at that finger, knowing that this could be the last time it remained attached to his body if Giorgio was within a mile of the underground facility.
Although he was quiet, when she sat with him while he worked on his cars, he would try to explain a vehicle part or concept. No matter how long it took her to understand, he never got cross with her. Eventually, he started asking questions and sharing things that didn’t have to do with engines, transmissions, or catalytic converters.
At first, he would only talk about Mo and Aleksi. Then one day, in that abrupt, mish-mash way of his she’d adored for years, he asked whether there was some switch inside him that would make him wind up treating Aleksi like his “vater” had treated him.
In imperceptible ways, Giorgio reminded her of Theo. They both had brains that could harness a wealth of information, though primarily only about things they found of interest. Where Theo had high distractibility, Giorgio had a switch.
On was for kill.
Off was forstandby.
Due to his past, that switch would guide him for the rest of his life, but he was learning that there was more to him than what he was told he would ever be. Half of that knowledge came from life itself; the remainder was scaffolding erected by the people who loved him.
Back when they first met, when he was almost totally silent and had only been eight years free from his father’s terror, she’d found herself alone with him. Considering the man stayed strapped to the teeth, her first instinct had been fear, but then she’d recalled how Curtis talked about him.
“Eesh, even wounded sharks deserve to be handled with care.”
So, she casually mentioned that she’d learned to love peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in foster care. Several minutes later, at a point where she believed a conversation might never happen, he asked her a loaded question, using only one word—why.
She’d assumed he wanted to know why she ended up in foster care, but when she tried to explain, she realized he wanted to know why she’d told him about her past.
“Because you seem like a trustworthy guy, Giorgio Pozza.”
Giorgio’s gaze narrowed on her.
Ayesha hid her fright with a bite of her sandwich. “Do you have any experience as an older brother, by any chance, Giorgio? Can I recruit you?”
He frowned. “Re…cruit.”
“Yeah. Like…hire.”
“Like job.”
“Exactly. So, what do you say?Will you be my older brother? I mean, if you don’t have any other sibling obligations. It would be nice to have a brother like you. Between you and me, some people deserve a blade every once in a while, and there’s this shithead who keeps messing with me just because I’m a college student with a baby.”
“Name.”
“So you’ll do it? You’re my brother now?”
He scanned her face.“Da. Name.”
Since that day, he wavered between calling her “Little Ayesha” and “Little sister.” Considering her size compared to his, she technically was closer to Theo’s height from his vantage point.
“Is there a reason you remembered me so well?” Josh asked, this time nudging Mo with his elbow.
“I’m usually pretty good with names,” Mo said, eyes on the fight.
“And you’re Mo, right?”
“Yessir.”
“Where are you from? An island or something? You’ve got that whole exotic thing going on. Beautiful.”
Mo held up her left hand. “I’m married, and my husband’s crazy.”
“Oh. I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize.”
