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“Mooch is coming with us,” she said.
“Yeah.” I straightened my bangs. They felt messy. Like my life. “I figured. That’s why I suggested Mamma’s.”
We were quiet for a minute or two as we walked. Everyone moved out of our way because of Mooch. He reminded me of his person in that way.
“I saw Carine.”
“Ah,” I breathed out, some of the pieces clicking. “She usually enjoys when her grand-dog comes to visit.”
“He had to poop. I offered.”
“How nice of you.”
“It really was,” she said, laughing. “It’s enorm—”
I held a hand up. “Don’t need a visual.”
“I’m not saying this to piss you off or anything, but—you seriously need to get laid. You have an attitude that needs to be pounded out. Think of it like taking stress out on dough. Or extremely tough meat.” Her eyes narrowed. “Or is this about that thing you’re not telling me? I know you’re not telling me something. You’ve been keeping a secret since—”
“Who says I’m not getting any?” I said to change the subject. My sister always thought I had a secret, and she was right. I did. But I refused to speak on it. It was mine. At least, for now.
“The name you refuse to speak, that’s who. He would know. And the guy, or guys, would be dead.”
“He has no say over my life anymore,” I snapped. “Did you come here to talk about him? Or to tell me about the shit you’ve gotten into now?”
We both stopped and squared off. New York foot traffic was breaking around us. They probably would’ve moved us but Mooch stopped them. We realized the slight jam we’d been causing and started to move again.
The slight pause made me realize I was being bitchy. It wasn’t Ava’s fault that memories had been assaulting me lately. That each time Lilo came close to me, I turned into that girl on the janitorial closet floor, begging to be in his arms. It wasn’t her fault that my mind and heart constantly shouted over each other. And it wasn’t her fault that Saturday was coming fast, and I dreaded that, too.
Sometimes I had to check myself when she was around. She reminded me so much of our mom, it was easy to blame her for things that weren’t her fault. Or not entirely her fault. The shit she got herself into was her deal. Those were her choices. Not Janis’s. My sister excused her own bad behavior because she’d never learned how to take responsibility for her own mistakes. Even if the root of them stemmed from our mom leaving. Or Sonny, as Ava believed.
I set my arm around her neck; she smiled as we finished our walk in silence. Once we got to Mamma’s, Ava ran in to grab our food and drinks. I sat outside with Mooch to hold the last table. There were only three.
A few minutes later, she came out with a red plastic tray and set everything down. Even a cup of water for Mooch. Once we had everything settled, food-wise, I said “Talk” around a mouthful of salad.
She pulled the pizza from her mouth. A piece of cheese stretched before it popped and hit her on the chin. She wiped it off before she nodded. “I ran into Rill.”
Kirill. The connected Russian guy she was obsessed with years ago. The one who wanted to take her back to Russia because he behaved so badly here, he got deported.
I wasn’t sure what to say, so I said nothing, letting her continue.
“I was following a lead.”
“About the Fausti family.”
It wasn’t a question. She didn’t even acknowledge it.
“It was a good one!” This was where she got excited. She always did. “Supposedly there are these Russian assassins. No one really knows them by name, but…I’ve heard them called ‘Seven Deadly Sins.’ It’s really hush hush, because, well, they’re built by the government. Like machines, but without the metal parts. Anyway.” She waved a hand, then quickly flung Mooch a piece of chicken from my salad.
I watched as it descended and landed in his mouth with a solid snap.
“He refuses to eat pepperoni for some reason. Lilo says it rules him out for being Italian.”
“Maybe he’s Russian,” I said. “Go on.”
She smirked at me. “I’d gotten a lead that one of the Seven Deadly had met Scarlett Fausti when they were kids. Her grandmother, who was a famous ballerina, danced for his grandfather. I think there’s a connection there, even if it’s loose.”
“This is how you ended up back in Little Odessa.”
