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"Honestly, it's cool," I babble, praying it isn't Christiano. I only have so much willpower, after all.
"Give me two minutes. I know Rico is heading back into the city so it's no trouble at all."
Deciding it's pointless arguing, I take the box of pastries she presses into my hand and wait for Rico. He duly shows up a few minutes later driving a black Escalade with tinted windows. I climb into the passenger seat feeling like a celebrity.
Thankfully, Rico is monosyllabic other than to ask for my address. He seems to be all muscle and no personality, which doesn't bother me in the slightest, although I'm not keen on his taste in music.
"Taylor Swift? Really?" I side-eye him as Cruel Summer blasts out of hidden speakers and his cheeks tint pink. It's hilarious. This guy who has muscles on his muscles and can probably kill a man in 100 different ways is embarrassed about listening to Taylor Swift.
"Not my CD," he huffs, his ham-sized fists gripping the steering wheel so hard they turn white.
I can't help the snort of laughter that escapes. "Hmm."
Needless to say, this does not endear me to Rico, and I have a feeling he won't be sending me a Christmas gift this year.
By the time he drops me outside my apartment block, I think he's relieved to see the back of me. And the feeling is mutual. He quickly pulls my small case out of the trunk and then waits for me to enter the building before driving away.
It's not even midday and I don't have a shift at Java Junction this evening, so I decided to drink tea, eat the pastries Lucia gave me, and cuddle with Hamish on the sofa all afternoon. Hamish is more than happy about that and wastes no time crawling onto my chest, purring loudly.
???
It's late afternoon when I wake, having dozed off halfway through Sleepless in Seattle. Hamish is still sprawled across my chest, his fluffy tail twitching under my nose. He looks at me balefully when I push him off, but trots into the kitchen in searchof cat kibble. The sound of my phone vibrating from the coffee table catches my attention and I grab it, wondering if Thalia has decided to call me between marathon sex on the beach sessions. I kinda hope so. I really need to offload on to her about Christiano.
Unfortunately, it's Martin. I don't want to answer as he only ever calls when he's desperate to cover a shift, but I accept the call anyway. An extra shift means more money, and God knows I could do with some of that.
"Janine has called in sick, I need you to cover." Martin never minces his words. The man's a complete asshole.
"I have plans, Martin, I'm meeting friends at a cocktail bar downtown," I lie, just to fuck with him.
"You have no friends, and I don't pay you enough to drink cocktails."
"I have friends!" How fucking rude. He's right about the pay though. Tight bastard. "I could afford cocktails if you got around to actually paying me."
He sighs loudly. "Fine! I'll pay you this evening if you come in. OK?" Jesus Christ, he makes it sound like he's doing me a favor, not the other way around.
I'm tired, but the thought of some extra cash is tempting. Plus, if I'm working I won't have time to think about that sexy man I'm trying hard not to think about. And failing miserably.
"OK, what time do you need me?"
"Now?"
"I can't come now! I've literally only just woken up and I haven't had anything to eat!"
Martin huffs loudly. "Then come as soon as possible. I'm run off my feet here!"
What he really means is he's actually having to do some work, which he hates. Look up 'lazy fucker' in the dictionary and you'll see 'Martin' listed. Before I can say anything else, he's hung up on me.
So much for my nice relaxing evening.
Chapter 7
Christiano
"It looks like Dimitri was responsible," Romano is saying when I walk in. "One of the cameras caught his ugly mug just outside the warehouse." I don't miss the smirk Romano throws me but thankfully, Aroldo is too busy steaming about the fucking Russians to notice. We lost four guys, two of whom had families.
"Are you sure? I don't want to go off half-cocked if it's not him. I'm not being blamed for breaking the truce. The last thing we need right now is a fucking war with the Russians."
"Maybe he's working alone?" I interject. Dimitri isn't the smartest tool in the box, and I doubt Alexei would havesanctioned this. Alexei is ruthless, but he's not an idiot. Right now, we're stronger than him, and starting a war would be too damaging.
