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She saw my expression and looked at me worriedly. “Did something happen today?”
Yeah, something did. I had my reunion with Michael’s dad, and he fucked me silly. Also, he is definitely a Russian mobster. How was your day?
But I knew her day had been crappy too. Besides, I had to keep the whole Viktor matter to myself. I didn’t even know how I would begin to bring it up with anyone.
“Just a lot of fighting the wind and traffic coming down from Salem. I get great commissions from the rich folks up there, but every time I come home from it, something crazy happens.”
Her laugh sounded forced, but her eyes were warm. “I get it. Come on inside, I made iced tea.”
Michael and Pookie played in the kitchen and Gina went down for a nap while Anna and I roosted with our tea in her small living room. As soon as the kids were occupied, Anna’s smile started to crumble around the edges.
“You’ve seen the details on that case? The one about Luis’s old friend?”
“Yeah, I checked on it. It looks like a big mess.”
“They don’t have any idea why he killed that Russian man,” she said, sounding a little distraught. “And I don’t have any idea why Luis would be this upset over his death. I mean. I remember the guy from school, but that doesn’t mean I knew him. He and Luis weren’t exactly tight then.”
I chewed my lip. “Maybe it’s just the shock. Like you find out that the person you used to swap baseball cards with is suddenly a killer. I can’t even begin to think how that would feel.”
She swallowed, and after a moment nodded and said, “Yeah, that might be it.”
“Maybe we could talk to Luis together, see if he’s okay?” I suggested softly, but she shook her head.
“No, you shouldn’t get involved in this. I know you’re dealing with your own crap. I don’t want you ending up with Luis pissed at you as well. Hopefully, he’ll calm down.”
“You’re the closest thing I have to family after Michael,” I reminded her. “If it’ll help you, I’ll dive in without a second thought.”
She smiled, her eyes still too wet. “Thanks, honey. But I need to figure out how to talk to Luis about all of this myself. I’m sure he would clam up even worse if you involved yourself, you know what my brother is like, he won’t talk about his emotions.”
I forced a smile and nodded. “I’ll stay out of it, then. But seriously, if you need to vent more, I’m here.”
She sighed, laying her head on my shoulder. “Thanks for being there.”
“Always. It would take a heck of an emergency for me to not be.”
Just then, my phone buzzed with a new message. I opened it, it was from Viktor.I rather wish that you could have stayed tonight.
My eyes widened and my mouth went dry again. My heart was suddenly pounding.
“What is it?” Anna was right there to see my screen. When she read it before I could close it, her eyes widened too. “Oh my God.” She straightened and blinked at me in happy amazement. “Do you have a new boyfriend?”
Holy crap did I blush at that. “U-um…no?”I am so not ready for this conversation.“More like I ran into someone I used to, uh… who I once, you know…” My blush deepened and I looked away.
“That’s obviously not all this is, though. Not when he’s leaving you messages like that. Who is this guy? How come you haven’t told me about him?” She jumped on the subject with the desperation of someone who badly needed a distraction.
What should I tell her?
I decided to skim over the facts. “I met him four years ago in Salem when I was chasing up the McDonough account. He was at the hotel I took shelter in. We hit it off. I don’t know what I’ll do about it now, but he seems to be interested.”
My heart was beating so fast that I felt dizzy. Right under my light blouse, barely covered by the collar, was one of the suck marks Viktor had left on me. If she saw it…
“Wow. You ran into him again today?”
“Yeah, I stopped at the same place for a coffee on the way back,” I lied, without even really making the conscious decision to do so. “He’s one of their regulars. He’s, uh, really hot, but I don’t actually know that much about him.” And what I did know was mostly things I couldn’t repeat.
“What’s his name?” Her chin was on her hand, and she had that little half smile she had worn a lot when we’d shared gossip in college.
“Viktor. He’s eccentric. Kind of private.” I looked down at the message and felt my cheeks heat up again just looking at it.
