As soon as we were in the warmth, I felt like the tightness in my chest intensified.
I shot Venezio a scrunched-brow look when he fed the driver an address different from the one he’d given me when we’d parted at the bridge.
He gave me a little shake of his head, cutting off any follow-up questions I might have had.
I glanced through the plastic partition, watching the shiny screen of the meter as it ticked the time away.
Five minutes.
Ten.
Twelve.
Venezio passed cash toward the driver, then slid out onto the sidewalk outside of—what? Was it a doctor’s office?
“Are you hurt?” I asked, whipping back to face him, my hands trying to lift his shirt to get a better look.
His hands grabbed mine to still them.
“Any other time, I’d be happy as fuck to have you undress me, babe. But your hands are icicles. We just need to get inside here.”
With that, we walked up the couple of steps, and Venezio paused at yet another fingerprint scanner. This time, he had to pause to wipe blood off his finger before it would register his print.
With one quick glance behind him to scan the streets, he shuffled us inside, closed, and locked the door.
Itwasa doctor’s office.
There was a reception desk and a waiting area. Though unlike any doctor’s office I’d been to, this one had fancy chairs and a whole kitchenette available to the waiting room.
Venezio rushed behind the desk, picked up a landline phone, and hit the first button on the speed dial.
Outside, the weather had quieted down the city.
And with nothing inside the building to make a peep, I could make out both sides of the conversation.
“Who’s hurt and how bad?” a voice answered.
“It’s Venezio.”
“Venezio?” the man barked, sounding suddenly very interested. “Everyone’s been trying—”
“Long story. But I’m at your office. Can you spread the word?”
“On it. You okay?”
Venezio exhaled hard.
“Yeah.”
With that, he hung up before reaching for me and pulling me tight against his chest.
His lips pressed to my forehead.
I wanted more than almost anything else to get off my feet now that they were thawing out. But I got the feeling from Venezio’s tight hold on me that this might be the last time we would have a chance to be close like this for a while.
So I ignored the pain and leaned into him, my arms going just as tightly around him.
It felt like he’d just reached for me when there was a beep as the door unlocked.
