Smiling, I ran a finger over a soft petal, inhaling the sweet scent. It filled the condo like perfume.
Bambina wiggled to get down. I set her on the floor, and she hustled to the utility closet, probably to wait for me to grab her leash. Sometimes she carried it around in her mouth and brought it to me if she could get it down from its hanger.
It was hard to look away from the roses, though.
I went to one of the arrangements on the kitchen counter, taking the card from its center. Before I even opened the envelope, I knew what it was. An invitation to the summer event at Club Desolation. I’d picked out the invitations myself.
My phone beeped in my bag, and it took me a second, but finally, I looked at it.
A text message from an unknown number.
Turn around.
I whirled around and, on instinct, flung my phone at his head, a loud “AH!” coming from my mouth at the same time.
He caught the phone with one hand instead of letting it smack him in the face.
“Aniello!” I said, putting my hand to my heart. “Why do you keep scaring me?”
He laughed at me.Laughed.It was the first time I’d ever really heard it. It was deep and smooth and felt as soft against my pounding heart as the rose petals. It only made my heart beat faster, making it harder to catch my breath, because I loved the sound of it. It was something I could get addicted to hearing.
It almost felt magical. It was rare.
“It’s not intentional,” he said. “You told me I was too quiet so I let you know I was here. And I already took the dog out. She’s just trying to mooch another walk.”
“Turn around,” I repeated the text in a deep voice, ignoring the comment about my mooching dog and the fact that he had probably been somewhere in the condo, and I’d had no clue. “That sounds fucking creepy! Like a bad man with a gun is waiting for me to turn around so he can kill me.”
“Two out of three are right,” he said.
“You going to kill me with the gun?”
“I’m a bad man with a gun.” He flung my phone on the couch and took off his jacket, resting it over one of the stools, then took out a gun from his shoulder holster and placed it on the counter next to an arrangement of roses. “You have it wrong. I take care of you. Which means I killforyou.”
I took a deep breath in, and it trembled out. I nodded and then lifted the card. “Your plus one?”
“You,” he said, and then touched his heart. “Mia.”
“Are you asking me on a date, Mr. Assanti?”
“Much more than that,” he said.
Our eyes really connected, and the truth was loud in the silence. This was it. He was asking me to be his date for the event. Which meant as soon as we walked in, probably hand in hand, it was over, or just beginning, depending. We’d both be disavowing, becoming traitors to the organization.
I nodded, and this time when I breathed out, it was smooth. “Boy,” I said. “Is he—”
“One of the reasons,” he said. “But not an important one to me.”
“What’s the most important one?”
A moment passed between us.
“Tu,” he said simply.You.“I was told I’d burn if I ever disavowed. I’ll burn every day of my fucking life for you. I’ve been burning ever since the moment my eyes met yours.”
Another moment, and then he was on me, his hands in my hair, his mouth on mine, his body moving me toward the bedroom.
I broke the kiss, having a hard time catching my breath before he shut the door. I held on to his shirt, looking up at him. “Is he going to run Club D? After you’re—we’re not there anymore.”
He shrugged. “If I don’t burn the motherfucker down first.”
