“You know who.”
“Do I?”
Luis fought the urge to grab Dante by the neck again and squeeze him until his smug face turned blue. “Yeah. You do. What the fuck do you want from me?”
“I already told you. I need you to move some food.”
“Why? Have you run out of grunts you can trust?”
Dante’s eyes flashed, and Luis knew he’d hit the jackpot. But it didn’t matter. As long as Dante believed Paolo to be Luis’s most precious thing, he’d dig his claws in until Luis gave up what he wanted most—control.Maybe you can do one job for him. Fuck it up so he doesn’t ask you again.But it would never be that simple. Fucking up meant violence or prison or both, and life with Paolo had rendered Luis unequipped for either. He had a job now and a man he’d die to protect, even if he had to go back on the road to do it.
Don’t. If you give in now, it’ll never stop.
But neither would Dante. Paolo was as tough as any road man Luis had ever known, but he didn’t deserve the fire Dante would light beneath them if he didn’t get his way.
Sensing victory in Luis’s silence, Dante clapped a cold hand on Luis’s shoulder. “I’ve got some shit to figure out before I need you. Wait for my contact, then show up when and where I tell you to.”
“And if I don’t?”
Dante leered. “Then I’ll burn your world down, brother.”
15
Luis didn’t come back to work. Paolo closed up alone and left. Sometimes, on Luis’s rare days off, Paolo would find him in the shadows outside his building, clutching a bag of tricks to make them both dinner. But there was no one waiting for Paolo when he got home. Just an empty flat and a rumpled bed.
He kicked around for a while, tidying the things Luis usually did—the bed, the couch, the towels on the bathroom floor. But without Luis, the stillness of the quiet flat got under his skin. He caved and sent Luis a message.
Paolo:going to see Toni in a bit. want me to leave you a key?
Luis:can’t, got to do something
Paolo:k, want dinner later?
Luis didn’t reply, and he hated talking on the phone enough for Paolo to think twice about calling him.Idiot. Even if he doesn’t answer, at least he’ll know you called.
And then what? If Luis had gone to see Dante, the last thing he needed was Paolo blowing up his phone.
The daylight faded. It was dark by the time Paolo admitted defeat and left the flat alone, and the bus ride to see Toni wasn’t quite long enough to zone out from how much he missed Luis, despite the fact they’d been together a few hours ago.
He signed into the care home. Toni was in the rec room at the back, pretending to play solitaire so he didn’t have to talk to anyone, a strange concept for a man who had plenty to say.
Paolo nodded from the doorway. “You want me to come in, or you wanna take a walk?”
“Come here, boy. That programme about the island is on in a minute.”
“What island?”
“The one where the giant lizards live.”
Paolo threaded around the clusters of old folk sleeping, watching TV, or hosting visitors of their own, and joined Toni at his favourite armchair. He found a stool and sunk onto it. Long days were nothing new, but it was hard to believe he had an entire evening to get through before he could go to bed. He didn’t want to think about how he’d feel if Luis wasn’t there.
Why wouldn’t he be there? He’s always there.
Always. Yeah, right. How had a few weeks of companionship turned into a normal Paolo couldn’t give up?
“What’s the matter with you?” Toni grumbled. “And where’s Luis? He owes me a quid from yesterday’s game.”
“What game?”
