I return my gaze to Morelli. “I didn’t give the daughters shit. January and I went to the funeral and left. That’s all.”
“Then who…?”
The answer occurs to him at the same time it hits me. We turn to look at the forest edging the grounds of Velvet House.
“Adriano,” Bobby says. “Holed up by the river like the fucking Unabomber. Does he have power out there yet?”
“Nope, but he’ll have his phone.” I scratch my head. “It makes sense he’d pay out. He feels responsible for getting the old girl killed.”
“That’s on Parker.” Morelli sighs. “Do you think he’ll ever come back to the house?”
“I don’t know. And after what happened when his mom died, I wouldn’t risk going out there to ask.”
“He needs to be here for the contract signing. Parker won’t go along with it unless we’re all present.”
The front door slams and Morelli swears. “The girl was still here, wasn’t she?”
“Yup,” I say. “Wanna bet she’s changing into comfortable shoes?”
“She can’t go after Adriano,” Bobby says. “She’ll get lost. Eli, should I stop her?”
Morelli grimaces. “Dealing with you people will make me lose my hair, then where will we be?”
“In the same place,” I suggest. “But you’ll be less vain?”
He gives me a hard look. “I need you both in the dining room in fifteen. We have a thousand things to discuss. Leave the girl. She won’t be able to find Adriano, anyway.”
He turns on his heels and Bobby trails after him, leaving me staring at the forest. I gnaw at one of my fingernails. I sort of told January where to find Adriano. Three miles from the house by the stream. She’s not a girl scout, but I’ve underestimated her before. Christ knows what Adriano will do if she finds him. I pull out my phone and type.
January knows you gave her Zia’s kids money. Ready or not, here she comes, bigguy.
Chapter Thirteen
Adriano Rossi
The knife slidescleanly through the deer’s belly, cutting along the pubic bone. It’s a good deer, fifteen hands with short horns. It’s late in the day to be field dressing, but the deer wandered up to the cabin to drink from the stream and when life hands you those shots, you take them. The bullet wound in my side stings as I work, but I ignore it. It’ll heal eventually. Everything does. When Parker’s shot only grazed my head, I wasn’t surprised. I survive while the people around me die. It’s always been that way.
The afternoon sun ruffles the stream, making it spark silver and gold. I stop dressing the deer and watch it. The others can think I’m unreasonable all they want, but this place is my home now.
It’s only when I’m out here that the hard music in my head fades away. It’s where I can sleep, where I can breathe without feeling like concrete is pressing on my skull. I only left the forests of Italy to help my brothers build our business and avenge our loved ones. While Parker lived, I needed to be in the world. That’s not true anymore. Soon the contract will be signed and the vengeance I’ve dedicated my life to will be null and void. It stings, but only until I remember the girl. Her cameo pale body beneath mine, her green eyes pleading for everything I could never give her.
It’s a fair price, my revenge for her safety. And living here is a compromise I’m willing to make. I have enough money to stay here for a hundred years. To let time become as meaningless as the rest of my life. The girl will marry Eli or Bobby, and Doc will manipulate the situation to suit him somehow. And I’ll hunt and fish and watch the leaves change color.
The others can compete for the girl’s heart. I only want to watch from a distance and think about her.
I turn and look through the trees that lead to Velvet House. There are more remote places, but I don’t need to strike out into the wilderness and get shot by some asshole sport hunter. I’m comfortable here. I’m near my friends. Near her. On still nights I’ll hear music coming from the house, laughter and parties and all the shit Eli loves. And one day I’ll hear her children playing on the grounds and that won’t be so bad either. They won’t be mine. But I can imagine.
I cut the hide away from the abdominal lining, lifting it so I don’t nick the stomach. The meat won’t be ready until tomorrow but there’s no reason why I can’t—
“Adriano?”
The voice is as soft and sweet as the sunshine in the water. I remember her gasps as I licked the soft petals of her cunt. The way she came on my face, grinding her hips as hard as she could, both hating and craving the release I could give her. I’ve dreamed about her coming to find me. Pumped my cock to thoughts of her climbing onto me in the dark.‘Please, I need it. I can’t sleep without you.’
I turn.
She’s too beautiful to be real. Too small and slim. Her skin statue white, her dark hair pouring down her shoulders. She should be an oil painting hanging in some museum, but she’s real. I know because there’s always movement. The light glinting off her green eyes, her small hands knotting at her sides. She stands there in a floaty white dress and sneakers, rocking back and forth as though she expects me to come after her with the knife in my hand. The thought stirs my blood. I could hold it to her throat and take her, fuck her until she screams my name. Breed her sweet body with my child so that when her stomach curves and her skin glows, I’ll know I’ve made myself a part of her.
“Adriano? Is it okay that I’m visiting you?”
