“I was going to take her to Canada,” Bobby offers. “Ordered some fake passports and everything.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “I despise all three of you.”
“And we hate you too,” Doc says, raising his bottle. “To a better ending.”
I lift my scotch and Bobby holds up his Stoli.
“A better ending,” we say.
Adriano holds up his beer. “Anending.”
The rising sun glows in the windows behind us. I watch it lift higher into the sky. Soon, we’ll sign the contract. What will a world without vengeance at the center even look like? Better, I imagine, because there’ll be a pretty girl there instead.
Doc shifts in his seat. “I’m fucking tired.”
“So go to bed.”
But he doesn’t move. “I should talk to January about Alessia.”
I glance at the others, but we don’t say anything. We know better.
“She’s been gone for years,” Doc slurs. “It’s like this old Polaroid. I can still see her but she’s fading. I forget stuff, confuse things she said with things I made up. But January’s alive. She’s in the world I live in. She fits.”
I remember her lying in my entrance hall in her wedding dress, surprising me as so few things do.
“She does fit,” I tell Doc. “She fits with all of us.”
“Yeah. I didn’t think I could love anyone after Alessia, but I was wrong. It’s why I’ll do the contract. I can’t die before I have a chance to really be with her. Or double stuff her with one of you assholes.” Doc presses a thumb into his eyelid, stamping away a tear. “And if Parker doesn’t get her and I fuck her every single night for the rest of our lives, maybe that’s enough revenge.”
The sun is higher now, its initial red glow dissolved into a clean brightness that only highlights the filthy dining room.
January shifts in my lap, her huge eyes blinking open. “What… what time is it?”
“Time for bed.” I glance at Bobby. “Take January to the East Wing. And keep your cock out of her, she needs rest.”
“I’m coming, too,” Doc announces as though he expects someone to stop him.
“Go,” I say. “I prefer to sleep alone.”
“I’m going back to the cabin,” Adriano says, draining his beer. “But I’ll be back later today to talk about the contract.”
“Good,” I say with relief. “We’ve missed you.”
Adriano looks at me like I’ve shaved my head. “You what?”
Doc claps him on the shoulder. “We missed you, you big idiot. Next time, don’t stay away so long.”
The four of us grin at one another, and I feel the words hovering. The ones we never say. Then Doc punches Adriano’s side and heads for the door. “Later, pussies. See you in bed, Bash.”
I watch, relieved and disappointed in equal measure. “Be in the secure room at noon. And don’t be fucking late.”
Doc gives me the finger.
I look down at January. She’s fallen asleep again, her black lashes stark against her ivory skin. Doc was right when he said I can’t control her, but how does anyone stand it? All I’ve ever had is girlfriends who danced on a string for me, but they couldn’t hold a candle to the stubborn girl curled in my lap like a kitten.
“Give her to me,” Bobby says quietly. “I’ll carry her upstairs.”
I let him take her, praying that whatever comes next, I will not lose her.
