Giacomo’s security cleared out all the surrounding tables. They linger nearby, casually leaning against walls and resting near the window. They appear much more relaxed than Falco.
As always, Falco stands some distance away between me and the door.
My chest aches each time I glance at him and he’s not looking at me. He used to always watch me and now I never see him looking.
Did I ruin things? Was he truly only helping me and appearing interested because it made his job easier?
I stab a pasta spiral and glare at it.
Giacomo sighs. “Listen, squirt. I know you’ve been through a lot this month. The shooting at the restaurant, the shit at the warehouse, and then the explosion?” He shakes his head softly. “I’m amazed you’re holding up.”
I glance at him, swallowing down the truth that as terrible as these things have been, they’ve also been exciting. I replay Falco saving me over and over in my mind each night to help me fall asleep. “It’s fine.”
“Bullshit.” Giacomo eats another olive. “Dad trains you to say it’s fine. He trains us to accept these things, like our lives are expendable to him, but that’s not the truth. This shit hurts.” His voice wavers slightly. “You could have died, Aerin. Do you get that?”
“Of course I do.” I lower my fork. “I…I dunno. It was scary, all of them were, but I’m okay.”
Giacomo doesn’t look convinced and worry floods his eyes. “What does Dad say?”
“About what?”
“About what’s going on. Someone is trying to kill you. Is he investigating? Does he even care?”
“Of course he cares, I’m the heir remember? He says he’s got everyone looking into who is behind this.”
The flash of pain in Giacomo’s eyes makes me wince.
“Sorry. I just mean he’s obligated to care, y’know?” I grab his hand, but he pulls back.
“It’s fine. We both know out of the two of us who is more reliable and trustworthy.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“I do,” he replies softly. “I was never built for leadership. I enjoy life too much.” He drowns his smile in a swig from his beer. “But please, tell me what happened with the attempts after the restaurant. I get around a lot. There might be something I know that he doesn’t.”
Over the rest of my pasta dish and into dessert, where we share a slice of black forest gateau, I tell my brother everything about the three attempts on my life. He’s as easy to talk to now as he was when we were little and hiding away from an explosive argument.
I tell him all about how the people at the club made me think they wanted to be friends and how desperate I was for that to be real, so following them and slipping away from security was exciting and something I was eager to do.
I leave out a couple of details about nearly falling to my death and focus on how Falco saved me.
Then I tell him all about the safehouse and how angry Falco was, but how safe we were until I cuffed us together.
I leave out what happened in the shower. I’ll take that secret to the grave.
Giacomo bursts out laughing. “You’re a hindrance to yourself, squirt, you know that?”
“How was I supposed to know the door was going to blow up?” I giggle. “If I’d known then there’s no way I would have done that. I was just frustrated by Falco and his ‘I can’t trust you blah blah’ and then yeah… he saved my life again though so Dad’s getting his money’s worth.”
Giacomo glances past me to Falco and nods. “So where did you two hide out after the explosion?”
“Falco guided me to this house on the edge of the city. His friend Pidge lives there. Some tech guru. I think they must have been in the army together at some point because they both had the same look. That sort of haunted pain that lingers around the eyes, y’know?”
“Interesting.” Giacomo’s mouth thins. “I didn’t know he had friends.”
“Me neither.” I chuckle. “But I guess even the worst people have someone who can stand them.”
“You think Falco is the worst?”
