“Then we have nothing else to discuss.”
“You said I could call you in a jam.”
“Yes. Like you need a ride or another gun or even money. But not a place to live.”
I should keep what little pride I had left and hang up, but I had no other options right now. If I went to Dominic’s, I’d probably just get him killed.
“I’ve given you paperwork to leave the country. You’re the one who chooses to stay?—”
“They will hunt me to the ends of this earth. But you’re the one place where they won’t come for me. I don’t know who you are,but when you said they feared you, I knew that was true because no one came for me while I was there. I’m standing across the street right now with nothing but my bags of clothes after killing someone who broke in to my apartment and…” My voice cracked when I gave in to my tears. “I’m fucking desperate. I’m sorry, but I’m desperate.”
He was silent.
I clenched my eyes shut and held my breath, choking back the sobs that wanted to break through my tight jaw.
He hung up.
My eyes remained closed, and I felt a hot tear drop down my cheek, slide around my nose, and then seep into the corner of my mouth. I lowered the phone from my ear then took a deep breath. “Come on. You’ve got this. You’ll figure it out.” I sniffled loudly then wiped my face with the sleeve of my jacket, trying to hide the proof of my cries from myself.
Then the gate across the street opened, even though a car didn’t leave or approach.
I continued to stare, unsure if that was an invitation or a coincidence.
Then his silhouette appeared, the outline of a tall and muscular man. He stepped into one of the lights along the driveway, and his features were illuminated. His hair was dark like his eyes, his sweatpants low on his hips like he’d been retired for the evening in his bedroom.
He passed the gate and crossed the street without checking for traffic, coming right toward me with that same hard gaze he hadshown me in the past. His eyes were focused on mine, but if he noticed I’d been crying, he showed no sympathy.
He went straight for the bags and threw them both over his shoulder before he nodded toward the gate. “Come on.”
He had an elevator, so he used that instead of the stairs, still holding my belongings like they weighed nothing more than a gym bag. When we stepped out on the top floor, he went for the room I stayed in before and set my belongings down on the floor.
I was speechless, not expecting him to bring me into his home again.
He didn’t depart straightaway like he usually did. This time, he moved to the couch in the sitting room and took a seat, leaning forward with his arms on his knees. As if he was warm, he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt to his elbows and showed the popped veins all over his forearms and the backs of his hands. “Sit.”
I was more than speechless, but also motionless. I had to snap out of the shock and move to the armchair across from him, facing him eye to eye, seeing someone deeply annoyed but doing his best to restrain it.
He stared at me for what felt like a minute before he spoke. “I already helped you once and expected nothing in return. That’s as far as my generosity goes.”
I gave a nod in understanding. He had already been kind to me. I was an asshole for asking for more.
“If you want to stay here until you get this figured out, then it’s going to cost you.”
I felt a shock through my stomach, felt the muscles in my core tighten.
He said nothing more.
I understood exactly what he meant even when he didn’t say anything. “That’s fair.”
His eyebrow rose slightly like he expected some kind of pushback.
My childhood and early adolescence had been picture-perfect. But the years after my family had been murdered had been darker than midnight. I’d done things I never thought I would do to survive, but not only did I do them, I was good at them. This was different from that because it was better. In another situation, I would have done it and expected nothing in return. “We have an understanding.”
His expression didn’t change, as if he was still surprised by my cooperation.
I was tired of being hunted. Tired of looking over my shoulder. I just needed a break, a chance to catch my breath, to figure out how I was going to end this rather than run from it. But I couldn’t retaliate when I was weak. I couldn’t fight back when I couldn’t even breathe. I was powerless on my own. I needed help.
I needed Luca.
