“Fuckin’ mutant, need to be put out of your misery.”
I huff wryly. “That the best you can do?” That’s when I notice one of the men still seated at a table glance over my shoulder. I move to duck and swerve, but I’m not quite fast enough to avoid a glancing blow from the bottle the bartender uses to swing at my head. It hurts like a motherfucker, but at least I’m still conscious.
Conscious and pissed.
I kick my leg out behind me into the young guy’s gut, sending him flying into a table, then deck the bartender with a right-left combination. While he’s reeling, I slam the other guy’s head into a post and let his body collapse to the floor alongside his friend’s.
When I go back to the bartender, he tries to scurry away but is too dazed to be effective. I yank him close with my hand fisted in his shirt and sneer.
“You see Misha, tell him the Morettis want to talk.”
He nods rapidly.
Message received. It’s time for me to go, anyway. Every second I waste here is a second Ciro and Terina are spending laughing it up in the land of fond memories.
I shove him away from me and walk out, pleased at a nice day’s work.
CHAPTER 37
TERINA
Present
Today has been exactlywhat I needed—a perfect distraction. Catching up with Ciro has been awesome, and an impromptu dance party with hits from our childhood has my spirits higher than they’ve been in ages. He showed off his Stanky Leg while we both nailed the Crank That dance.
He’s a great guy, and I’m sad to realize what I missed by losing touch. When I met Craig, everything else ceased to exist, and after his death, there was nothing. I withdrew from the world as a whole.
Ciro’s a great reminder that I’m not as immune to the isolation as I’d like to think.
“Oh, thank God. A slow one. I forgot how exhausting this stuff is.” I take a long drink from a bottle of water as piano strains from Alicia Keys’s “If I Ain’t Got You” fill the air.
“You need to hit the club more!” he says, pulling me into his hold.
“No way, those days are done for me.”
We sway, and I rest my head in the crook of his neck, allowing myself to fully embrace the moment.
“I’m so sorry you’re in the mess, Rina,” Ciro says softly. “I’ve been worried ever since I heard there were threats on Renzo’s family.”
I pull back and smile up at him. He’s a handsome guy and goofy in the best way. “We’ll get through this. We always do,” I assure him.
He pulls me close again and spins us in a circle, drawing a giggle from me.
“The fuck is going on here?” DiAngelo’s furious words crack like thunder all around us. The music was so loud we didn’t hear him come home.
We instantly release one another and turn to face him while Bonny comes to my side and gives a low warning growl. I pat her head and try to settle her despite my head spinning when I see the blood splattered all over DiAngelo. It looks like he’s tried to wipe it off the side of his face, but it’s still caked in the hair above his temple and staining his T-shirt.
“Oh my God. Are you okay?” My hands press themselves over my mouth as though to hold back the panic rising in my belly.
DiAngelo ignores me. Instead, he crosses to Ciro until the two are face-to-face and grabs a fistful of Ciro’s shirt. “I leave you for a few hours, and you try to fuck her?”
My old friend blanches, his hands rising at his sides. “Hey, man. We were dancing. That’s it.”
“D, what on earth is wrong with you?” I grab his arm and try to get him to let go.
He releases his hold with a disgusted growl and turns around as though trying to calm himself.
“No worries, man, okay? Looks like you had a rough day. I’ll head out and let you two sort it out.” Ciro gives me a thin, apologetic smile, then leaves.
