Page 37 of Aldo

I didn’t know what Vi had said to him, but his face turned almost purple. Roman and I heard his last outburst, and I let Roman speak. He liked to deal with assholes and dish out their punishment. Part of me wanted to follow Roman and work this jerk over, but the bottom line was that I was more concerned with Vi. The need to make sure she was all right was paramount.

And that took priority.

We didn’t speak on the way to my office. I walked alongside her, my hand on the small of her back, and I refused to stop.

As soon as we were in my office, I shut the door and ran my hands down her arms, inspecting her. I could see the reddened marks where his fingers had dug into her skin, which only made me angrier.

“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, Aldo. Really.”

I lifted her arm closer to the light, inspecting the marks. They would be bruises by morning. “He was grabbing you. Hurting you.”

She cupped my face. “And you stopped him. Thank you. He didn’t get a chance to really hurt me. He was just being a complete asshole.”

“What did he say that made you so mad as we got there?”

“He told me to suck his dick. I told him I couldn’t find it unless I had pepper and tweezers, so good luck with that.”

I looked at her, and she grinned. Grinned. She’d been verbally abused and attacked as far as I was concerned, and she was trying to make me smile.

Her hands tightened on my cheeks. “I’m fine, Aldo. Let it go.”

She didn’t know me at all if she thought I was letting this go. Or maybe she was asking, hoping I would.

“He will be banned from the hotel and the casino. He won’t bother you again.”

“Good. Now can I go back to work?”

I stared at her in wonder. “My room. Tonight.”

She smiled. “Add in a bath with me, and I’ll say yes.”

I nodded. Before her, I had never had a bath as an adult. Showers were faster. But I did like to lie in the warm water with her, feeling her close to me. I pulled her into my embrace, needing the contact, not ready to let her go just yet.

“I’ll get you more of those lavender salts you like,” I offered.

“Perfect.”

After I was calmer, I walked her back to the deli. Wanda told her she didn’t have to finish her shift, and Vi simply laughed, shook her head, and got back to work. I headed to Roman’s office, finding him freshly showered. He glanced at me as he poured some scotch, offering me a glass.

“Is she all right?”

“Shaken up, but she’s strong. She’s back at the deli. She insisted.”

He looked impressed.

“Where is that piece of shit?”

“Gone.”

“Permanently?”

He laughed dryly. “Too many people saw us together, Aldo. He isn’t dead.”

“Shame.”

“He has a temper he can’t control. He was almost frothing at the mouth when I went downstairs. He informed me if it was just the two of us, I’d be sorry.”