Page 93 of Lust and Honor

“Yes, Alex. I know him. It’s fine.”

He gives Gerardo a hard, suspicious look before stepping back a few feet, though his eyes never leave us. Gerardo gestures toward a bench a little farther away, motioning for me to sit. It’s strange, he’s never spoken more than a few words to me before. What could he possibly want now? We sit side by side.

“I thought you were still in the States,” I say. “April told me you had to stay there for at least five years.”

His eyes dart nervously, like he’s hiding something. “Yes, that was the plan. But things changed with my work. You should come visit sometime. April and the kids would love to see you.”

“Of course. Are you still living in the same place?”

“No, we moved. I’ll tell April to email you our new address tonight.”

There’s a pause. Then he asks quietly, “How’s Aurora doing?”

“She’s good. She’s grown a lot since the last time you saw her.”

A faint, wistful smile tugs at his lips as he nods. Silence stretches between us, heavy and awkward. After a moment, he stands. He slips a hand into his coat pocket, looks at me for a long second, then pulls it back out and reaches to shake my hand again. Without another word, no goodbye, no explanation, he disappears into the crowd, leaving me stunned. If I didn’t know him, I could’ve sworn he was on something.

When I get home, the smell of his cigarette reaches me before he does. He’s sitting at the kitchen table exactly as he always is, bare chest, just a pair of lounge pants hanging low on his hips, a cup of coffee in front of him.

I march in, ready to start a fight, but the moment I see the stubble shading his jaw and the red veins spidering through his tired eyes, the fire in me fizzles out.

His cold gaze locks on mine as he exhales a cloud of smoke. “Aurora’s at the hotel?”

I nod, pouring myself a cup of coffee before taking the seat across from him. “You caught Leonardo?”

He crushes the cigarette in the ashtray like he’s grinding Leonardo’s skull beneath his fingers. “No. That motherfucker’s vanished.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

He leans back in his chair, eyes locked on mine. “I’ll find his allies. No one disappears from my radar like that without help.” A deep breath fills his lungs before his voice drops lower, sharper, dangerous. “But I’ll find them, and I’ll end this for good.”

“And if you don’t?”

His jaw tightens, teeth dragging against the corner of his lip. For the first time since I’ve known him, there’s a flicker of something unfamiliar in his eyes. Fear.

He rises, circles the table, and stops besides me. His hand slides from the crown of my head down through my hair, slow and careful. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Or to Aurora”

The words slip from my lips before I can stop them. “What about you? You did terrible things to him. What if he comes for you?”

His eyes turn deadly again, a cruel smile curving his mouth. “Let him come. Half the shit I planned for him hasn’t even started yet. Let him fucking come.”

***

Night falls, and after putting Aurora to bed, I slip into my black babydoll nightgown, sit on the edge of the bed, and start rubbing lotion into my skin. Maxim walks in. He’s just showered and shaved, but he still doesn’t look rested. A tight pair of black boxer briefs clings to him like a second skin, perfectly outlining the thick, heavy bulge beneath the fabric. His powerful thighs strain against the material, the corded muscles thick and defined, looking like they were carved from marble by a master sculptor.

He stands over me, but I keep myself busy, acting like I don’t notice.

“Why did you come to this room?”

“Do you really think I’d sleep next to you after you left me black and blue?” I answer without looking at him, after setting the lotion jar on the nightstand.

“You earned those bruises yourself. You’re lucky I’m not punishing you for the shit you pulled a few days ago. You crossed my line.”

This time, I stand up and snap at him, glaring into his eyes with frustration.

“And you crossed mine too, but I couldn’t leave you black and blue. This sword cuts both ways...”

Before I can finish, he bends down, slides one hand under my knees, and hooks an arm behind my back, lifting me into the air and carrying me toward our bedroom. I kick and flail in his arms, protesting in a voice I try to keep low so I don’t wake Aurora: