Page 9 of Waste of Worth

“Right, that’s what you’re worried about, not the fact that Riley is a cocksucker who can’t be trusted. Let’s jump in bed with the snakes, huh? Sure.”

“Theo—”

“Fuck you, Dino.”

With that last statement, his brother pushed off the side of the vehicle and stalked off, heading toward his own car down the lot.

Dino stared up at the sky, wishing for patience. He wasn’t exactly surprised at how the conversation had gone with Theo, as this was how it usually went whenever they had to discuss things. Especially if Dino had to put restrictions on his brother’s business in some shape or form.

The week had been hell.

He’d done his business as he was supposed to, and worked out a deal that Riley would be happy with, but one that Theo would not be pleased about having to contribute to. Because the Conti and DeLuca territory lines were so close together, it only made sense for the families to work together when needed.

Unfortunately, that meant Theo, being the leader of the crew on the streets, would need to answer to Riley at times when business intermingled.

It was a shitty situation, but required.

He didn’t know what else to tell his brother.

Theo would have to suck it up.

Dino was forced to work with Ben DeLuca every day of his life, and he despised that man with all the fibers of his being.

Nobody said being a made man was fun or easy.

It was far from it.

Frustrated but refusing to show it, Dino headed toward the cemetery, wanting to check his mother’s grave and update her on the week.

Right, he thought, and that is it.

It certainly wasn’t to see if Karen was there again, like she had promised to be, taking pictures and making him smile.

He certainly hadn’t thought about her at all or their brief encounter.

He most definitely wasn’t curious about her.

Dino didn’t have time for those sorts of things. His life didn’t allow for things that made him smile or gave him a reprieve from the constant darkness shadowing it, not even a brown-eyed stranger with a soft smile and a sweet laugh.

Absolutely not.

And yet, as Dino stepped into the cemetery just beyond the iron gates and large stone wall that was too high to see over, the very first thing he did look for was Karen. He didn’t know the woman at all, and while he’d been tempted to see if he could find out more about a Chicagoan photographer that went by the name Karen, he opted not to.

Dino didn’t make an effort to have relationships of any sort. Not romantic, or even friendly. They never ended well, and he wasn’t the type, frankly. He didn’t have the time or care for it.

But even if he did … a thick fear curled around his throat like a noose, threatening to strangle him with the force of the invisible feeling.

He couldn’t afford love of any kind.

Like everything else, it would only be taken away.

It didn’t matter, it seemed.

Karen was nowhere to be seen in the cemetery.

Ignoring the heaviness settling in his gut at the realization, Dino made his way to his mother’s grave. He spent a good ten minutes there, cleaning off her stone and talking quietly. It was only when he stood and turned to leave did he pause.

Karen stood far back, sitting on a stone bench with the camera in her hands once again. She raised it, and snapped a picture of him before calling out, “I was a little bit late today.”