Page 23 of The Arrangement

“Shut up.”

“Night, Boss,” Joe said as Anton turned away.

“The amount of money I spent on that dog’s training …”

Grumbling under his breath, he followed the same path the animal had taken.

• • •

With Viviana on one side and Ivan on the other, Rocco strolled at a comfortable pace between them but never trotted more than a foot or two ahead. His large head stood higher than her hip, ears twitching every few seconds as his nose would drop to the ground to sniff before coming back up again like he hadn’t changed his course.

The quiet Brooklyn suburb where Anton had situated the safe house was just that, quiet. She wasn’t at all familiar with the area, the roads, or where it was exactly that they were. Ivan had returned to the safe house nearly a week later, and when she gained the courage to ask him, he wouldn’t say, simply pointing out that it wasn’t important so long as she was comfortable.

And she was, oddly.

Sure, things were a little awkward here and there, but Viviana couldn’t ignore the way she enjoyed waking up to Anton’s blue eyes or feeling his finger trailing up and down her cheek. Despite her and Anton sharing his bed every night, he hadn’t stepped over any boundaries. For all intents, he was a gentleman. Maybe he was just waiting for her to make some kind of move. Hell, he hadn’t even kissed her, and she was so wanting for that.

“So …” Ivan murmured, kicking a stray pebble off the walk onto the street. Rocco’s ears perked at the action, but he didn’t make a move to go after the rock. “Anton was happier this morning than I’ve seen him in years. Using his given name didn’t get me the automatic, knee-jerk growl it usually does when he’s in a morning kind of mood.”

She barely acknowledged that he’d spoken. “And how many years is that, exactly?”

“A few,” he replied vaguely. “Since he was a young man and me in my early twenties, I suppose.”

After a long week that involved Anton taking her through a room by room tour of their multi-storied home, and showing her where she could find anything she needed, he handed over a disposable cell phone with pre-programmed numbers. It included anyone and everyone she might possibly need to call, starting with his. According to him, once every couple of months they would replace the phone with a new one as a precautionary measure. Even though the calls couldn’t be recorded, she still needed to be careful about what she said during conversations or texts.

Then, Ivan had finally come around with the things promised, like that laptop and the credit cards. With those two things, she could buy just about whatever it was she wanted. Viviana was still considering all that lace, satin, and silk…

“Anton mentioned something about switching vehicles before he comes home so no one follows him?” she asked quietly.

Ivan chuckled. “Not fun when it has to be done three or four times before you lose the car trailing you. Either way, he has a few drivers waiting throughout the city at different spots and a simple text allows them to move to a new area quickly. The one under the Brooklyn Bridge nearly always seems to work, thank God.”

“Do you do that, I mean, before coming here?”

“Of course!” He almost looked offended at her question. “I would never take risks like that, Vine.”

“I’m sorry; it’s just been a lot to take in. That’s all.” Sighing, she looked away, enjoying the peaceful streets and trees with leaves just starting to change color. Viviana missed New York, despite Canada’s hospitable people and the few friends she managed to make there. “What’s he doing today, anyway?”

The chiding click of Ivan’s tongue told her that was the wrong thing to ask. “Vine …”

“Just wondering.”

“What I can tell you is that he had an early meeting this morning with many others like us, to inform them of your safe arrival and begin to set a proper watch in place between all the crews throughout the city. Usually I’d accompany him, but he felt safer with Erik going and me staying with you until you’ve had more time to adjust and settle.”

Remembering the older man sitting on the couch the first night she woke up in the safe house, Viviana wondered what his place was in their group. “Erik, what is it he does, exactly?”

Ivan’s lips drew a tight line before he answered with, “A bookmaker of sorts, who collects payments, assures the proper enticements for certain people are in place, and whatever else needs to be handled in regards to cash and things. Generally we’re considered the two spies, above the Brigadiers, but below your Anton, we keep a close watch on everyone, or try to. In a manner of speaking, we are his right and left hand where he can’t always be, you understand?”

“Enticements.” She tried hard not to scoff. “You mean bribes.”

“You call it whatever you want. I call it what I need to in order for your future husband to stay out of prison.”

His blunt honesty silenced her instantly, reminding her that the life they lived daily was no game, it was real, and frighteningly dangerous. One misstep on their part and she’d be stuck like her mother who spent ten out of her twenty-four years of marriage with a husband behind bars. Not all of those years were consecutive, but regardless, it wasn’t something Viviana was ready to handle, or think about, for that matter.

With her hand trailing along the back of Rocco’s neck, she hummed softly under her breath. Despite the fear he had caused the other night by getting out of his kennel, she still adored the dog. According to Anton, because Viviana slept like the dead and rarely heard a thing, Rocco was attempting to get upstairs more often at night now, too. The furry companion pushed his large head against the palm instinctively, enjoying her contact as much as she liked giving it to him.

“He’s glad to have you with him,” Ivan interjected kindly, bringing her out of her musings.

“Anton?”