Page 134 of Contempt

Understatement of the century.

How could her attention be where it needed to be here when her heart and soul was somewhere else entirely?

She had another month here before her internship would be finished. Kelly was kind enough to offer Lucia a full-time job at the gallery, if she wanted to take it. The pay was incredible, as were the benefits and the experience she would get from it.

It was her dream.

She could live that dream elsewhere, too.

Heading through the apartment, the first thing Lucia did was pull her phone out of her pocket. She was already calling Renzo’s cell before she even entered her kitchen. She froze all over at the sound of that ringing in her ear also echoing from somewhere in her apartment. Pulling the phone away, she listened.

Sure enough …

The ringing was coming from the back of her place.

Lucia shook her head, knowing exactly where he was in her place. Sometimes he did this. He just showed up, and she came home to find him sleeping in her bed, or sitting in front of the television with his favorite bowl of cereal.

She never asked Renzo what sent him running back and forth. She didn’t know if he just wanted to be around her, or if he wanted to escape something else.

He didn’t talk about it.

She didn’t ask.

Soon, she found him.

Lucia leaned in the bathroom doorway and eyed Renzo where he rested in a dry bathtub. Him, and those fucking bathtubs. All these years, and he still did it. It was sad in a way, but also amusing.

Whatever he needed.

“When did you get here?” she asked.

Renzo glanced up, and flashed her a sexy smile. “About an hour ago.”

“Did you come from Vegas?”

He shrugged. “Cree was driving me crazy.”

Lucia didn’t respond, but she didn’t need to.

Renzo was far better—he was even back at work for The League, although now, as far as she knew it, he decided what jobs he wanted to take, and which teams he wanted to work on, if that was the case. He was mostly healed, and back to normal. All his injuries were gone, and he looked perfectly fine.

But she knew …

Sometimes, his hands still shook.

Sometimes, his mind took a second to catch up.

Sometimes, he just didn’t feel like him.

That’s where Cree came in, or so he said. Cree was the therapy and the recovery that he needed. Cree was the person pushing him mentally and physically. He was the one person Renzo could go to, and know if he needed to break without being judged for it, then Cree would be there to do it.

She didn’t think it was easy.

She knew Renzo left those sessions exhausted, but not ready to give up. He came out of them stronger, even if he was weaker for a time.

Lucia peered up at the ceiling. “I thought you weren’t seeing Cree until next week?”

Renzo grunted under his breath as he worked his herb grinder back and forth, and the briefest whiff of freshly cut bud drifted through the bathroom. “Needed to get my mind off some shit, I guess.”