Page 17 of Beni

“All right, I’ll be over, boss.”

“See you then.”

Tommas hung up the call without a proper goodbye, but Beni didn’t care. Turning on his heels to face the ring, he found his brother was already leaning over the ropes with an inquisitive eye locked on him.

“What’s up?”

“Boss wants me over at his place for a job, or something.”

Bene nodded. “Okay.”

Okay?

No questions about the job, or why he wasn’t included?

Whatever.

Beni had work to do now.

“Meet up later at the club, then?” he asked.

Bene slapped the ropes with a gloved hand. “You got it.”

“How was traffic?”

Beni scowled, but instantly fixed his face to something more respectful and pleasant when his uncle looked up from the stack of papers on his desk as he darkened the doorway of the boss’s home office. “Shit.”

“That’s Chicago on a Saturday afternoon, for you.”

“Hmm.”

He didn’t mind, really. To be honest, other than the almost constant presence of wind, he thought Chicago was a lot like Toronto. The accents were different, and people weren’t as kind, but Canada was Canada. And this was certainly not Canada.

All in all, Marcus hadn’t been wrong months ago. Chicago wasn’t half bad, he simply didn’t like the reasons for why he had been sent here. That was the difference.

“Lucky for you,” Tommas said, closing the folder he’d been perusing at Beni’s entrance, “I didn’t have anywhere to be today, and I could afford to wait for you.”

“I can’t control traffic.”

Tommas’s gaze lifted to meet Beni’s, a question—or was it a warning?—lingering there. His uncle said nothing, simply stared and let that look do the job for him.

“Sorry,” Beni said, checking his attitude. “I apologize for making you wait.”

“Thank you.” Gesturing at one of two black leather bucket chairs in front of his desk, he added, “Take a seat, and we can discuss this job I have for you.”

All right.

Beni did as he was told, and it was only once he was seated that Tommas leaned back in the office chair to steeple his fingers while regarding his nephew over the tips. Under the scrutiny, he had the strangest urge to fidget. He always felt strange when people stared at him, and he was without his twin. It was easier to defer the energy back to Bene, or even, the identical nature of the twins and their behaviors often distracted people in a way.

Alone, it was just him.

Sometimes, he didn’t know what to do with that.

“What?” he finally asked, edgy enough to risk it.

“How are you liking Chicago?”

“Just fine.”