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“Thanks, Melony.” I stopped before I left, chewing my lip.
“Can you, um, keep this from Giancarlo?” I twisted around and shook my hands in front of me. Shit, how that sounded was messed up. Was I stupid? “I mean, you don’t have to lie if he asks, but I don’t know if he will ask. I mean, it would be nice, but I don’t want him to know how you found me. He will worry, and then something bad will happen, and it will just be adding more shit onto his plate, and the last thing I want is to be a burden. What if he gets rid of me all because I—”
“Calm down, Ash.” Melony chuckled lightly as she shook her head at me. Her pink curls bounced around her face. “Doctor-patient confidentiality.” She winked, gave me ibuprofen from her pocket, and glanced down at my torso.
I’d thought I was hiding it well, but not well enough, apparently. My shoulders dropped instantly. Still, I let out a sigh of relief. I took the pill, thankful for anything that would dull the ache. “Thank you.”
“You’re sure you don’t need me to walk you back?”
“No, thank you.” It was nice of her to offer when she had work to do. “I’m a grown man. I should be able to walk by myself. Thanks anyway.” I might have been sheltered, but I could most certainly find my way home.
Home.
Giancarlo’s grinning face came to mind instantly. His dark eyes sparked with mischief, and no doubt something obnoxious was waiting to come out of his mouth. My heart skipped a beat. I wanted to return home to him as soon as possible. I turned on my heels and left the clinic after Melony waved.
A monster I know or the monster I’m falling for.What’s the better option?I didn’t have to think about which one I preferred. My life had never been about what I wanted but what others wanted from me.
Maybe it’s time I changed that.
I groaned again.Penelope hopped onto my chest as if I’d invited him for a cuddle. Instead, I glared at him.
“Can’t you see I’m dying?”
“You’re not dying,” Tex said. He walked over and shoved a cigarette between my teeth before he rescued his cat. “Smoke that and calm down. It’s the only thing Enzo lets me have.”
I took in a drag of smoke and realized it was more than tobacco. Sweet, sweet weed filled my senses. I sank against the couch, giving into it as I blew out a cloud of smoke. Enzo walked out before he took a seat across from me and stared.
“What?” I asked.
“Why are you still here?”
I groaned. “Can’t you ever be happy to see me? Hi, big brother. How are you? Want to grab a drink? What happened?” I asked, showing him examples of all kinds of things that were a hell of a lot more appropriate than what he had asked me. “You could at leastpretendto be happy to see me.”
Enzo sighed. “I’m always happy to see you, Gin. You know that.” He tilted his head. “Well, mostly. Today is a good day for a visit, though, and I don’t want to stab you.”
I rolled my eyes. “Gee, thanks, you’re so fucking generous.”
Enzo raised a brow. “What happened?”
Tex joined him, sitting on his lap like it was nothing. The former cop was huge, yet my brother had no issue adjusting him on his lap and wrapping his arms around Tex’s waist. Tex glanced back long enough to smile at Enzo. He left a little kiss on Enzo’s nose, and I watched my brother’s cheeks bloom pink before he cleared his throat and turned back to me once more.
I want to do that with Ash.
“Well?” Enzo asked.
I sank against the couch like I was waiting to drift into the cushions and never come back out again. The irritation on Enzo’s face grew. We both knew I was being dramatic as hell. Finally, I turned toward him.
“Ash is upset with me.”
“What did you do?” Tex asked.
My eyes darted up to him and then back to Enzo. I had no idea how much to disclose. Tex and Enzo were close, but even then, telling someone you murdered people as part of your living was a lot. I really didn’t want Enzo to stab me again.
“You can talk,” Enzo said with a nod. “Tex knows everything and is fine with it.”
“I wouldn’t say fine,” Tex muttered. “More like I’m used to Enzo’s insanity and accept it now.”
“Good enough,” Enzo said, his nails digging into Tex’s clothed thigh.
