ARAWN
Clearing my throat, I finally get their attention back on me. Nerthus lays a hand on her hat as she turns towards me. “I know him.”
She laughs as I squint my eyes at her. “I gathered that.”
“Oh, you old grumpy man,” she laughs, stepping back towards me. “He is the one I had to talk to you about. The one who helped me out.”
My eyes widen as I look back up at Mattia who is now wearing his usually happy demeanor. “Nerthus is your tea?”
“Why does everyone keep calling me your tea?” Nerthus asks under her breath, making me chuckle.
“You helped her move districts?” I ask back at him, and he nods.
Nerthus inhales sharply as she turns back around, grabbing my arm in the process. “He also saved me the time we met, actually.”
“Oh, no. It was nothing. Don’t tell him that,” Mattia groans, but Nerthus shakes her head.
“There was a guy with a knife. The fucker had surely taken the thing with him from his mother’s kitchen. I mean it was a huge butcher thingy.” She starts enthusiastically while gesticulating wildly to get me an idea of the big knife she is telling me about. I laugh as the fact that she is using the definition ‘huge butcher thingy’ for something that once threatened her life is just hilarious.
“Fortunately, Mattia and his friends were around, and he got me out of the car in time,” she grins up at me happily as if she just found her favorite toy and I laugh. “That’s the crazy story of how I met the King of the ports, oh my.”
Mattia distorts his face, nodding. “Yeah. You know, your dad made me deal in the same district as she was working. So, it was just us being around by coincidence. Nothing special.”
“Ah, I see,” I say, forcing a smile as it would be a dick move to be jealous over such a thing. Especially seeing that I owe him a lot in this case.
“I’m so glad to see that you are doing alright,” he says genuinely, and she lifts her hand to squeeze his arm.
“And you did it. You were able to become your father’s successor. I’m so proud of you.”
They keep exchanging pleasantries, resembling their teenage versions as I watch them silently. Now that I think of it, I could have imagined sooner that Mattia or his father would have been involved in this. It took someone with great influence to arrange such a change in districts for someone who was considered a nobody. And the king of the ports would have been perfect for it as nobody deals with counterfeit identities more than those guys.
Clearing my throat again, I get them to jump out of their cute reunion. “We should go now. And get you out of the cold.”
“Oh, yes. Sorry,” Nerthus laughs. “It was great to see you again, Matty.”
“Yeah,” Mattia answers, sighing happily.
Steering Nerthus gently, I get her to turn around. “I’ll tell you what Harvey got as soon as I hear from him.”
“Thank you so much,” he breathes out, laying a hand on his heart. “I swear that it won’t happen again.”
I ignore Nerthus looking up at me worriedly as I reach out to grab his cheek playfully. “I count on it, mio piccolo re.”
***
“I love it to see you get jealous over nothing,” Nerthus mocks me as we settle into a booth of a cozy-looking Osteria.
Pulling her close, I kiss her cheek before whispering, “I’ll have you make up for it tonight, beautiful.”
“Oh, I can’t wait,” she replies lowly, closing her eyes in relish shortly.
I chuckle, and she detaches herself from me to free herself from her infinite layers of clothing. Getting out of my jacket as well, I pull her back against my side, caressing her legs that feel freezingly cold.
Clicking my tongue, I get her to lay a hand on my cheek. “Don’t worry. It’s normal, and I’m not made out of glass. Also, here it is so cozy that I will warm up in no time.”
She laughs, getting me to smile back at her. Just as I’m about to lean in and kiss her, a waitress comes over to take our order. I observe Nerthus putting in her order enthusiastically before I order the same for myself.
“Well, it’s not the run-down place I was hoping for. But at least I get to eat with my hands,” she says after the waitress walks away.
I chuckle, rubbing her thigh in the hopes of warming her up a bit. “I’ll take you to all the run-down places in the city when it’s warm.”
“You are cute,” she wrinkles up her nose with a smile.
“You are the first ever to call me that,” I tilt my head, caressing a strand of hair out of her face. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about something.”
Her expression morphs for a second before she regains her smile. “What is it?”
“I went to the precinct to talk to Detective Ramirez,” I start, making her gasp lowly. “I wanted to see what I could do.”
I can see disdain flashing over her face before she conceals it. “I asked you to stay out of it.”
“As if I could just stand still and do nothing if they are messing with my woman.” I grin at her, making her smile shyly.
She turns her face away from me, obviously wanting to hide her blushing from me, but she fails.
After our food has been served, I fill her in on everything I gathered this far while she watches me with big eyes, eating fries out of a small basket.
She inhales shocked as I tell her about Vito’s observation. “Oh, wow. I didn’t notice that. And you are sure that it couldn’t be him?”
“No, it must be a stupid coincidence. The place is known to be a meet-up place for prostitutes and dealers. And we checked. Derek is still learning how to walk properly,” I say, and she puts another fry in her mouth.
With a sigh, she looks out of the window, letting her eyes roam along the Brooklyn Bridge. “Poor guy.”
Not wanting to interrupt her train of thought, I observe her quietly as she munches her fries absentmindedly.
“Can I ask you something without you getting mad?” she asks suddenly, without looking at me.
“Sure, everything you want,” I answer, making her turn towards me.
She flashes me a sad smile as she rubs her hands. “What are you doing on Christmas?”
“Christmas?” I ask, lifting a brow. “I usually spend it with a glass of whiskey until Danny crashes the party. Why?”
“Just because,” she answers, averting her gaze again.
My heart squeezes in my chest as I suppose that she wants to ask me to spend it with her but must have lost her courage because of what I told her a few weeks ago before Thanksgiving.
“Okay,” I simply state, wanting her to find her courage eventually and ask me.
As I take a bite from my food, she takes a sip of her soda. “Does he crash your Christmas party often?”
“Practically every year,” I answer, getting her to look at me sadly.
“Every year? Doesn’t he spend it with his brother and his mother?” she asks, and I shrug.
“I guess he starts spending it with them, but he doesn’t feel included as his mother focuses on his brother anyway. She uses his brother’s illness to neglect him.” I clear my throat, taking a sip from my beverage as well as she presses her tongue to her teeth, collecting her thoughts.
Wiping her mouth with her napkin, she sighs deeply. “Why is she like that?”
“Well…” I grumble, getting her to look at me intrigued. “Can you keep a secret if I tell you one?”