Giovanni
“I want you to go there and talk to him, do you understand?” Gerardo gives me a pointed look, and I nod.
I understand that I have to go there, and I understand how I’m supposed to talk to the pimp who’s too greedy to share his whores with the Escarras. What I don’t understand is how on earth any member of the gang is still using their services, but that’s another topic entirely.
“And now, to the more important topic.” Gerardo leans back in his chair, keeping his fingers on the desk, and gives me a long look. “How is everything going with the Russian girl?”
“Everything is according to the plan,” I say without a second thought, looking up at him. What else does he expect me to say? He must have plenty of information about our dates-and a moment later, Gerardo confirms my thoughts with a hum.
“I’ve heard you’ve been spending quite a lot of time together. Have you laid with her yet?”
I can barely stop myself from grimacing at his choice of words.
What kind of a fucking question is that? I can’t complain about it out loud, though, so I only clear my throat and shake my head. “No, I don’t want to scare her off.”
At that, Gerardo only quirks his eyebrow. “Don’t you know that it’s the fastest way to get to a girl’s heart? God, I can’t believe I have to teach you.”
I have to clench my jaw to keep myself from growling. Well, Alina isn’t like that, okay? And even if I’m using her to get closer to the
Messinas, I’m not going to treat her like a whore. She’s too good for that, so Gerardo can-
A sudden vibration interrupts my thoughts, and it takes me a moment to realize that it’s coming from my pocket. I glance at Gerardo-he doesn’t react, calmly watching me-and take the phone out. Alina? Damn, I don’t want to talk to her in front of him, but I guess it’s too late to get out of here, so I hope for the best and pick up the call.
“Yes?”
“Hey, I’m sorry for calling you all of a sudden, but I just-I needed to talk to someone, and you promised to be my friend, so I hope it’s still true, and I really, really need a friend now. Not my sisters. God, I can’t even talk to them now.”
I catch no meaning in the flow of Alina’s speech, but one thing is clear to me. She’s on the verge of crying. Her voice is thin and shaky, and she’s probably blabbering just to distract herself. Is that the sound of a car? Is she driving in such a state? Goddamnit!
“Hey, hey, Alina, what’s going on? Where are you?” I sit up in the chair, feeling weirdly agitated at the realization that she’s seriously upset. Did someone hurt her? Did those fucking Russians tell her something bad?
“I-I don’t know. Let me see.” I can hear her fidgeting in her seat. “I’m next to Costco.”
Well, that tells me next to nothing.
“There are like five of those in Chicago,” I mutter, trying to say it as gently as possible. “Do you know which one it is?”
“There’s something like a football field here.” Football…? Oh. “Do you mean soccer?”
Alina clears her throat. “Yeah.”
I can’t help but chuckle at the note of pouting in her voice. “Okay, drive back to Costco. I’ll come pick you up as soon as possible.”
“Okay-and hey, Gio?” Alina rushes to call me before I hang up, and I hum. “Thank you.”
Something in my chest warms up in response, and I chuckle again, softer this time. “It’s nothing. Just don’t go anywhere.”
Even before I hang up, my gaze darts to Gerardo, and any hint of a smile falls off my lips. Shit. I should be more careful with what I say in front of him. Gerardo doesn’t say anything for a long moment, simply
watching me with an unreadable look in his eyes. I hate it when he does this. With a man as weird as he is, you never know what to expect next.
“You remember Liss, don’t you?” Gerardo says all of a sudden, keeping his gaze on me, and I nod with a frown. Yes, I remember her. What
does she have to do with my current task? “So you remember why she failed her task.”
Why? Because Liss turned out to be too weak and gullible to stay focused on the task, and instead-
“I’m not gonna fall in love with her,” I protest, maybe a little too loudly, when it finally dawns on me. Does Gerardo think I’m gonna choose Alina over my revenge? I shake my head and get up from my chair, feeling agitated at the very suggestion. “I would never betray Mom like that.”
“Good.” Gerardo nods slowly, and I hear a note of satisfaction in his voice. “You have to stay focused on the task, understand? Get close to her no matter what.”
I nod solemnly and turn around, leaving his office without another word. Gerardo is right, I should stop caring about Alina’s feelings. I should use her-as I planned from the very beginning. Because no matter what kind of feelings Alina wakes up in me, they will never be stronger than my hatred toward the Messinas.
It doesn’t take long for me to find Alina’s car in Costco’s parking lot I know it well enough by now. I only have enough time to park my motorcycle next to it and take off my helmet before she rushes out of the car and toward me, wrapping her arms around my neck before I can take a proper look at her. Oh. Wait. Is she crying?
I go still for a moment, unsure how to react. My heart tightens, and I slowly hug her back. “Hey. Are you okay?”
Alina nods, squeezing me tighter for a moment before pulling back and giving me a feeble smile. “Yeah.”
Oh, thank god, she’s not crying. The only crying woman I’ve ever had to deal with was Isabella, and it didn’t go well. She got more pissed at me than upset about her ex, though, so I guess I did help her in a way.
“What happened?” I get off my motorcycle and put my hands on her shoulders, studying her face. Her blue eyes are avoiding me, her plush lips are bitten, and her frown is deep and unsettling. Alina isn’t crying-but it’s clear that she’s still upset about something.
“Ah, it’s just-family troubles.”
With the Russians? I frown. “What troubles? Did they hurt you?”
“What? No, no.” Her eyes widen, and she looks at me, shaking her head. Our eyes finally meet, and whatever she sees in my eyes, it looks like it gives her a nudge to speak up. “It’s…it’s my aunt. I think she’s gonna force me to get married.”
I freeze, staring at Alina. What? What is she talking about?
She glances at me and chuckles with no joy in the sound. “I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s kind of a thing in my family.”
I mean, yes, I know that the Pushkov family has their own weird traditions, but I’ve always thought it was because of Yuriy. Does Olga plan to do the same? Is she gonna force Alina to get married to a random dude just for her own gain? I don’t know why, but the thought makes something inside of me heat up with a rush of fury.
“She can’t do that, okay?” I shake my head and look to the side, not noticing how low and threatening my voice is. “This is so fucked up, she-I swear to god, if she does it, I will kill her.”
I tighten my hands into fists, feeling the anger pouring into my veins, when I hear Alina huff with amusement. She looks at me with a soft and grateful smile, and I guess she doesn’t take my threat seriously. Even I am surprised at how serious I actually am.
“It’s kinda sweet, you know?” Alina murmurs, and I stare at her for a moment with my eyebrows raised. Sweet? “That you care about me so much. Thank you. Although I don’t think it’s worth going to jail.”
She chuckles, and yeah, okay, she definitely thinks it was a joke- and that’s probably for the best.