Page 20 of Useless Love

“Don’t thank me for a cheap sandwich. I can do so much better than that. Maybe we can—” Before he can finish, his phone rings, and he reaches into his well-tailored black suit to pull it out. “I’m fucking coming,” he growls at the person calling him. “Time got away from me.”

Taking my cue, I wave at him when he glances my way. Then I turn to leave.

“Hold on, Christopher,” Carmine tells the caller. He calls after me. “Hey. Are you heading home or to Saint Mary’s to complain about me?”

I laugh and give him a smile.“I told them about you yesterday. They need a break.”

He presses his palm against his chest. “Ouch. Then where are you heading?”

“Home. I have makeup assignments to do and a test to study for.”

“Cool. I gotta run.”

“Bye.”

My security guards, who had been lingering outside of the cafe, surround me and I part ways with Carmine. Part of me already misses him.

CHAPTER 7 — CLOSER TO YOU

Carmine

Time must be on crystal meth because, somehow, a whole month has already passed since the war ended and I got engaged. Since then, I haven’t been able to make sense of what my old man is planning. With all my brothers gone, I can only trust my right-hand guy, Christopher, to survey the old man. In the meantime, I have to make my moves in private.

I’m at home in my office, looking over some documents. Christopher is sitting near my desk, picking at his teeth with a toothpick. His long, blonde hair is styled and pulled back.

“It’s not the time to take down the old man,” he insists.

“It’s better to kill him now than waste time solving the mystery of what he’s up to.”

“Just focus on your young Bencivenga beauty,” Christopher teases with a cheeky grin.

His comment only makes me frown. “She’s another one I have to figure out.”

Christopher has been watching her closely. He’s reported that she really is fucking going to that church every day. She doesn’t do anything else besides hang around her penthouse, attend lectures, get tutored in the university library, or feed all the stray, dirty animals around New York City.

“You fucking sure you’re following the right twin?” I ask. Arianna is supposed to be feisty and tough. So far, she’s pretty boring.

“Yup. The other twin rarely leaves the penthouse. She doesn’t even go to the university much. I always follow Arianna from her home, and she either goes to campus or to the church.”

I shake my head because something isn’t adding up. “The old man joked that Ari was just like me. How is this like me? I like to go out and party, find some random hookups. Or I’m out causing damage in the world, fighting our enemies. The old man hinted that she would make my life miserable, but a church girl isn’t going to do that.”

Christopher shrugs, sticking his dirty toothpick in a pocket. “He doesn’t know you that well. Probably trying to stick it to you and be an ass.”

I sigh, shaking my head. I hope that’s all it is.

Christopher leaves, and I text Arianna. I’ve noticed that she never messages me first. She responds, but this texting thing feels very one-sided. It kind of irritates me because I’m used to women begging to suck my cock. This one doesn’t seem interested at all.

My message reads: Sorry I’ve been so busy since the sandwich shop. Have dinner with me tonight.

Twenty minutes later, I get a reply: K. Where?

Any place you want to go.

I’ve also noticed that she takes a while to respond. Another thing irritating me, so I offer some help: We can catch a basketball game and grab a bite there.

Sounds fun.

Fun? I keep forgetting she’s only twenty. Shit, she’s not even legal to drink. Not sure how much “fun” this will be if I can’t get her drunk and loosen her up a bit.

---