Page 18 of Shot For Mercy

“Oh, it’s never a problem, Mr. Colombo.”

“Matteo.” His grin stays firmly in place, and I look between them.

We walk through the restaurant until we make it to our table. Low lighting greets us, setting a romantic mood, and there are lit candles on the table. White tablecloths adorn the square tables as far as the eye can see, and it looks slightly different from the last time I came. It looks fancier. Even their uniforms are more formal. The Colombo brothers have clearly been busy building their empire. They’ve renovated everything.

I pull out my chair and sit down, and Matteo takes the seat across from mine. He looks at me expectantly, and I clear my throat.

“This is nice,” I tell him, and his answering smile almost takes my breath away. I wish I could’ve fallen in love with him. We’d be perfect together. “Thanks for bringing me.”

He waves a hand. “You like?”

“Yeah,” I reply, looking around. “Shit’s fancier than I remember.”

“Mostly everything is.” He smiles. “They’ve been busy.”

“I can tell.”

“What’s up, Cole?” He frowns, looking right into my eyes. I flinch. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Fuck.

He can always read me.

“Nothing—”

“Tell me.” He sighs. “I don’t want things to be weird between us. I promise we can get through anything—you should know that by now.”

But, can we?

“I think—” I take in a deep breath. “I think we should stay friends.Onlyfriends.”

Matteo’s emotions flit right in front of me. Surprise, disappointment, and lastly, a sadness I can’t ignore. He’s not hiding it. “Why?” He clears his throat. “Did you meet someone new?”

“No.” I shake my head. “Nothing like that.”

I’m just in love with your dad.

Fuck me.

He nods slowly. “Alright.”

“I’m sorry,” I say, tears burning the back of my eyes when I see one trail down his face. He wipes it away roughly and quickly, as if it never happened. I know I hurt him, and it’s breaking my heart. I rub at the sore spot in the middle of my chest as if it’ll make it better. “I do love you.”

“Just not like I love you.” It’s not a question, and I don’t insult him by denying it.

I nod. “I’m sorry.”

“Stop saying that, Cole.” He sighs. “We’ll be fine.”

Fuck, I hope so.

I have to believe it though.

I don’t know what I’d do without him.

Matteo isn’t speaking to me. Seems like we can’t get through justanythingafter all. Deep down, I knew that, but it had to be done. I know he’s hurt, and with good reason, but I’m really hoping he’ll come around. Thankfully, I’ve been able to avoid him as much as possible. The tension between us was threatening to suffocate me, and I’ve been able to dodge him for the past two days just fine. If it weren’t for Emiliano calling this meeting, I’d be back in my room, holed up again. Instead, I’m with Matteo, entering Giovanni’s.

One thing about the Colombo brothers is that they have an office in every one of their businesses, legitimate or not. The Pink Pony Club has Emiliano’s office, where he spends a lot of his time, but it also hosts a basement that serves as a torture room. We do a lot of work at our warehouses, but sometimes Em likes to get creative. When it’s not a spur-of-the-moment thing, he takes them there. If you’re lucky enough to know about the club’s dungeon, then that means you’re either close to the Colombo brothers or you’re about to die. There’s no in-between.

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