Page 65 of Kingpin

“How?”

I slowly looked over at him. “Do you want to eat? Or not?”

He grinned. “We can talk about it over dinner. Sure.”

“Good.”

I salted the spaghetti sauce I made from scratch while the noodles boiled in a pot next to me. The fresh garlic bread baked in the oven, with cloves rolled into the fresh dough. And for dessert, I already had a tiramisu in the refrigerator.

Ladyfingers were currently soaking in all of that sweetened mascarpone and coffee with rum. I reached for the wine and poured a little more into the sauce. Then, I tipped it up to my lips before setting it back down on the counter.

“So, how was your day?” I asked.

Israel sighed. “Busy. Very busy. Yours?”

“If you’re asking whether or not I accomplished my goals for the day, I did.”

“Care to walk me through how you did it?”

I shrugged. “It was pretty much like I did it the last time. I called the bank, had them transfer the rest of that money from the bank account, then I closed the account. The woman said she’d need confirmation from my uncle, of course. Since he’s the one that opened the account. But, once he gets that phone call from the bank, he’ll figure it out.”

“It’ll upset him.”

I peered over my shoulder. “Which is the point, right?”

“And you’re sure this is going to work?”

I turned back to my sauce. “I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. My uncle is at his sloppiest when he’s angry. If we can keep him frustrated, he’ll choke himself on his own net of lies and bullshit.”

“And what about us?”

“What about us?”

“What about the net of lies and shit we’ve woven between the two of us?”

I stopped stirring the sauce as my eyes locked onto the red burner. I watched it grow redder and redder before it dissipated into nothingness. Going back to the black, smooth top of the stove. I heard the water boiling over the sides of the noodle pot, and I mindlessly shoved it to the back burner to simmer until I got the sauce perfected.

Even buying myself some time didn’t bring me an answer for his question.

On one hand, I wasn’t sure if I could trust him. We were starting from scratch, essentially. Trying to get to know one another and feel one another out. Living in separate quarters helped the forced intimacy dissipate. On the other, to be honest, it wasn’t really forced.

I enjoyed every second that man’s hands were on my body.

“Bonnie?” he asked.

“I don’t know how to answer your question, so I’m not answering it,” I said.

“Fair enough.”

I sprinkled more pepper into the sauce. “Do you know how?”

“Not in the slightest.”

“At least you’re honest about it.”

He chuckled. “Ironic, given the topic of conversation.”

The two of us shared a small moment of laughter, and the sounds of his amusement washed over me. I closed my eyes and felt a soft shiver work its way down my spine, nailing me directly in the gut. His presence never ceased to amaze me. The feel of his body heat against me as we passed one another in the hallway never ceased to stall me in my tracks. Despite the swirling vortex of imminent war to come, Israel hadn’t loosened his grip on me.

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