Page 65 of Savior

“Where the hell have you been?” he says, lettuce falling from his mouth to the paper plate beneath his face.

I shake my head, dropping into the chair in front of his desk as if I’m unbothered because I might be jobless, because of my prolonged absence.

“Been sick, and my phone broke,” I quip, crossing my right leg over my left.

He narrows his eyes. “I’ve never known you to get sick, but Cherry came down with a nasty flu two weeks ago. It might’ve been that.”

While Giovanni is the quintessential, arrogant man you’d picture as a strip club owner, he’s also kind. He has four daughters around my age and up, and he looks at us girls as if they’re his, too. It’s the only reason I’ve survived working atHappy Endings.

“Am I fired?” I choke out, trying not to let any pleading lace into my voice.

His eyes soften as he wipes his mouth. “No, Lo. What do you take me for? I no more want you out on the streets than you want to be there. You need to get a new phone, though. How will I call you if any of the girls can’t work?”

I’m Giovani’s go-to girl when shifts become available. I always have been. Not that I’ve ever minded. I need the cash flow.

When I got away from the church, finally able to breathe, I headed straight to my apartment, only to find an eviction notice plastered on the door. After begging my landlord to give me an extension and then convincing him to cut me a new key because mine was with all my belongings in my purse, which I’ll likely never see again, I headed straight here to make sure my job was secure.

“I will. Thank you, Gio. I appreciate you, you know that?”

His plump cheeks redden. “Awe, now, you’re just saying that.”

“No. I mean it. You’ve been the bright spot in my life for a while now. Your girls are lucky that you’re their papa.”

His eyes swim at my words. “Go on and get a new phone. You need some cash?”

He opens the locked drawer with a key and eyes me.

I hate to admit defeat to him, but I have to get a new debit card before I have access to my bank account again, and that’s going to be a pain in the ass without a new I.D..

“I do. All my shit got stolen, my purse and everything in it. It’s going to take time for me to get everything back in order,” I admit, dropping my gaze away from Gio as I hear him counting bills.

“Here.” He shoves a wad of cash across the desk. “And you’re not paying me back, either. I’m just glad to see you back safe, Lo.”

Lo. The name I’d given on my application when I started here. Even though this place has become my family, none of them have my real name.

I grab the cash and stuff it in the inside pocket of my jacket. “Thank you, Gio. But I insist on paying you back.”

He chuckles, bites his sandwich, and waves me off. “You’ve been good to me when girls rake me over the coals or leave without notice; you’ve earned that and then some. Keep me in the loop and let me know when you’re ready to be on rotation again.”

I round his desk and kiss the top of his bald head.

He hates it, so I do it often.

“Go on, get outa’ here!” he taunts, throwing a balled-up napkin at me.

On my way home, I’m more vigilant than normal, watching for anyone and anything around me. Matteo Barone isn’t someone I should’ve fucked with, even if I did so by being rescued.

Going back to Luca and tainting the man further isn’t a fucking option.

So, I need to do what I do best.

Survive.

CHAPTER TWENTY

LUCA

“What do you mean, she’s gone?” Ardesia grinds out on the other end of the phone. “Father, I try to be a patient man when I speak to you, but I gave you one fucking job.”

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