Page 123 of Inside the Sun

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As I cut through the overgrown bushes on the east side of the garden, barely looking around, my head is buzzing. But just as Iemerge on the other side…

I see him.

A man standing in the shadow of a tree, looking straight at me.

My heart nearly stops.

Mauro Ferro.

Fuck.

It feels like the ground shifts under my feet. He’s standing close enough that, if he was really paying attention, he might’ve heard our conversation. Maybe not the details, but definitely the sound of voices. And if he’d been there earlier… maybe even the sex.

My heart pounds. Shit. Mauro’s been watching me for a while. He’s clearly been suspicious. And now… he just got confirmation.

I have to find out what’s gonna happen next. I turn and start walking straight toward him. I’m the kind of guy who faces things head-on. I don’t slow down until I’m five feet away.

I look him straight in the face, his calm, unreadable expression. His eyes scan my features, but I get absolutely nothing from him. No reaction. No words. Just silence.

I have to ask, so I pull out my phone and type a single sentence in the note's app:

"How much time do I have?"

His eyes drop to the screen. There’s a pause, he reaches out and takes the phone from my hand. My palms are slick with sweat.

"Time for what? To run?"

He hands it back to me. I type again:

"You definitely heard everything."

Mauro’s gaze returns to the screen. His face doesn’t even twitch. He types something in and passes the phone back with that same utterly neutral expression.

"Even if I did. So what?"

I don’t get it. He doesn’t care about what he just found out?

"That’s the kind of thing Anzo would love to hear about."

Yes, here I am, practically handing him ammo, suggesting what he should do with this newly acquired knowledge. Just great.

Still, there’s not a hint of change in his posture.

"That’s not something I care about."

Wait a minute. I swallow hard. Does he want something from me in exchange for keeping his mouth shut?

"Then what do you care about?"I write."What do you want from me?"

He studies me for a long moment. We stare at each other in silence.

His eyes are a strange blend of stormy gray, deep green, and amber. They seem to bore into me with an intensity. Where does that come from?

Does he want… a fuck?

Many guys are fascinated by purples, is he one of them? And would I give it to him? The thought of it is surprisingly unpleasant, like the sheer idea of doing it with someone other than Sun just feels wrong.

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