Page 63 of Truth
“Dominic,” Giovanni’s voice calls out to me sternly. “Now is not the time or the place, but Dante has every right to be here. Don’t question me. We have a package waiting for us at your Church.” What the hell is that supposed to mean, “every right”? I have a thousand questions, but he’s right. I have more pressing issues to deal with, so I walk past my new friend.
“This isn’t over.” I’m met with his welcoming smile.
“I’m looking forward to it,” he growls back until my uncle places a hand on his arm and leans in to say something privately. Dante nods and walks to Luca, saying something to him quietly. I instinctively reach to my back for my gun, but it’s not there. I’m not that guy anymore, but I will be to protect Luca and Drew.
My uncle smiles, amused at my reaction. “Nice to see you again, my priest. Dante, let’s go.” His words sear into me.
He raises up immediately and joins my uncle and me at the door. His eyes are different. They look sad, grieving.Fuck.I’m speechless. He has the same strange color as my father.No…no fucking way.
“Let’s go,” my uncle orders, and Dante and I fall in step behind him.
We stop by the waiting room, and I ask George to stay with the girls. I give Drew a kiss on the cheek, and she looks at me solemnly. “I understand, King. Whatever you decide, make sure it’s your call, not theirs.” I grab her face roughly and kiss her. This beautiful woman is the Bonnie to my Clyde, accepting my darkness, accepting me. I saw it the first time I laid eyes on her—she has a brilliant, seductive fire drawing everyone near even though it’s dangerous to get too close. Love will never be a strong enough word to describe how I feel about her.
Pulling back, I look into her eyes. “Take care of Luca. Call me if there’s a change. Promise me.”
“I promise.” She smiles and buries her head into my chest.
Gretchen stares back between me and Drew like she’s working out some kind of puzzle. “Hey, take care of my girl.”
“Absolutely.” Her face shows an understanding of how serious my request is.
“Priest. We have to go,” Dante calls from the exit. Turning my steely gaze on him, I nod before kissing Drew once more and walk away without looking back.
KING’S BEEN GONE FOR HOURS, and we’re all sitting with Luca. George has paid half the staff to allow us to stay as long as we’d like. I’m sure they can sense that “no” wouldn’t be very appreciated or well received. I’m staring out the window, wondering about King, worried about King, worried about myself. I’ve slipped into this role, the role of his wife…the wife of a dangerous man. I’m frightened by how natural it feels. I think back to the night when I met King and he grabbed the man by his throat. I was never frightened; I was intrigued. I thought the man deserved it. Maybe I’ve always had a deeper understanding for out-of-the-box thinking.
Gretchen slides up next to me after having checked on Luca for the twentieth time.
“Hey, so what’s up with your obsession for Luca?” I don’t want to talk about me, so I decide to be proactive with the conversation.
“Shut up, I’m not obsessed. He’s just really nice. I mean, he seems nice, like just a nice man, ya know?” Holy shit, she’s being shy. She’s only shy when she likes someone.
“You just said ‘nice’ an extreme amount of times. Tell me, G…how would you know that he’s nice? Like nice, nice, nice,” I press, already knowing there’s more to her story. She sticks her tongue out at me, and I point my finger at her accusingly.
“Fine! Because, Ms. Know-It-All, I’ve actually gotten to know him a bit. You don’t know everything I do.” She waves me off dismissively, but I smell blood in the water.
“Fucking spill, Gretchen Marie Andrews.” My eyebrows raise for an answer.
“The middle name? Really? Okay, Drew Sophia Matthews.”
I start to laugh and push her shoulder. “Seriously, spill.”
“It’s nothing. I just went back to the restaurant the next day for drinks with another friend—a gentleman—and the guy turned out to be a jerk. Luca happened to be there and was very gracious. We had dinner and just talked about life and everything…even you guys.” She laughs. “I know, he’s married, and I would never, ever do that, but I can’t help what I felt. There was just this connection. I haven’t really spoken to him since. I mean, we text funny memes or stuff like that. He sent a really cute picture of Ella yesterday, but that’s all. We’re friends. I’m friend-zoned until Shelby falls off a bridge.”
“Holy shit.”Oh man, she’s a goner.
“Don’t judge me. I don’t really want her to fall off a bridge.”
“Gretchen, I’m married to a guy you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. I’m not judging you.” Her laugh makes me laugh too, and she leans in and hugs me.
“Wait! Did you say married?” She shoots back quickly to search my face, and I can’t help but bite my lip and raise my left hand.
“Oh. My. Effing. Lord. What! When? You ho! When were going to tell me? I’m never going to forgive you for not making me wear a horrible dress and have the privilege of buying strippers for the bachelorette!” Grabbing my hand, she takes in the shiny four-carat oval Tiffany diamond. “How did this go unnoticed? It’s a planet.”
“I mean.” I wave my arm around. “There was a lot going on.”
“Truth, sister. Tell me everything, but first I’m super curious about something. I wanted to ask earlier, but I got caught up in my non-love life. But why did the gorgeous hunk of muscle with little Gio call Dominic ‘Priest’?”
I shrug, not connecting the dots from our previous conversation, but George looks up and answers. “He picked it up when he was younger because the priest is the last person you see before you die, for confession and penance.” His phone buzzes and he looks to me with concerned eyes. I give him a reassuring nod, understanding he needs to leave the room to take the call.
