Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Or if Scarlett drives you up the wall.”
He shook his head slightly. “She can drive me as crazy as she wants with an ass like that.” He pulled the smoke into his mouth then stared at the fire as he enjoyed it, his eyes lost in a momentary glaze. “What’s new with you?”
“I’m no closer to finding Draven than I was before. His distributors deal with his henchman, which is a different person every time. So I’m not sure if he rotates them or kills them after their use expires.”
“Sounds like pussy shit.”
“He knows I’m on to him, which means he’s got eyes on me, or ears in my vicinity.”
“You could ask Dante for help. He still knows people.”
“I’m not asking that little bitch for anything.”
“Yeah, I get it.” He released the smoke from his mouth.
“I can’t divide and conquer. I need to do one at a time, and Bolton is the greater threat.”
“He won’t be a threat after tomorrow night.”
“No, probably not.” I brought the cigar to my lips and pulled in the smoke.
Axel stared at the fire for a while. “So, did Astrid like her food?”
I’d known the topic was just around the corner, driving around the bend. “Yes.”
“What did she order?”
“I don’t remember.” It was the truffle pasta with cream sauce.
Axel turned to me. “Why did you pick Scarlett’s restaurant?”
“It’s your restaurant too.”
“I disagree. She’s the one who does all the hard work. I just eat everything then fuck the chef afterward.” He smirked then pulled the cigar out of his mouth to let it rest between his fingertips. A cloud of smoke erupted a moment later. “Don’t dodge the question.”
“It’s a good restaurant.”
“Or you wanted Scarlett to see you…”
“How would I know if she’s working?”
“Because you know shit, Theo.” His eyes pierced mine.
“I may be a mastermind at work, but I’m not a mastermind on my time off.”
“But you never have time off, right? Work is life, and life is work.”
I met his look with my own ferocity, quiet and sheathed. “What’s your point, Axel?”
“No point.” He shrugged then removed the silver dish, revealing the little soufflés underneath. “Scarlett learned how to make these from watching a video. Crazy, right?” He grabbed one along with a fork then started to eat.
I didn’t take one, not having an appetite at this time of night.
“How long do you think you’ll keep seeing her?”
“As long as it lasts.”
“What if it always lasts?”
“Nothing lasts forever.”
“I hope you’re wrong about that,” Axel said. “Because if Scarlett tried to leave me, I’d probably jump off the Duomo.”
“It’ll end,” I said. “Once he realizes she’s sleeping with me, he’ll get angry and call a halt to their arrangement. They’ll work on their marriage and do counseling and all that bullshit, and I’ll be out of the picture.”
“What if she leaves him? Would it end then?”
I looked away toward the fire.
“Leaves him for you?”
“She won’t.”
“Why are you so certain?”
“Because I’m not worth it.”
He cocked his head slightly.
“I think she should leave him because she deserves better. Deserves a man who would love her the way you love Scarlett. Who would threaten to throw himself off the Duomo if she tried to walk away.” Astrid was beautiful and smart and thoughtful. She was fiery and passionate. Everything a man wanted in a woman. “But I’m not that man.”
“Does she know that?”
“I’ve told her I don’t take women to dinner. I prefer to pay for sex because it’s easier. I think it’s clear.”
“But you take her to dinner. You don’t pay her for sex.” Axel continued to watch me, serious now that the conversation had settled over us like a heavy fog that had rolled in from the sea. “I think it’s clear she’s the exception.”
“Don’t analyze me.”
“I’m not analyzing you, Theo. I just see what you try so hard not to.”
13
ASTRID
Life was a blur.
I got to work an hour early and stayed an hour late.
I did whatever I could to stay out of the house and avoid my own husband, the man whose last name appeared on my driver’s license and passport. He was supposed to be my family and I should wear his surname proudly, but now he felt like a stranger.
He gave me the space I didn’t ask for. We slept in the same bed and barely spoke over dinner. To the outside, it looked as if that conversation had never happened, but to us, it was as if the conversation was still going, carrying on without words.
I preferred the company of silent paintings. Preferred the colors of fog and midnight blue over the watercolors of spring. Emails from clients came in, but there wasn’t enough work to keep me busy, so I stared at the paintings and tried to find new meaning that I hadn’t noticed before.
Life had been hard in the past, but it had stopped being hard after Bolton. Never once had I thought I’d be standing there alone, relying on a painting made one hundred and fifty years ago for support. I never thought I’d rely on work to keep me busy enough not to cry.