Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56831 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 284(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I told him the story of that day more than five years ago at his brother’s club. Even though it was humiliating, I didn’t hold back any of the details. Then I said, “I fully understand my role in all of that, by the way. If I hadn’t lost my temper, it wouldn’t have escalated the way it did.”
“I can’t believe he treated you like that.” This information had definitely rattled him. “That’s not the Adriano I know.”
“Your brother and I are pretty similar, as much as I hate to admit it. When he’s in that world, he’s playing a role. He has to be the tough guy, or else people won’t respect him. When he’s with you, he can be himself. It’s the same with me.”
“We need to arrange a meeting between the two of you,” he said. “Don’t you think it’s time to call off your feud?”
“I already called it off, but I’m guessing your brother is beyond furious right now. I assume you told him everything.”
“I had to. At first, I didn’t know if you’d been using me to get to him.”
“I wasn’t! I swear.”
“I know. I figured that out pretty quickly. But right after the truth came out, I was shocked and furious, and I didn’t know what to think.”
After yet another lull in the conversation, I asked him, “How’d you find out I was Greco?”
“I texted a photo of us to a friend of mine, someone who’d been there when my brother confronted you back in October. He recognized you right away.”
“Oh.”
Romy glanced at me and asked, “Is that why you asked me to keep our photos private, because you didn’t want to be found out?” I nodded and hung my head in shame. After a beat, he continued, “Anyway, my brother is in full war mode now, so don’t go back to Vegas. He and his half-brother Dante have a whole team of mercenaries looking for you, and this morning he mentioned they’re not the only ones doing that. I guess their people ran into some men from New York who are also very eager to find you. Did you know about that?”
“I assume they’re Art’s former associates. Their timing sucks, too. I don’t have a crew anymore, not that I ever really trusted them to have my back. So right now, it’s just me against your brother, his mafia relatives, their crew of hired mercenaries, and an assortment of east coast criminals. I don’t like my odds.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea. Did you tell anyone I’m in San Francisco?”
“No. I hate lying to my brother, and I felt like a real jerk this morning when he asked where I was going and I had to make something up. But he can’t find out you’re here. It’s already dangerous for you, because all his ex-mafia relatives live in this city. If he moves the manhunt to San Francisco, it’s game over.”
“I’m sorry to put you in a position where you have to keep secrets.”
“Don’t apologize,” he said. “That’s a choice I made, because I want to keep you safe. I take full responsibility for it. And speaking of your safety, maybe you should think about getting out of San Francisco until this blows over. Anyplace besides here or Vegas would be a smart choice.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re here,” I said quietly, “and I need to be wherever you are.”
Romy glanced at me, and his expression softened. He looked away again before saying, “Well, maybe I could go with you, or something.”
Even though I really believed he cared about my safety, he wasn’t ready to run away with me. Not by a long shot. We needed to rebuild our relationship from the ground-up, and that was going to take time.
I let him off the hook by saying, “We can’t do that. You’re an angel for suggesting it, but I’m not going to take you away from your family or ask you to go on the run with me. We’ll just figure out another solution, one that doesn’t involve running away.” As if it was that simple.
We talked for another two hours. A lot of that time was spent walking around the island in slow laps, when we both got cold from sitting still.
Gradually, the fog burned off, the sky turned blue, and people began to arrive at the lake. As we returned to the pavilion after another lap, Romy turned to me and said, “I guess I should go. My brother and his fiancé will wonder what happened to me.”
“Want to meet again tomorrow? Same time and place?”
When he said, “I can’t,” my heart sank. But then he continued, “I’m taking a pole dancing class at ten, so maybe we can meet in the afternoon.”
“Really? That doesn’t seem like something you’d be into.”