Gio

“An-”

“No, listen to me, for once. Stay under the fucking radar. Don’t do anything that could get you killed and let me finish this out, okay?”

He nods dismissively. “Okay. Fine.” He stands, dusting off his jeans and heading for the door. That’s how he is, unable to take any type of negativity. Everything has to be on his terms.

“Please, Johnny,” I add. “Don’t make me lose you too.”

His face softens as he looks back to me. “You won’t lose me Annie.”

Somehow I doubt that.

The city animal shelter is an oasis of sorts for me. Rows and rows of happy, fluffy animals beg for my attention. I often come here when I’m sad, or stressed, or happy. Any emotion is the right emotion to seek comfort from these little cuties.

I want to take one home more than anything, but I don’t have a schedule that allows for an animal, especially not a dog who requires a lot of attention. Now that Gio owns half of my life I barely see the inside of my apartment unless I’m sleeping or changing clothes. That doesn’t stop me from visiting the shelter though.

“Are you adopting a dog?” His breath hits the base of my neck as his husky voice infiltrates my ears. I jump at the sound, but I don’t have to turn around to know it’s Gio.

“Jeez,” I stammer, spinning on my heels to face him. “Are you stalking me?”

A grin spreads wide on his face. “Tracking, actually.” He holds up his phone to show me an app with a pin on my location.

My own phone feels heavier in my pocket. For a minute I forgot that my every movement was watched. I feel like a piece of property, owned by the mobster.

“What do you want then?” I purse my lips, and cross my arms over my chest.

“Just following up.” he leans casually against the cinderblock wall that separates the dog kennels.

I haven’t seen him in a week, since he took me running. He looks good as ever, my memory doesn’t do him justice. He’s dressed in all black from the leather shoes on his feet to his suit and silk shirt. His jacket is pressed, shirt wrinkle-free. He looks perfect, and more attractive than I want to admit.

“Wanted to see how your training is going.” He smiles, flashing me a view of his pearly white teeth.

“I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Hmm,” he hums. “Take a walk with me.” He gestures outside the shelter.

I have a brief moment of fear. After not hearing from him in a week he shows up and asks to take a walk. All of my internal alarms are going off.

He pushes off the wall to lean in close to me. “It's fine, sweetheart. I’m not going to hurt you.” he whispers, then pulls back from me showing off a cocky grin.

“No one piqued your interest?” A staff member asks as we help back to the entrance.

“Not today.” Gio flashes her a charming smile. “Come on, honey.” He presses a hand to my lower back, leading me out of the shelter.

We walk down the street, we’re in a nice area of downtown Providence only a few blocks away from my apartment building. The street is lined with cute shops that have wooden tables, metal chairs, and exposed brick. The hipster blueprint. We walk silently until we reach a residential area. It’s a historic district with old houses that have been redone. This is one of my favorite places to walk.

“You’re not training?” Gio asks, taking my non-answer from earlier as a no.

“Not really.” I mumble. Between work and school, my time is limited, plus I hate running.

“You need to run daily. I can have Charlie or Tony join you if you need it.”

“No.” I quickly answered. The idea of running with one of his goons makes my heart speed up. No thank you.

He cocks an eyebrow at my response. “Do you want me to join you?” he asks

“No,” I whisper, sounding unsure of myself.

He grins at that answer. “If you want me to make more time for you Annie, all you need to do is ask.”