NINE
Thephonerangonce, then stopped. I paused the blender and held my breath as I stared at the device on the island. A minute passed before it rang again. I wiped my hands on the dishtowel and accepted the anonymous call, which, if traced, would lead to a burner phone that would be disposed of right after use.
“Jimmy’s Flower Shop.”
“I’d like to place an order for a dozen white roses, please,” a feminine voice said.
The tension between my shoulder blades eased. “Mom, how are you?”
“I’m good. Everybody’s good. It’s been a while, son.”
“I’ve been busy with work. Where are you?”
“Don’t worry. It’s been almost a decade, Milo. I know the protocol by now.”
She never called me from the town where I’d relocated her and my younger sister. She traveled into the city just to make that call, then disposed of the burner phone. After years of doing the same thing, she knew the routine, but I couldn’t fail to remind her. All it took was one mistake, and she could be found. I couldn’t let that happen. I had lost one parent already, and I wouldn’t lose another.
“Just a routine check, Mom. Tell me, what have you and Sam been up to recently?”
Sam was her second husband, whom she’d married three years ago. I would never have thought she’d get married again and trust another man after my father, but Sam was kind to her, and he was blissfully unaware of her past life.
“We finally had that deck built,” she said. “And Sam hired a part-time girl to help him with the shop, so we can spend more time together.”
I drummed my fingers on the countertop. “How long has she been working for you?”
“Six months now.”
I groaned. “Mom, you know I have to vet everyone who works for you to make sure they check out.”
“She’s a darling sweet girl, Milo. You’re always so suspicious of people. I hope one day you’ll meet that special someone who’ll change your jaded perception of the world.”
“I’m not you, Mom. I can’t walk away from all this and pretend it never happened.”
“Of course you can. Your contract is coming to an end soon, isn’t it? That’s your out. You should never have signed another contract with that bastard. Your father would roll in his grave if he knew you were working for Pinelli.”
“Would he? Because if he hadn’t put me in this situation, I wouldn’t have had to work for Pinelli.”
My memories of my father were complicated. The man had taught me so much, but ultimately, he’d taken my life away and put me on this unswervable path.
“Your father was just trying to protect us.”
“Our father betrayed Pinelli—the man he was working for. He knew the consequences.”
“And you’ve worked off your five years. You should never have agreed to another five with him. I can’t do another five years unable to see my son. When was the last time you spoke to Yulia and Katarina? Katarina’s boy just turned three, and you’ve never seen him before, Milo. I show him pictures of what his uncle is like, but—”
“Wait, you do what?”
She went quiet.
“Mom, when did you see Katarina and her family?”
“Milo…”
“Dammit, Mom, tell me the truth.”
“Katarina moved here a year and a half ago.”
The breath left my body in heavy puffs. I yanked out one of the stools and sat hard, running my fingers through my hair. “Mom, please tell me you’re joking.”