“I think that’s a good choice.” Rinaldo nods slowly. “He needs to leave the area and the business behind.”
Rinaldo hasn’t mentioned Beni, and I’m reluctant to drop that bombshell on him. He doesn’t look like he can possibly handle anything else right now. I opt for good news instead.
“Jonathan has the security stuff worked out,” I say. “It should be staged today or tomorrow with all the bugs worked out within the next week or two.”
“Good.” He lets out a long breath. “I’m tired, Evan. I assume Lele and Lucia are close behind you.”
“Still talking to the doctor. They’ll probably want to come see you soon. Do you want me to tell them to wait?”
“It wouldn’t make any difference. They might just have to watch me sleep.”
“Do you want me to send a nurse in?”
“No, I’ll manage.”
“I’ll come back tomorrow.”
He reaches his hand out. It’s so thin I can see the bones under his skin.
“Thank you,” he says in a whisper. “Thank you, son.”
My throat clenches.
“My pleasure, sir.”
*****
As much as I need to talk to Nick, I’m not ready to tell him what his future holds just yet. I need to keep my distance until the inclination to kill him diminishes. I have no doubt that he’ll accept the suggestion. Even with Lucia staying in the area, Nick wouldn’t have any real ties to Chicago without Rinaldo, and he’ll want Milena where she’s safe.
With Rinaldo’s deteriorating health weighing on me, I head home.
I enter my apartment, still shaken. Alina isn’t there, but when I check my phone, there’s a text saying she’s gone out to do some shopping. It’s been six days since she moved in with me. Tomorrow is the end of our trial period, and Alina will be heading back to her own apartment.
The idea of her leaving now, when Rinaldo is in such bad shape, makes my stomach clench. I doubt I’m going to get much sleep even with her here. I’m going to have to do something to make her stay longer.
The usually fairly silent but very desperate part of me conjures up images of keeping her here whether she likes it or not. It wouldn’t be difficult. I did buy her after all. If she went back to her pimp, I could make sure he sent her right back to me. He wouldn’t question it. She couldn’t leave me then.
I lick my lips as ideas flow through my head, unfiltered. I would start by asking nicely, of course, but if she refused, I could make it very clear that she doesn’t have an option. I took care of her father. She knows what I’m capable of doing.
Is that really what I want?
I drop down on the couch and sigh to myself. There’s a reason I have usually opted for paid pussy. It’s just easier. Maybe I need to remember what kind of person I am and go bac
k to basics. Alina’s just a hooker, and it’s just about sex and getting a decent night’s sleep. There isn’t anything more.
I stare at the copy of Cosmo on the coffee table and try to convince myself that I don’t feel anything for Alina, but it’s not working. Having her here with me has been fantastic. She doesn’t ask questions about my business or try to get me to talk about shit from the past. She’s a fantastic cook but appreciates what I make, too. At night, when I wake up from nightmares, she’s always there with me. She calms me down and helps me get back to sleep. I don’t have to explain anything to her—she already understands.
All of it.
Over the past few days, we’ve talked about Zach a lot. His letters were apparently very detailed and gave her quite a clear picture of how things were over there. I’d told him so much about my early life, and he’d relayed a lot of that to Alina. It feels as if she knows me almost as well as he did.
As she told me about his letters, I realized Zach had talked about her as well. I didn’t think much of it at the time. He just said there was a girl back home in a bad family situation and that he hated not being there for her.
She knows me, and I don’t have to tell her anything. She understands as well as anyone who hasn’t been deployed possibly can. Even better, she is quite adept at handling my moody, fucked-up self.
The door opens, startling me from my thoughts. Alina has several of those plastic grocery bags wrapped around her wrists, and I jump up to help her.
“Thank you,” she says as I take some of the bags from her.