“I know what’s important to him.”
“No, you don’t.”
“How do you know?”
Luis tilted his head sideways. “Youarebigger. It’s not in my head.”
“I hit the gym a lot,” Benito said warily. “I guess going straight is like prison. You gotta fill your time with something.”
“Find something better. Something that makes you feel alive, man. Even if it’s just loving someone more than you’ve ever loved anyone.”
Benito shook his head. “I already told you. I fucked that up. Now I just have to take care of my girls.”
“You ever think of telling Asa that straight?”
“We’ve never got that far.”
“Yet.” Luis jerked his head at the ale pub. “Let’s try.”
Before Benito could respond, he ducked into the pub and nodded to the woman behind the counter. “Is he in?”
“Upstairs,” she said. “Not sure if he’s up.”
Luis turned to Benito. “He’ll be up. He can’t sleep past dawn.”
“I guess you’d know.”
Luis snorted and kept walking.
Benito followed him into the back of the pub and to a flight of stairs. At the top, they came to a door secured by a combination lock.
Luis knocked.
Benito steeled himself.
Asa answered the door a split second later, dressed in workout clothes, with a toddler on his hip.
His expression was stoic. Only a twitch in his jaw gave him away.
He glanced between Luis and Benito. “What are you doing here? Both of you, I mean. Together.”
Luis smiled at the toddler, leaning on the doorframe like he visited every day.
Perhaps he did.
“I’m mediating,” Luis said. “And I don’t have time to traipse to Angel for your bullshit, so...”
Asa shrugged. “Whatever.”
He stepped aside, waving them in.
Benito trailed Luis inside, wondering if he’d fallen asleep on the train and never woken up.
Asa led them to a living space with deep-seated couches and a huge TV. He left the room with the toddler and returned alone. “My sister’s kid,” he said to Benito. “I’m only allowed to spend time with her here, away from the road, so if you want to talk business, you gotta meet me in Angel later.”
Benito propped his elbows on his knees, keeping them still. Being unnerved by Asa was new to him. How had he forgotten how potent Asa could be when he had the upper hand? “You said it was personal, but I was happy to wait. Luis brought me here.”
“Pope’s emotional,” Asa said. “Being happy makes you that way, apparently.”