Alessio clears his throat behind me, drawing Lorenzo’s attention.
“I should tell you…”
My heart stutters. He’s not doing what I think he is, is he?
“We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks.”
“For fuck’s sake,” Xaviaro mutters.
Lorenzo’s expression is unsettlingly neutral again as he stares at Alessio.
“He didn’t know who I was until last night,” I say, jumping to his defense.
Lorenzo’s jaw ticks and he’s silent for another long minute.
“We’ll sort it out later. For now, focus on the Reapers.” He stands up and buttons his suit jacket. “Run your plans by mebefore you make any moves.” That’s directed at Xaviaro, who nods seriously.
“Yes, boss,” he grunts.
Lorenzo leaves and the tension around the table visibly eases.
“By ‘sort it out later,’ you don’t think he meant he’d shoot me, right?” Alessio says.
Elio laughs. “You need to relax, Les.”
“Easy for you to say,” he mutters.
Xaviaro pushes his chair back and stands up too. “Come by my place tomorrow around noon. Sparrow’s going to be chomping at the bit once I tell him we’ve got the green light to go Armageddon on the Reapers.”
“Who’s Sparrow?” I ask.
Xaviaro lets out a darkly affectionate chuckle and the sound seems to ripple through everyone at the table.
“He can’t be explained. You just have to meet him,” Raspberry Suit says. “Salvatore, by the way.” He offers me his hand. I shake it, glad to have my leather gloves, as always, to protect me from the feeling of anyone else’s skin against mine.
“Since you aren’t going to kill me, you can call me Spettro.”
“Welcome to The Family, Spettro.”
“Oh, I’m not in The Family.” I shake my head and grab my gun off the table to tuck it back into place in my waistband.
Elio and Salvatore both glance at Alessio with knowing grins. Xaviaro already seems bored by the whole thing and is on his way out.
“You’re family, Spettro,” Alessio says. “Whether you like it or not. Now, let’s go home and see about that pizza and mediocre movie.”
I stand up and turn towards Alessio, catching his tie and dragging him close with a grin spreading across my face. Lorenzo agreed to help, our relationship is out in the open,and I’m feeling something close to hope for the first time I can remember. I can’t think of anything that could make this any better.
“I thought we settled on a terrible movie with good actors,” I remind him, and he laughs.
“That’s right.”
“You’re not pissed that I just walked in here like that after you told me to wait?”
He hesitates for a second, his eyes meeting mine. “A little,” he says, using the same words I used this morning. “But we can disagree without it being a problem. I get the feeling this thing between us won’t last long if I think I can tell you what to do.”
I bark out a laugh. “Understatement.” Then I sober and hold his gaze again for a second. “You want it to last?”
Alessio nods, and my smile gets just a little wider. I’m not ready to admit it out loud, but I do too. I need to see if I have a future beyond the Sleepless Reapers before I commit to anything though. So I kiss him roughly instead of saying anything, and from the way he sinks into it, I think he knows my answer.