“The amount of ice cream you got me is insane.” Her careless laugh carried through the phone. “I’m curious how you instructed the chef to do it.”
“It was simple.” My eyes stayed on the mirror. “Did they get all the flavors?”
“Yes. I have no idea if I’ll ever eat proper food again.”
“You said it’s a snack,” I replied, stepping out of the bathroom.
“I’ll try my best to respect that,” she chuckled. “Carina came over, and we went shopping. And my goodness, the guards are everywhere, making it obvious we’re guarded.”
“That’s good.”
“No, it’s not good. I…” she exhaled. “Only that I understand why I have to take them.”
“Good.”
Her laugh returned for a brief moment before the silence stretched between us. I was about to break it when she beat me to it, voice bubbling with excitement. “By the way, guess who called?”
I stepped back into the office. “Who?”
“The Meridian Group. I got an interview. Do you have any idea how huge that is?”
A smile edged onto my lips. Pavel had finally pulled the right strings.
“Should we celebrate?”
“Yes, we should. It’s huge. So yes, we will celebrate.” She paused for a second. “On our date, we will. When are you coming?”
“Tomorrow. You didn’t send the location.”
“I will. I made a reservation. And it might cost you a lot because … hm… well, you’ll find out tomorrow.”
My smile deepened. “Surprise me.”
She hummed, her tone shifting lower. “Did you meet him?”
My eyes fell back on the file on the table. A few names clawed at me, dragging the heat up my neck. “Yes.”
“What did he say?” she asked. I must have stayed quiet too long, because she asked again, “Are you busy?”
“Someone else killed them.”
“The real Luigi?”
I leaned back in the chair, letting out a breath. “Yes.”
“Okay, you will tell me everything tomorrow.”
“Alright. I need to finish work here if I have to make it for the date.”
“You wouldn’t dare miss,” she chuckled. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
Chapter Forty-two
Alessia
The guest room felt thickwith tension, though it was just best friends pretending this was an ordinary talk about life. I sat in silence, waiting for Carina to speak. We called this meeting to steady our thoughts, hoping to make sense out of a life that refused to give any.
Since her arrival, we had avoided the sensitive topic. Instead, we drifted through the corners of the place I’d been hiding, as I showed her around. After the tour, we went shopping. I mentioned my date with Rodion, and she insisted on finding me a dress. Before I knew it, night came crashing in.