Page 17 of Capuleto

My pulse raced. The day was cold and gray, yet now it filled with color thanks to a simple "yes?" that quickened my heart.

I had intended for Aleksa to be a damn cloud overshadowing a wonderful day, when in reality, I was eager for him to rain down on me and soak me to the bone.

"Hello," I tried to make my voice sound less terse than usual, "sorry I didn't respond, I didn't make it in time."

"Were you poking the turtle?" When he asked the question, his casual tone, accompanied by a chuckle, was back to normal.

"What turtle? We don’t have animals."

I heard him snort on the other end of the line.

"Forget it, it was stupid. I've been in Spain too many years and the first thing you learn is the swear words and silly expressions."

It wouldn’t be the first or the last time I didn’t catch his offhand comments, and I didn’t want to mess up further.

"Did you call me?" I cut to the chase.

"Of course, he called you, idiot, otherwise you wouldn’t be talking to him now," my conscience was ever so helpful.

"Didn't you listen to my message?"

"Yes, sorry, it was just a way of speaking," I responded tersely, not wanting to continue looking foolish. Why the hell was I so nervous?

"Well, then you know your boss is okay."

"Yes, that was clear, but I need to know more. Tell me everything, please." Aleksa kept the conversation cordial and provided me with all the details. "I want a list of names of those involved."

"Are you going to ask them for coal for Three Kings' Day?"

"More like, I’m going to dig some graves. The culprits won’t make it to next Christmas."

"And here I thought you were more of a pick than a shovel guy," he joked.

"I’m whatever I need to be, especially when it comes to Koroleva."

"You can't do anything, Andrey, we have explicit orders to wait. Romeo already got a serious scolding for acting without the family’s approval. Massimo and Don Giuliano are ready to finish off Cheng."

"Is the Chinese behind the kidnapping?"

"It looks that way. However, the guys we caught denied involvement and Cheng remains missing and unable to answer." I weighed the information.

"Then, we have to stay alert. Has Koroleva been harmed?"

"Nothing serious, R got there in time and blew the balls off the guy who was about to rape her." I cursed loudly. "Calm down, Andy." My heart did a flip at the nickname. "You know she's a strong woman."

"Yes. She is." I waited five seconds, needing to take a breath to throw out the question that had been dancing on the tip of my tongue. "And you, how are you?"

"Improving steadily, as the doctor says. Now I can go to the bathroom alone and I’ve managed to shake it off. It was like a five-liter bottle of Coca-Cola to which you add a packet of Mentos..."

"What?"

"Nothing, just a joke, I'm fine, thanks for asking."

"I'm glad to hear that." My silence made Aleksa pick up the conversation again.

"Is everything okay in St. Petersburg? Do you have much to do?" — could almost imagine him pinching his lower lip between his thumb and forefinger, weighing whether it had been right to throw out a question like that.

Our goodbye hadn't been the best, and we had decided to go our separate ways.

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