Page 73 of Capuleto

"I've noticed that, but I thought you knew where they were, that you were following them."

"R asked me to give them some privacy, said they wouldn't stray from the group, just one vehicle ahead of her."

"Enough for you not to notice them disappearing. What the hell were you thinking? About going home with your boyfriend?" he asked sarcastically.

"Would you mind helping me look for them instead of busting my balls!"

"That's what the other one takes care of."

I grabbed the Russian's arm forcefully.

"Look, I'm sick of your shitty reproaches. If you wanted something with me, you should have had the balls to admit it. I can do whatever I want with whoever I want and I don't owe you any explanations because you don't deserve any. You chose to leave through the back door, what did you want, for me to wait for you forever? Well, sorry, some of us want to live instead of walking through life like the living dead."

Andrey looked at me very seriously but remained silent.

"Does the bike have a tracker? Have you called R?"

"No and no."

"Okay, let's start there, call him."

"Do the same with your boss." Both of us started making calls and got no response.

"I'm going to backtrack to look for them," he said when neither of us got an answer.

"I'll come with you," I muttered.

"I'd rather go with someone else."

"Well, tough luck. The others are giving their farewell to Dante, and I'm not going to bother them. Be thankful I'm letting you come with me." The Russian clenched his fists. "You need to understand once and for all that you're not in charge, and if my boss disappears..."

"Don't tell me your life story, just start the bike. Let's just do our job, that's what we get paid for."

I was so angry with him that all I wanted to do was rebuke him and continue arguing, but he was right, we had to work and make sure the bosses were okay.

I started the engine and headed back onto the road.

Andrey was like a damn shadow, there wasn't a single part of his body touching mine. I felt like speeding up so much he'd have no choice but to press against my back.

I was fucked. Really fucked. As soon as the Russian left the room, I had to give Álvaro some explanations that I really didn't want to. And although the man from Don Giuliano said he didn't need them, it pissed me off to talk about something so private.

When I asked him about what happened between us the previous night, he simply replied that I didn't need to worry, that he knew his place in the equation. Then, he got up with a crooked smile and headed straight for the shower.

The motorcycle started acting up. I checked the gauges.

"Shit!" I exclaimed, looking at the fuel gauge. It was empty.

I hadn't realized that, upon arriving at the meeting point, I thought the first thing I would have to do before heading home was to stop at the gas station because I had arrived on empty. The damn Russian was distracting me. It was all his fault.

I stopped the engine and pulled over.

"What's happening?" he asked without getting off.

"I'm out of gas," I grumbled.

Andrey let out a curse about the effectiveness of some and finally got off the vehicle to pull out his phone.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I saw him typing swiftly.

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