Page 49 of Salvatore

“Yeah. It does. I think you should put it all out there. Let him know you have experience, even though you haven’t played the ‘V’ card. Otherwise, he may never touch you?you do want him to touch you, right?”

My body heats at the thought. “You might say that.”

“Then, go for it. In the meantime, I’ll look online for naughty prairie maiden outfits. I may be able to find something cheap now that Halloween’s over.”

“You’re a real friend, Autumn.”

We disconnect at almost the same time Salvatore rings the front door. I buzz him in, but I’m not expecting the condition I find him in when I open the door.

His right eye is horrifically swollen and an array of bruises line his jaw. “Holy?what the?shit!”

I haul him inside. “I’m fine, Kansas,” he says.

I place him on the couch. “No. You’re not. You need ice.” My gaze sweeps over his face again. “Lots and lots of ice.” I hurry into the kitchen and sort through my bags of frozen vegetables. “What happened?”

“Donnie wanted to go into the city for lunch at this restaurant she heard about. It wasn’t in the best part of town and some guys gave us trouble on the way out.”

I reach for a towel to wrap the frozen bag of corn in, my movements slowing as his words sink in. “I thought you weren’t seeing Donnie today.”

“What?”

I walk slowly back into the living area, my hands squeezing the bag with how nervous I suddenly feel. “When you called me this morning, you said someone else was watching her today.”

He straightens slightly. I stop with my knees just in front of his. “You weren’t with Donnie, were you?”

He tightens his jaw, a motion that must kill him considering how swollen it is. “No,” he says.

Silence settles between us, neither of us moving or speaking. It’s as if he’s waiting for me to ask him to leave and not come back. But I don’t.

Salvatore is a hard man whose life is probably harder. But that glimpse of vulnerability he shared with me gave me a view of his tortured soul, and a better understanding of this man I’ve completely fallen for. Instead, of pushing him away like he probably expects, I sit on his lap and place the bag of frozen corn on his face.

His arms find my waist as my free hand lifts to stroke his temple. Small soft bristles of thick hair tickle against my fingertips. He hasn’t shaved his head in a while and I’ll admit I like the way it feels beneath my touch. What I don’t like are the lies.

“What really happened today?” I ask.

He waits, as if debating whether to speak. “You know how I work security for Donnie’s lover, Vincent?”

“Yes.”

“I mostly watch Donnie, but sometimes I have to watch Vin, too.”

“He’s successful, but not the way corporate men are in the city. Most of his businesses are small, delis, bars, some mom and pop shops. They’re scattered throughout the Tri-State and not in the best areas.”

“Why doesn’t he just move them to better locations?” I ask, once more taking in his injuries. “Or invest in other means.”

His voice lowers. “You take businesses out of struggling areas, it destroys what’s left of the economy. The area turns to shit and never comes back. Look at all the places that have ever had riots. Businesses leave, but it’s the residents who suffer.”

He considers me a moment, as if debating whether to continue. “Early today, he was rounding on some bars he owns in Newark. I went with him, but word got around to the local gangs that he was in the area. We got jumped on the way out.”

“My God,” I say. “A gang tried to rob you?”

“They tried,” he says. “Since I was with him, they didn’t succeed.”

I cover my mouth. “Did you call the police?”

“We did, but the police can’t do shit until after the fact. That’s why I’m late. We had to fill out a bullshit report.”

“Salvatore, I don’t like this,” I say. “Anything could have happened to you. Those people could have had guns—”

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