“She’s not a prostitute,” Leo yelled.

“Quiet down. You’re making my head ache.”

“Don’t blame that on me. You did that all by yourself.”

Raz glanced at the panel.Shit. The elevator was moving too slowly. The numbers started to blur.

Blinking rapidly, he tried to ignore the dizzy feeling by asking Leo questions.

“If she’s not a prostitute, why can’t you see her at night?”

“She works at night. And before you say anything, prostitutes aren’t the only ones who work at night.”

“If you can only see her during the day, why did you switch from night shift to day shift?”

“I didn’t realize drunk people asked so many questions.”

“Just answer the question.”

“I can’t see her anymore. She found out who I really am.”

This time, Raz turned slowly when he moved to look at Leo.

“She didn’t know who you were?”

“She...” Leo stared straight ahead. “I lied to her.”

Orazio smiled. “You sure your last name isn’t Cattaneo?”

Leo chuckled. “I lied to get close to her. I knew if she knew who I was, she’d hate me. I didn’t mean to keep the lie going for so long. I definitely didn’t mean for things to go to another level.”

“Another level?” Raz slurred, swaying.

“Stop talking and focus on standing up,” Leo told him.

“I’m standing. You keep talking. What happened after you took it to another level?”

“I planned to tell her who I was. But she found out before I could. Now that she knows I work for the Cattaneo family, she wants nothing to do with me.”

Raz took a deep breath and released it slowly. “Sorry. My family is always ruining shit.”

“It’s not your family name that’s the problem. It’s me. If she knew about all the shit I’d done, even before I came to work for the Cattaneos, she’d know I was damaged before I met your family. Hell, your family saved me. I’m better because of don Cattaneo. But I’m still too damaged for her.”

Raz shook his head.Damn. He shouldn’t have done that. He also shouldn’t have downed that last drink. It was starting to kick in. Raz opened his mouth to tell his guard and friend that healing took time. Instead, he heaved.

“Hey!” Leo called out. “Hold it in. We’re almost there.”

Raz swallowed. “I wasn’t about to throw up,” he lied.

“That’s a famous line all drunks utter at least once in their life.”

“I’m not a drunk. I’m... going through some shit.”

“I’ve seen you go through shit. It never ended with you like this.”

“I’m going through some shit you’ve never seen me go through before.”

Raz ended his sentence on another heave. He would not throw up in this damn elevator.