Page 15 of As Angels Sin

The doorman scoffs but doesn’t interrupt our conversation with any pleasantries. I recognize him. He is the same man who took us inside the last time we were here. Then, why does everything feel so unfamiliar? It’s only been nine damned weeks.

“I’m too pretty to be tortured,” Mark says, tilting his nose toward the ceiling.

“Annoying and pretty are very different things.” I shove my hands into my pockets, not sure what else to do with them. “And I think you’ve gotten them mixed up.”

The doorman scoffs again. Maybe even chuckles. At least someone thinks my jokes are funny.

Don’t do it. Don’t you dare think about her.

I don’t, though I want to.

“Hey, boss,” the doorman speaks after giving the frame around Matteo’s office door a gentle tap. “Got someone here to see you.”

No answer comes from inside, but by the way the doorman steps out of our way and ushers us inside, the Don must’ve made some sort of hand gesture.

When my eyes meet Matteo’s, a wide grin forms on his face. I have had no contact with him before pitching up at his door. I thought that giving him time to prepare a kill wasn’t thebrightest idea. Not that much will change if he does want me dead.

At least I’ll have a good shot at taking him with me if he tries.

“I was wondering when you’d crawl out of your hole.” Matteo gets straight to the point. Why can’t Lorenzo be like this?

“It wasn’t a hole. He simply did some mountaineering to clear his head.”

Instinctively, I glare at Mark. He can’t even get his interruption right.

“You keep surprising me. I’m not sure whether that’s a good thing, or a bad one.” Matteo eases back into his chair, and kicks on leg over the opposite knee. “And you brought him back. How cute.” He addresses Mark instead of me.

“I brought myself, thank you very much.” I say testily.

“Why, pray tell,didyou bring yourself back?” Matteo cocks his head to the side. “Better still, what is it that brings youhere, Crue?”

“The job. The money. The girl.” I stare him dead in the eye, even when he turns to Mark. I won’t show weakness here. “What else?”

“So, failure?” Matteo asks.

He’s got you there.My shadow adds, kicking me while I’m down.

“Or is it repentance?” Matteo continues, understandably. He doesn’t realize that he’s rudely interrupting the fucking voice in my head.

“A bit of both.”

“Where it should be neither,” Matteo smiles.

“Oh, thank God,” Mark sighs with heavy relief. “I was ready to go full psycho on this place.”

“Shush, friend. The adults are talking.” Matteo raises a finger to silence Mark. It’s for the best. He’s the absolute opposite of my silent brooding and tactical choice of words. If either of us lethim talk for too long, it’s almost certain that one of us won’t walk out of here alive.

“That’s rude,” Mark says glumly and folds his arms over his chest like a scolded child.

Curious, indeed.

“You’ll have to excuse me. I have spent the last two months devoid of humanity and civilization.” Leadville is included in that. I may have walked amongpeople, but they’re closer to the ninth circle of hell than actual human beings.

“What do you mean it should be neither?” I question Matteo’s last comment.

“One failure out of thirty odd names? Only a fool would believe your worth has diminished.” Matteo reaches for a rectangular wooden box and pulls out a fat cigar. He stopped offering them to me, long ago, but from time to time he offers Mark the opportunity to share a cigar with him. Today is one of those times, and stranger still, he offers Mark the first pick.

“There we go. Can’t jib-jab at us, while you’re sucking on that.”

---