Page 16 of Twisted Knight

His grip on the steering wheel loosened as his shoulders relaxed. “Ah.” Did he just seem relieved? Why would he be? “Not many people anymore. Romero, Luca, me…” He shook his head. “Your father’s sidebusinesswas not something most of us were proud of.”

“And yet, nobody did anything.”

He shrugged. “It was not my place. Nobody asked me to intervene, and he was bringing a lot of money to the famiglia. Money has a tendency to make you go blind.”

I shook my head. Go say that to the thirteen-year-old boy I’d once been. Go say that to all the young girls my father stole and destroyed. Go say that to my mother who had chosen to take her own life when I was merely a boy instead of being raped once more by the evil scum that shared my DNA.

But no matter what I couldn’t hold that against Matteo because despite what he’d thought, he had only been fifteen himself at the time. He was seeing himself as a man, but he was what I’d been… just a boy.

“Why are you asking?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. I just wonder.”

“You just wonder?” He nodded. “Uh…Quanto pensi che sia stupido?”

I rolled my eyes. “I don’t think you’re stupid. I was just wondering, truly.”

“Bene. Have it your way,” he replied, parking in a darkening street in front of the alley behind Verdi.

I looked at my watch. “How long do we need to stay here?”

Matteo leaned back on his seat, sitting more comfortably. “Why? Am I boring you already?”

I threw him a side-look. We both knew that we didn’t really enjoy each other’s company that much.

“Shouldn’t be too long. He said he’s supposed to come to work around this time. He’ll text me when we’re ready to collect.”

I turned fully toward Matteo now. It was not just a random guy that the Russians would be giving us; it was one of their own.

“What did Volkov want from you?” I crossed my arms on my chest. “It has to be something important for him to give you one of his own.”

Matteo shrugged. “It’s not really one of their guys. It’s an opportunistic Albanian who seemed to be feeding at every table and when did we becomeconfidanti,you and I?”

“I’m not saying I'm your confidant, Genovese.” I shrugged. “We’re going to be sitting in this car for God knows how long. Do you just want to do it in total silence?” Actually, maybe it was for the best. I sighed. “Just forget about it.”

Matteo kept his eyes on the alleyway for a couple more minutes before talking. “He wanted the only thing that makes men like him weak. Love.”

I turned toward him, remaining silent. I did agree that love could make you weaker but not the right kind of love, not the real one. True love, the one Luca and Cassie shared, made you so much stronger. It could make you climb even the highest most arduous obstacle and that was beautiful.

“So what’s the secret? Just don’t love?” I asked mockingly.

“No,” Matteo replied, his voice somehow lower, darker. “The secret is not not to love; you can’t stop the virus once it’s in. The secret is to remove every potential risk from your life.”

“This is quite a lonely existence.”

Matteo let out a tired laugh. “Lo so.”

He knew? How did he know? Had the cruel king, the coldest man I'd ever met, once been at a risk of thawing?

“Are you telling me—”

“Here.” Matteo pointed at the alleyway and the unconscious man that had been thrown out by two big guys with Russian Mafia tattoos on their necks.

I was somehow grateful for the interruption. I was about to ask the stupidest question. There was no chance of Matteo Genovese ever being at risk of falling in love. Men like him didn't feel anything other than contempt, anger and a touch of sadism. I did feel sorry for the poor woman who would eventually have to marry him and give him an heir.

“Go pick him up; we don’t have all night.”

I pointed at my chest. “Why me?” I shook my head. “You wanted him.”

---