Page 9 of Vito

His hand is steady even though his actions can be considered an act of war, and he'd be marked for death.

"You may not know, but you have some guesses." I tilt my head to the side, still leaning on the island, hands clasped in front of me. "You want to trust me. Pulling the gun on me actually tells me that, because you wanted to see my reaction. Otherwise, you would've pulled the trigger immediately."

"Maybe I just want to be sure before I do pull the trigger."

I shake my head. I'm calm; a gun pointed at me isn't something new, however, I know he isn't truly a threat.

"You know how this works, Gus. Even drawing a weapon on me while I'm unarmed would be viewed as aggression and non-neutral. You thought I'd pass this test but you needed to be sure."

After a moment, he lowers the gun. This was Gus's version of atrust fall;he knew I wouldn't react to his drawing the gun on me, and it was his way of showing that he trusted me. A bit messed up, yes, but that's how we operate. He flicks the gun's safety on and stashes it back behind the boxes—but he doesn't turn back around right away.

"Aiken told me once…" he pauses, sounding pained. "He was drunk and said that Ed was his greatest regret. He wished Ed was by his side doing what he loved, which was running this place." He turns to me. "You know how Aiken was. He lived andbreathed this place; believed one hundred and ten percent in its purpose.

"This wasn't a bar to Aiken. If he could contribute to less bloodshed, give a space for parties to come together on neutral ground to come to peaceful resolutions… That's all he ever wanted."

"Was Aiken homosexual?" My brow pinches as I try to recall if I've ever seen Aiken romantically with anyone—male or female.

Gus shakes his head. "Not that I know of."

He approaches the metal island and faces me on the opposite side.

"I tried to get Aiken to talk about it once afterward," Gus continues. "He was pale as death when he realized he had said something and yelled and screamed at me to forget what he said. We never talked about it again."

"And?" I press, sensing there's more.

He sighs, closing his eyes. When he opens them, his green irises are pained. "About a month ago, when I was the only one left here, he told me… that if anything ever happened to him, I was to call Ed and he gave me a phone number."

I straighten. "Aiken thought he might be in trouble."

Gus nods.

But why hadn't he convened a meeting with the Chamber to notify of a potential threat to him or Gilly's? Was it because he couldn't say if one of the Chamber members wasn't the threat and didn't want to raise flags that he was aware?

"But Aiken called me before he died," I say instead of the questions in my head. "Not you, when it was you he gave Ed's number to."

Gus's hand rubs his face. "It makes no sense." He frowns when I pull out my phone. "What are you doing?"

"Giving a man his dying wish. I'm calling Ed."

His mouth is pressed in a grim line, then he tells me the number.

After dialing, I put my phone on speaker, and we listen as it rings. It rings and rings, and I start to think it won't be answered until finally, the call connects, and a female voice speaks, sounding husky like we've woken her up. Both Gus and I are surprised, expecting a male to answer.

"Hello?" she says again, sounding more awake and annoyed.

"I'm looking for someone named Ed," I reply.

The line is dead silent, and I glance at my phone to ensure the call hasn't been dropped.

"Who is this?" Her voice is hard and cold when she finally responds.

A shiver runs down my spine that I can't explain, and my cock stirs for the strangest reason. "I thought I was pretty clear: I'm someone who's looking for Ed."

An angry noise sounds over the line. I can't decide if it's more of a huff or a snarl.

"Aiken Fallen gave a trusted source this number to call if—"

"What happened to Aiken?" Her voice is still hard and cold, but there's a tinge of worry.

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