Page 6 of Empire of Ache & Ruin

Since Mom told me about how Dad died, I’ve spent all my time planning my revenge. Women have no place in my life. And for good reason. Anything beyond meaningless sex is a complication I don’t have time for. Getting close to someone would mean keeping secrets.

In the next breath, a tall blonde with a very pregnant belly waltzes into the room with Fisher, Gardenia’s dad and my mentor, at her heels.

Just fucking great.

“Hi.” The blonde woman offers me her hand. “I’m Dr. Salvatore. Santino sent me.”

I don’t miss the smirk on her face. Of course, Gardenia told Santino I was drugged by a sex worker, and he, in turn, told Dr. Salvatore.

“Thank you for coming.” I shake her hand. “But I don’t need a doctor.”

“I can see that.” She smiles politely then extends a delicate hand toward Gardenia. “Santino wanted me to make sure you understood that the sex worker wasn’t with them.”

“I figured as much.” I sit on the sofa armrest and meet Fisher’s gaze before I turn my attention to Dr. Salvatore. “But you’re not here just for me.”

“No.” She sets her big leather purse down and retrieves an envelope. “A gift from Rex.”

“I haven’t asked for anything.”

“She did.” Dr. Salvatore cuts a glance over to Gardenia.

If Gardenia was anyone else, she would’ve been kicked off my team a long time ago. But Fisher wanted her nearby so we could keep an eye on her. And I have yet to figure out how to say no to the old man. Gardenia’s skills are top notch. But she’s impulsive and meddlesome.

“What did she ask for?” I ask.

“Two seats at the Senator’s table.” She hands me the envelope.

I take the invitation and glance at Gardenia. The next step in my plan is to meet the senator. Technically, I would be meeting him again. But I’m confident he won’t recognize the eleven-year-old boy I once was. As much as he and Dad were the closest of friends, the senator never socialized much with Mom, and so he never got to know me.

“Don’t be mad.” Gardenia crosses the room to stand next to her father.

“Tristan. Hear her out.” Fisher wraps his arm around his daughter. “Gardenia can be impulsive, but she means well. And she did the right thing calling Freya. Your mother feels guilty as it is.”

I raise my hand to get him to stop talking in front of Dr. Salvatore. She obviously has a connection with Rex and Santino but that doesn’t mean she can know my whole family history. Mom blames herself because she believes that she put a curse on me the day she told me about how Dad died. She told me the whole story right before I left for Oxford. I was eighteen and still having night terrors. She wanted me to understand why that was happening to me. And she was right. Since that day, the night terrors went away. Not completely though, they became nightmares. These days, the nightmares only come when I veer off my path.

Like tonight, I never should’ve agreed to a night with a beautiful stranger. My focus needs to stay on the prize…it needs to stay on Senator Davis.

“You asked me to get you a meeting with the Senator. This is how you get in. Those invitations are ten grand a piece.” Gardenia steps toward me with caution in her eyes as if I were a wounded animal. “I tried every hack I know. Nothing worked. And you were passed out. And Santino asked if I needed anything else.”

“Gardenia.” I shake my head. “I don’t want you getting involved with them. You’re going back to Bedford tonight.”

“What? No, you can’t do that. We still have work to do.” She points at her laptop. “And you need me here. Look at everything I accomplished while you were out. I got you a doctorandtwo tickets to Senator Davis’s annual fundraiser.”

“Yes, you did that.” I exchange a look with Fisher. “By calling in a favor to the Italian mob. We didn’t agree to this. The fact that you don’t understand that you can’t just pick up the phone and call Santino tells me you should’ve stayed home.”

“I should go and leave you to your family matter.” Dr. Salvatore shifts her gaze from Gardenia to me. “For what it’s worth, Santino already went through the trouble of getting you those tickets. If I were you, I wouldn’t waste the opportunity to meet the man in his own home.”

“What?” Gardenia took the word out of my mouth. “The fundraiser is at his mansion in Bedford? I didn’t see that on the website.”

“This is a special event held for constituents of means.” Dr. Salvatore smiles. “You can’t miss this shindig, Tristan.”

What kind of doctor does house calls for the Italian mob? She doesn’t strike me as the messenger type either. She wasn’t here just making a delivery. She knows exactly who I am and why I’m here. Rex and Santino obviously trust her. But why?

“I’ll walk you out.” I gesture toward the suite door.

“I know the way.” She rubs her belly and walks out.

As soon as the door shuts behind her, I turn to Gardenia. But before I get a word out, she puts a hand up. “I know. I know. Find out who Dr. Salvatore is. I’m on it.” She types fast on her laptop, sitting on the edge of the sofa. “And here it is. She’s the lead surgeon at a hospital nearby. And…yep. She went to high school with Rex and Santino. Look at this.” She turns the laptop around for us to see the images she pulled up.

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