Page 220 of Bitter Poetry
“I probably shouldn’t have told you about that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have taken them!”
He grins… of course he does. Then the smile drops and a deadly serious expression takes its place. “You deleted them on Carmela’s birthday, right after you went down on her. That’s when I decided to delete them, too… Look, I need you to handle this for me. That blow job was fucking amazing. I appreciate you setting that up. I’m rescinding my previous rule on a case-by-case basis. It’s okay if you fuck her after you’ve done the deed. The way your eyes glazed over when I mentioned the tracker, you won’t be able to help yourself either way.”
He yawns heavily, then lies down like this was a perfectly normal conversation.
“Laters,” he mumbles.
Fuck! I should have read the warning signs when I caught him watching bomb making tutorials.
My brother is something else.
I’m not mad about it.
Leon is confused when I head back into my office and announce that I need to go and see Carmela.
His brows pull together. “Right fucking now?” He is talking to Mateo, who sends me a speculative look like he’s also not buying into my sudden decision.
“Yes, right now. It’s quiet—I doubt it will stay that way forever. We’ve planned for every contingency. We’re as ready as we can be. I’d like to see her tonight because tomorrow might not be as easy.”
“I’ll drive you,” Mateo says. He stands and snatches his car keys off a nearby table. “Leon, you’ve slept three hours in the last two days. You’ll start making mistakes if you don’t get some rest.”
“Fine,” Leon says. “You’re right.”
We take a car and two more men for the journey. I sit in the front with Mateo, and our soldiers sit in the back.
“You looked like a man on a mission when you came into the room,” Mateo says conversationally. It’s late. The roads are quiet, but he has the air of a man who’s hyper alert.
“So did you,” I say. “Was Leon boring you or something, that made you jump at a chance to get out of there?”
“Huh? Of course, not.” He shifts his hand slightly on the wheel. The movement draws my eye, almost like he’s uncomfortable… or likewise just needs some sleep.
“There are five spare bedrooms and a summer house. Once we arrive, pick somewhere, and get some rest too.”
He chuckles. “Yes, sir.”
The journey is incident-free. But it’s still a relief to pull into the gates.
The tiny little device is burning a hole in my pocket. Maybe she’s already asleep. Perhaps I won’t be able to do this tonight.
He said I could fuck her after I’d implanted it. Except now I’m home, I don’t know whether I’ll be able to help myself from fucking her, either way.
Mateo follows me up the front steps where a soldier stands on guard. He nods and opens the door for us.
I stop.
Mateo likewise stops. “Something wrong?”
“Do you have a knife?”
He raises both brows.
“Do you have a fucking knife or not?”
“Sure.” He unclips the sheathed blade from his waist and hands it to me. “It’s very sharp.”
“Good. Not much use to me if it’s blunt.” I slip it into my jacket pocket and head for the informal lounge where I can see the light is on. I find Carmela talking to her sister. Both their heads pop up. Jessica chews on her lower lip, and her eyes slide from me to Mateo and back again.
