Page 76 of Tesio
He was so fucking dramatic.
“I need to talk to him. Just ask him to give me a minute, please.”
“You had everything, Tesio. Fucking everything. You were even getting to live your little biker fantasy. Nothing’s ever enough for you.”
“Just fucking do it.”
“Ungrateful cunt. You don’t get to talk to me like that.”
“Fine, then tell the Don I had information he’d have needed, but you made sure he didn’t get it. I’m sure that’ll be real useful when the cops turn up.”
He fell silent for a moment, and wasn’t that just the fucking reaction I was hoping for?
“Quick, Luca.”
He put me on hold, and I figured they were probably trying to track me, but if I got a moment to speak to Rossi, maybe there was a chance I could fix this.
“Tesio. This isn’t how we show respect in this family.” Jesus, just his voice sent chills down my spine. Had it always done that?
“Boss. I had to do something. You know it’s not safe to kill cops, I did it for-”
“If you think that line of bull was going to work with me, then you’ve clearly forgotten who you’re dealing with. Have we not been family for twenty years, Tesio?”
Jesus. Time for the guilt.
“Boss, I’m not disrespecting you, or the family. I’m not trying to be a traitor. I was doing what I had to do to save her, and you. Don’t you see? There’s a way to fix this where nobody dies.”
He tutted quietly. “You’re putting… how is it the bikers would say it…pussybefore the family. Does loyalty mean nothing to you? Did I put my trust in someone undeserving?”
Fuck me. It was like dealing with parental guilt, and how would I know since I never got to be raised by parents?
“Boss, I didn’t betray you. I…fuck… I fell in love.” Jesus, I couldn’t even say it to her, but apparently I could spout that shit to the one man who’d never understand or respect it?
“Tesio. She’s law enforcement. She’s never going to be a safe connection for you or us to have.”
He was about to give me an ultimatum, I could almost fucking smell it. And as I kept casting my eyes back and forth over the entrance to the alley, I realised I might never make it back to Jamie, and I never fucking told her properly. Did I? We both dodged around the fact, because neither of us were lovey dovey types.
“What if she’s willing to give that up?”
Prick! Why the hell would I even suggest that, when it wasn’t up to me to make such a fucking offer? She’d kill me. She’d literally be the one to end my life, but somehow… that didn’t seem as bad. I’d let her kill me. I’d let her kill me so fucking good…
“Tesio!”
The sharp tone told me I’d zoned out and he’d been wasting his breath. Fucking moron. Great way to piss off the boss while you’re trying to beg to live. That wasn’t it though. I was begging for her life, not mine. I just wasn’t doing it right.
“Boss. If you agree to let her live, I’ll come back and take whatever punishment you deem necessary. If you wanna kill me, I’ll get on my fucking knees and wait to die. Just please. Please don’t kill her. She didn’t do anything wrong. She didn’t-”
“Our names were flagged because SHE searched for them. She looked into US. That’s what we call athreat, Tesio. I’m just supposed to ignore that?”
I swallowed hard, opening my mouth to argue, but that’s when I realised I was about to speak to dead air. The fucker hung up on me. Whoa. I didn’t see that coming. I thought he’d do everything he did and said, and then demand that I bring her to him, so he could kill her, and I was gonna say, no fuck you, I’ll come alone, and then what? Did I think he’d be satisfied with just killing me?
This is called royally fucking things up. I switched the phone off, dismantled it, and tossed the parts into the drain beside me, staring dumbly at the parts as they vanished. I had one chance to save us both, and I think I just fucked it up.
I got the hell out of there, riding back to the house via a roundabout kind of route, to try and dodge anyone who might be tracking me, even though I’d taken every precaution I could. I’m not sure what the point was though, because whether I liked it or not, we were out of options, and I had no idea what to do to save us.
Jamie
When Grease walked backthrough the door, his eyes found me immediately and he strode in my direction. I stood up, and practically fell into his arms when he reached me. He felt cold, from being outside for hours, but I think we both needed that comfort right now, because even a few hours apart had felt like too many.
