Page 4 of Cold

ChapterTwo

ROMARE

I followedbehind Vito into his apartment. For a gangster, his place was smaller than I thought it would be. There was nothing lavish and a lot less gold. Instead, the place looked kind of...sterile. Everything was shades of white and black. The furniture was modern and the floors were carpeted in white too.

A shiver ran through my body. It was like I'd stepped foot into a doctor's office. I clutched Mr. Whiskers to my chest and looked around until I crashed into something firm. When I stepped back, Vito turned and glared down at me.

He's huge.

"Take off your clothes."

I swallowed. "What?"

He stepped closer and I moved back on instinct. "Strip."

I stared at him as a hundred questions sprung to mind. But as soon as I opened my mouth to voice them, his eyes darkened and I shut up. I looked around and put Mr.Whiskers on a side table before I glanced back up at him. He just...stared.

Creepy. Why does he stare like that?

I reached for the hem of my shirt and peeled it over my head. When I put it on the floor, Vito turned around and started moving through the apartment. I looked after him for a while, confused, until his voice floated back to me.

"You better be naked by the time I come back."

I jumped and wiggled out of my shorts and underwear. Once I stood there naked, I wrapped an arm around myself before I snatched up Mr. Whiskers again. I shifted from one foot to the other as my gaze took in everything around me.

It was clear Vito lived alone. There were no pictures on the walls, no art, no bookshelves. What does he do all day? It was as if he was a robot. Like you could put him away and start him up when you wanted him to crash through doors with a gun in his hand.

A shiver ran up my spine. Whether it was because of the coolness of his AC or the memory of his gun pointed at my face not that long ago, I didn't know.

"Vito?" I called. "Can I sit down?"

"No."

I frowned. There was the faint sound of water and I clutched Mr. Whiskers to my chest. What is Sergei doing now? He'd ditched as soon as he heard the commotion, but he'd told me to stay. It was time for me to earn my keep.

"Come on," Vito said and I jumped. He raised a brow. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," I said as I tugged at my bottom lip nervously. "You scared me."

Vito sighed. "Do you want a bath or not?"

My eyes lit up. "Yeah! I want a bath!"

"Calm down," he sighed. "And follow me. Hurry up."

I quickly walked behind him as he led me through the hallway. The apartment was bigger than I'd first thought. Doors were on each side of me and I looked around at them wondering what was behind each one. Vito led me to an open door and nodded his head toward it.

"Get in and clean up. You're filthy," he said before he turned around. "I'll find you something to wear for the night. Tomorrow I'll have some things dropped off for you."

I tilted my head. "I'm really staying here with you?"

He turned back to face me. "Don't ask stupid questions."

I frowned. "You're really mean."

Vito raised a brow. "And?"

I stared at him and shook my head. "Okay."

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