揑 didn抰 turn them into anything. They were looking for fun outside of their marriage and I offered them fun.?
Anna nodded but she still looked confused. 揝o you抮e holding off with marriage because of me??
Was she playing dumb on purpose? My entire life had been on hold these last three years. Everything had revolved around her, her future. I rolled on top of her again. 揈very fucking thing I抳e done these last few years has been because of you Anna. You are the goddamn sun I抦 circling.?
Anna抯 eyes softened. 揧ou can抰 put your life on hold for me. I抣l marry Clifford. I can抰 be yours. Maybe you should start looking for someone to marry.?
Was that really something she wanted? Me to find someone else? I settled between her legs and slowly eased into her. Her lips parted as she exhaled.
揧ou抮e mine for the time being. That抯 enough.?
It wasn抰， and that sad fact became more apparent every passing day. I wanted Anna.
It was my evening off and I decided to meet with Arturo, canceling a dinner with Dad and Frederica last minute. I knew they抎 only try to question me on my affair with Anna. I didn抰 want to hear their advice. I抎 given up being reasonable when Anna was concerned.
Arturo was the man for being unreasonable and when I wanted to avoid getting asked questions about my emotions.
I rode my Camaro to Arturo抯 place. I抎 missed it while being in Paris and even now I rarely got the chance to drive it. When I pulled up in front of Arturo抯 place, he was already outside in the abandoned alley.
I got out and joined him. 揌ey, how are you??I clapped his shoulders, which only got me a brief aghast look and no answer.
Arturo motioned at a stack of packages waiting beside the door. I picked up one, which was surprisingly heavy. I followed Arturo, who carried a smaller box, into the back of his loft梚t was really just a warehouse that he抎 picked as his housing, probably because out here in the industrial district nobody listened to odd occurrences. I put the package down on the kitchen counter, all stainless steel. I wasn抰 sure if Arturo had ever used it for cooking. It reminded me of a morgue. 揥hat did you order? Bricks??
Arturo opened his package, revealing spiked dog collars and something that looked like a machine to put tags into cow ears. Mine held kettlebells. No wonder it was so heavy. 揑 don抰 suppose you order this because you抮e getting a dog, start working on a farm or install a home gym??
Arturo looked up from the collar. 揑 have decided to switch it up a bit.?
揝o you raided a pet shop??
揌umans torture animals in so many ways. I think it抯 fitting that I should use some of those devices to torture certain humans.?
An image of Cliffy with such a collar entered my mind. 揇o you have beer??
Arturo shrugged. 揅heck the fridge.?
I walked past him and opened the fridge. It was stocked with beer, hot dogs, mustard, and gherkins. I was always glad when it was only food and drinks I found in Arturo抯 fridge. I grabbed a beer, opened it and took a deep swig.
揑抳e been entertaining thoughts of killing Cliffy.?
Arturo gave me a blank stare.
I smirked. That was Arturo. He blacked out things of no importance as soon as they抎 passed his ears.
揅lifford Clark.?
That finally got his attention. He grabbed a beer for himself, then leaned against the counter across from me. 揥hat抯 the plan??
I chuckled. Of course, Arturo was ready to jump into action. 揑 haven抰 crossed the line to making detailed plans yet.?
揑f you抳e come to me to talk about this, you obviously aren抰 looking to be discouraged.?
He had a point. If I wanted someone to talk sense into me, Arturo was the wrong choice. He was too eager for blood.
揥e could make it look like an accident.?
揘obody will believe that. His family will blame the Outfit and Dante will go looking for possible suspects, and I have a feeling ultimately it抣l be linked to me.?
Not to mention that Anna would probably get suspicious. I doubted she抎 be very happy with me if I killed Cliffy. She chose him. She wanted to go through with this wedding. Nobody really forced her. If she抎 tell her parents she couldn抰 go through with it, they wouldn抰 force her. And if someone ever tried to force her, then I抎 be the first to put a bullet in Clifford抯 head to stop the wedding.
If Anna thought I wasn抰 worth the risk, then I sure as fuck wouldn抰 force her to pick me.
Santino watched me interact with Clifford like a lion on the prowl. His entire body was bursting with tension and in his eyes the desire to pulverize Clifford was unmistakable.
Clifford and I held hands and smiled into the cameras, playing the happy couple that we weren抰 and would probably never be.