Page 59 of Lord of Pain
She carefully examines her chipped manicure. "This is like, the fourth round of this. That money's traveled more than we have."
"Well, it's his and I'm not giving up until he accepts it." I rub the back of my neck.
"Yeah, plus it's the only interaction the two of you are willing to have," Rose chimes in, coming in and settling herself in my chair.
"They're keeping the magic alive." Iris changes her laugh into a cough as I glare at her.
"It's notinteraction," I snap. "I just owe him. I pay my debts."
"I wouldn't let go of Roman," Rose says. "That man isfine shite."
"He's Satan with good hair." I straighten some papers on my desk.
"I'm sorry we ruined it," Iris says quietly.
We hadn't talked about their summer internship in buying and selling stolen goods, other than to clarify that they were no longer doing it and their friends were clear about that. My explanation about how moving pilfered electronics stepped on the toes of real criminals seemed to cement their agreement to leave this adventure behind.
"It's not that." I straighten the papers again. "It wasn't real. We had a nice time at Roman's place but that's not… sustainable. This is good." I nod firmly and it's doing nothing to convince them. "Jack and Poppy aresomewhere,but they're not a threat to us. We can move on now."
"Violet, the sixth graders want to know if I can give them another self-defense class." Melina glides gracefully into my now very crowded office. Roman has continued to send Bratva volunteers this week, a kind gesture that just makes me feel worse. Melina is small and lithe with slanted green eyes like a cat's. She's very popular with the little kids and the teenage boys.
"I got a complaint that Kyra Garcia broke Kenny Lakowski's finger after the last class?" I try to look stern.
"Yeah, after he tried to slap her butt," Iris says.
"Oh." I smile at Melina. "Carry on, please."
"Excellent," she says. "Trauma twins, you come with me."
Such is Melina's charm that neither one of them takes offense, following her out like ducklings.
A tear drops onto my paperwork, and another. Every time I hear a faint Russian accent, it all cascades on me. The feel of Roman's hands, his deep voice, whispering filthy things in my ear, his devil's grin.
That look in his eyes when I hurled those ugly words at him. Pain, and then shock that I could hurt him.
"If you're crying again, I'm going to get you another jumbo bag of Snickers." Larry plops himself on my rickety office couch.
"Please don't," I moan. "I've gained four pounds this week."
His t-shirt today shows a businessman with an unsettling grin, hiding a giant butcher's knife behind his back with the saying,I've got your back!
"That t-shirt might be a little violent for the shelter," I say.
"Nah." He's smoothing his hair in my mirror. "The little kids love it."
"Of course they do." I rummage for the wandering bottle of ibuprofen that's supposed to be in my desk.
"Hey, I've got news that will force you to cheer up." Larry's face brightens. "Remember that grant proposal you submitted last month?"
I look up hopefully. "Yeah?"
"We're one of the top three contenders," he says gleefully. "They want to come by tonight for a tour. I’ll even change into a more decorous t-shirt."
"I love you!" Giving him a big, smacking kiss on the cheek, I ruffle his hair.
"Don't touch the hair!"
***
