Page 41 of Unspoken Ties
He didn’t respond immediately, considering his words. I could almost hear the gears turning in that macabre head of his. “And what does this new leadership propose? A renegotiation of terms?”
“You can have the organs of accidental deaths, but I won’t be getting live bodies for you.”
There was silence for a moment before The Surgeon spoke again. “Leone worked very hard for those arrangements, and they were very lucrative for him. Are you so sure that is something you’d like to end?”
“I have different standards for the business ventures I pursue.” I said, my words clipped and icy.
“That is quite unfortunate,” he responded indifferently. “Very well. New arrangements will be made for live bodies.”
The line went dead and I placed my cell phone back on the table, the cold steel clinking on the table. It hadn’t gone as poorly as I’d imagined. It was unfortunate that the last vendor I had to contact ended sourly, but overall everything went smooth.
Hopefully, things would remain that way. I had no problems holding a gun to anyone’s head if it meant ensuring the safety of Liria.
Chapter twenty-one
Liria
It had felt like forever since I got to see Luciana. My emotions were churning at the realization that I was no longer a virgin. I had been wanting to tell her, but it seemed weird to do over text messages.
When I asked her to hang out, I specifically asked for her apartment, so we could hang out in her room alone. If Tall Dino was around, he would listen in and offer his opinion and commentary, which I did not want for this subject.
One of Ettore’s men, Hugo, dropped me off at her apartment. After confirming both Tall and Short Dino’s presence, he gave them a nod and walked off.
“Hey,” she greeted me warmly, pulling me into a tight hug. As I breathed in the scent of her lavender perfume, I felt my anxiety slightly diminish.
“How’s it going?” Tall Dino asked, looking up from one of Luciana’s magazines.
Short Dino just gave a small grunt of acknowledgement. I said hello to all three and followed Luciana into her room, where I firmly shut the door behind me.
“Are you okay?” Luciana asked, her perceptive eyes searching my face. There was an uncanny ability in her gaze to unravel the deepest secrets.
“Well, you know…” I attempted nonchalance, but it came out more forced than natural.
“Spill it,” she said firmly but softly. “I know when something is bothering you.”
I paused for a moment, swallowing hard, and took a deep breath. “I didit.”
“Did what?” she said, looking confused. Her eyes were wide and curious, crinkling at the corners as she studied me.
“Y’know…” I said, too embarrassed to say it aloud. How could people talk so freely about this stuff?
Luciana’s eyebrows knitted together in confusion before realization set in. “You had sex!”
“Don’t say it so loud!” I said, looking at the door in fear someone else might hear.
She laughed, leaning back onto her bed and pulling me down to sit beside her. “Okay, okay, I won’t. So...how was it? Do you feel any different?”
“I don’t know? I guess?”
Luciana and I talked about it before we decided to order pizza. As we sat cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through the pizza topping options on her phone, a comfortable silence descended between us. We had always been good at that - silence. It never felt awkward or forced. Instead, it wrapped around us like a warm blanket, a testament to our close bond.
“Pepperoni and olives?” Luciana asked, glancing up at me. I nodded in agreement, my thoughts still lingering on our previous conversation.
“Olives…” A phantom smell filled my nose. It was almost as if the fermented taste was right in front of me, and it was the most disgusting thing I had ever experienced. My stomach churned,and a wave of nausea hit me. I quickly got up from the bed, rushing to the bathroom down the hall. I knelt over the porcelain bowl, ridding the contents of my stomach into the bowl.
“Are you ok?” Tall Dino stood above me, his arms crossed.
I tried to respond, but again heaved over the bowl.