Page 51

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. His cousin literally kidnapped me. I had dinner tonight with the fucking Las Vegas Mob. I think I’m trustworthy.
“It’s between us,” I say, seriously.
He nods and pauses like he’s still considering it. He has more trust issues than anyone I’ve ever known… including myself.
“So,” he leans back in his chair and sighs. “My parents weren’t together. He didn’t give my mom any money, and he was a real piece of shit. She supported me and raised me on her own.” Colter pauses and takes a breath. “My father technically had me every other weekend, but I’m not sure I saw him more than an hour at a time. My aunt took care of me when my mom couldn’t… Which is why she cares for me and why my mom had to work in a bar.”
“What about your other family? Were you close to them?”
Colter nods. “My aunt was like a second mother to me… and my cousin, Anthony, we were close. Settimo, not so much. He was older than me, and way beyond his years. His father expected a lot from him, even as a kid. And Lorenzo… he’s Lorenzo.”
“What does that mean?” My lips tilt up in amusement.
Colter looks up and thinks for a moment. “One time,” he looks back down at me, “Lorenzo brought a snake into the house. A fucking snake wrapped around his arm, and took it to his room to make it his pet.”
I shrug, “It’s a little weird but—”
“And then he fed Anthony’s hamster to it.”
I raise my eyebrows and Colter chuckles. “I will never forget the shriek my aunt made when she saw it in her house.”
“Was it like a garden snake?” I ask. “How did he carry it without it biting?”
“Itdidbite him. Several times. That is how fucked up Lorenzo was. It wasn’t a venomous snake, but still.”
Colter shakes his head like he can’t believe what he’s remembering, but he has a smile on his face as he does.
He loves these people. I don’t know if he realizes it or if he’s in denial, but he’s a liar when he says he doesn’t know them. Maybe he doesn’t know themnow, but he knows them.
Colter goes on to tell another story about Lorenzo, and then one of him and Anthony. He loosens up until he’s fully relaxed and reminiscing more than anything. At some point, it doesn’t have anything to do with my question or needing to know things about him. We’re just talking.He’stalking.
Margie brings Colter another beer, and me a vodka tonic, and then two more. A warmth spreads across my cheeks, and a yearning sits heavily in my gut. I wish I had stories like these to tell. I wish I had family,anyfamily, to reminisce about. Even if it’s one as fucked up as this.
I have Zeke. I remind myself of this over and over as Colter talks, but it doesn’t help. It only makes me realize he’ll grow up without these memories too. He knows Devin’s family, but they’re far from affectionate. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen his grandfather smile.
Even if he did know them, he’ll never see them again.
I down the last bit of my third vodka tonic, and dab my lips with a napkin.
“So what happened?” I ask, trying to get my mind off the intrusive thoughts banging on the door of my mind.
“What?”
“What caused the rift between you and them? Did you just drift apart and want your reputation untainted or…?” My words slur, and Colter’s form won’t hold steady in the spinning room. I blink, hoping my vision will focus, but it doesn’t. I’m not used to drinking this much and certainly not getting drunk. There are few nights when Zeke is away.
“No,” Colter says. He swallows more beer, and I blink hard again. The room still spins. “My whole life, I’ve been told a version of who the Grucos are. I didn’t see it when I was a kid, but after I became an adult… I saw their true colors.”
“What do you mean?”
I barely register that I’ve asked a question, my words wobbling as my stomach turns.
“Are you all right?” Colter’s eyes are squinted, and he’s staring at me like I’ve grown a third eye.
I give the nausea a chance to pass, and when it does, I nod. “I’m fine. I think I just had one too many.”
Colter nods as he stands from the barstool. He spins my stool to face him and places his hands on my arms to steady me. “Let’s get you home.”
I’m fine,I want to suggest again, but I know it isn’t true. Tonight was… nice. I’m not ready for it to end.