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“We were friends.”
“You were stubborn,” Islah insisted. “Anyway, things are good?” she asked, turning toward me.
“They’re good,” I said, surprised by how wide my smile spread. “Really good,” I added, gaze sliding to the island, memories flashing.
Cinna’s gaze followed, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Islah, however, entirely missed it. “He’s been needing a woman in his life. He’s the nicest guy.”
“He really is,” I agreed.
“So, when are you going to get a man in your life?” Cinna asked, poking at her since she’d teased first.
“I think men might be better… fictionally,” Islah said, shrugging.
“I mean…” I started to agree. “Sometimes. But I think the real life good ones beat the fictional good ones by leaps and bounds.”
“I don’t know if I’ve met one of those. A real life good guy,” Islah clarified. “I mean, the guys in the family aside. And they’re all off-limits even if I wanted one,” she said. “So, are you two together-together?”
“I, um, maybe. We haven’t exactly had a talk like that. Things are still really up in the air. You know, with the whole people wanting to kill me thing.”
“Can’t Renzo handle that?” Islah asked, looking to Cinna who was the expert on family things in this group.
“Things are… complicated with a crew as organized as the Bratva.”
“But you can’t get more organized than the mafia, right?” Islah asked.
“I mean, no. But these aren’t the Wild West days like back when Renzo first took over.” At Islah’s blank look, Cinna shrugged. “Look, we were all a lot younger back then. Reckless. Didn’t have a lot of respect for our own mortality. Back then, Renzo would have had us picking off the Russians one by one. Now, we have shit to lose. He’s a little more calculated now.
“I’m not saying he’s not going to take down the Bratva. He’s just going to do it carefully. I mean, that’s why he has Elian sitting on them. Which, remember, is how he first saved Elizabeth’s life,” Cinna said. “So Renzo’s caution has its definite upsides.”
“How were they able to move into Renzo’s territory in the first place?” Islah asked.
“I mean… it’s complicated. It’s not like the Russians came in with moving trucks and a sign declaring what they were up to. Brooklyn has a lot of people, a lot of neighborhoods, of businesses. Renzo can’t be expected to know about what every person is up to.
“So they moved in slowly, under the radar, setting up their business that looked legit at first, so Renzo didn’t need to be involved. But they were really making quiet moves behind our backs, moving more of their crew into the area, until, one day, they were a potentially big threat. And here we are,” she said, waving a hand out.
“And, well, the Bratva is known for being particularly cold-blooded and ruthless, so shit is… more complicated than any of us like. But trust me, we’re… working on it.”
“I’m assuming that we aren’t meant to know the details about that,” I said.
“These guys, they kind of prefer it if the women don’t know what’s going on. For legal reasons. Obviously, no one wants you guys to be able to be called on a stand and say that, yes, you know that so-and-so did such-and-such.”
“Yeah, I never get any details unless I happen to overhear them.”
“You mean eavesdrop,” Cinna said with a head shake.
“Hey, it’s not my fault these men talk so loudly,” she said. “You guys okay with ordering pizza? I’m starving.”
With that, the conversation moved away from mafia business and onto stories Cinna was telling about two teen boys she and Dav had, for all intents and purposes, adopted. The stories were made funnier by the fact that Cinna, well, wasn’t exactly the most maternal woman to ever exist.
“Do you want kids?” Islah asked.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to ask that,” Cinna said.
“You’re not supposed to ask strangers that,” Islah insisted. “But Elizabeth isn’t a stranger. And she’s dating Elian. Who definitely wants kids.”
“I didn’t plan on them in my immediate future,” I admitted. “I was still working on the whole career thing before my life kind of blew up. But I think I always saw myself with them eventually.”