Page 219 of Bitter Poetry

“I know. I’m good with it.”

He flashes a smile. “Me too.”

CHAPTER 66

DANTE

It’s another long day. My basement office is the easiest to secure, so we have set ourselves up in there for now. A steady stream of soldiers comes in and out with updates. At any given point, at least one of us is talking to someone on the phone. Christian, despite his protestations, is grimacing and moving stiffly as evening closes in. He knows a great deal about Ettore’s operation, so his contribution is valuable, but he also needs some rest.

The adjoining room is mostly empty. We’ve had a bunch of temporary cots brought in so we can sleep without needing to leave.

That he offers only a token complaint tells me he’s at his limit.

Earlier, I caught him taking more of the pain pills than he should. I don’t fucking trust him not to be stupid so I go with him.

“I’m on rations now, then?” He scowls at me as I hand over the dose.

“Yes.”

He chuckles at my blunt reply and rummages in his pocket. “Here. I’m out. You’ll have to do this.”

“This?” I take the clear plastic bag from him with a frown. There is a small square sealed package and a dropper bottle.

“It’s a Bluetooth tracker. Medical grade. The battery lasts for ten years before you need to replace it.”

A hot flush sweeps down my spine as I stare at the innocuous little device. “And you just happen to have one of these?”

“I got it before everything went south.” He sits down on the side of the cot with a grimace and kicks off his shoes. “Just in case she gets confused and runs again, yeah?”

I swallow.

“You good with this?”

Am I?

“Yes.”

“Good. The app is already on your cell phone.”

Now I’m confused. My phone has been in my possession all day. “It is? When the fuck did you do that?”

“Last year.”

“Last year?!”

“Not the app, the accessing your phone part,” he says, looking defensive. “I wanted to test it on someone.”

Lucky me… “I suppose you got the ‘how to unlock a cell phone’ off the dark web, too?”

“Huh? No. Unlocking a phone is really difficult.”

Well, alright then…

“I just swiped yours before the screen saver came on and put my fingerprint in it. Then I installed the spyware app.”

I must be projecting murder because he holds up one hand. “I’m really pretty fucked-up right now…” He gives me a shifty look. “The pictures that swimwear model used to send you went straight into my spank bank.”

I pinch the bridge of my nose wondering if there are side effects with his pain medication that make him overly chatty.