Page 99 of Steal My Heart

A photo comes through, and I nearly crack the phone screen: it’s the mayor and Remi on stage.

“No clue who she is, but you’re a man with resources. I’m sure you can find her.”

“I’ll put every good man I have on it,” I lie.

“Outstanding. I look forward to working with you, Mr. Calvani.”

And I look forward to destroying you, Mayor Morrissey.

Remi

“Relax and think. Or Panic and sink. Your choice.” Maks says, towing me to the ladder.

“I choose a break from your maxims,” I inform him, pulling myself out of the deep end and plopping down on the nearest lounge chair to catch my breath.

“Intellectually, you get it,” Alessandra encourages me, pulling herself up and taking a seat on the ledge. “If you could just relax, your body knows what to do.”

Maks climbs out of the pool and marches over to me, knocking my lounge chair from seated to horizontal position.

“Hey!” I cry.

“When you are lying on this chair, are you tensing your body?”

“With you yapping in my ear and blocking the sun, yes.”

“Fighting against the chair?” he continues. “Making yourself as heavy as possible in the chair?”

“No, but?—”

“It’s no different lying on top of the water.”

“If you tell me to become one with the water, I quit.”

“Get up. I want you in the pool and lying on a float.”

“You want me practicing lying on a float?” I repeat skeptically.

“At this point, yes.”

“Why can’t we switch over to swimming strokes?” I argue. Anything other than more of this.

“You must learn to crawl before you learn to walk. Go relax on the float.”

“Fine,” I say, sitting up. “But only if you get me one of those fruity little umbrella drinks.”

“Very well,” Maks says, taking off toward the pool house.

“I was just kidding,” I mutter, walking toward the pool.

“Ahhh!!!!!”

And into the water I go.

“I hate you!” I shriek upon surfacing.

Alessandra tosses a ring in my direction, and I grab it. “You hate Maks more than you hate the water. There might be a method to his madness,” she decides.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been giving you enough attention.” I shift the leash from my left hand to my right. “In my defense, I’ve got a lot going on. Mainly just trying to stay alive.”