Page 32 of The Handyman

“No, of course not. I got what I needed from him. The reason I went through with those meetings was the same as him— I wanted to send Willians a message. Owning his girlfriend apparently wasn’t enough to get him on my side. Once I have his book and a solid plan going forward, I couldn’t care less about him or what they do. From what chatter I’ve received, Willians has already dodged two assassination attempts in the last month, and they were both connected to Aleksander.”

At this news, my brows rose in surprise.

Carlyle shot me a ‘duh’look from across the center console. “A man doesn’t spend unnecessary amounts of money unless he thinks it’s worth it.”

“That’s such a lie,” blurting out the retort before I could stop myself, I sniffed a little as I sat back and gripped the wheel with both my hands. The silence that settled was surprisingly less uncomfortable than I expected, considering the circumstances, and I frowned under tightly knit brows. “You’ve been married two years, right? Did anything change?”

“Valerie wanted a wedding… or, I should say she wanted an excuse to patch things up with her sister, so I gave her one. It went well, but all things end someway. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that being married in itself changed things.” Carlyle fiddled with the band on his finger, a warmth softening his features. “You’ve never been one to drag your feet, Reece. It’s what’s made you so good at being a handyman. You know a good amount of a lot of things, and I imagine that any woman would be swept away by it….but you should always keep in mind that nothing is linear. If you don’t act on this job, either by telling Riley and having her play along, or moving your ass into gear to find out who’s behind it, it won’t just go away. I know you’re not trying because you’re afraid of the answers you’ll uncover ? you’re afraid of what Riley will find out ? but not telling her will only hurt you in the end.”

“…Is that why she kicked you out over the holidays? She found out something you tried to keep from her?” Speaking up cautiously, I pursed my lips when Carlyle nodded firmly. I mean, who the fuck goes toCarl’sparent’s house for Thanksgiving, uninvited, knowing Malda and her boyfriend were there? The only logical thing was that Valerie stuck his ass in the doghouse, and he had nowhere to go, so he thought ‘might as well’.

And, in the end, it worked out for him. Malda spilled her guts about everything she knew. Nothing she said came as a surprise to Carlyle, but itdidsolidify his stance to step back and let the Makovich destroy themselves.

“I would argue that it’s the same situation, just in reverse. She found out after many, many years that her father was alive. That both her sister and I knew and kept it from her. He showed up in my hometown upstate— said he’d run into Natasha and wanted to talk to Valerie. He committed suicide a few days later. The point is that if you’re hesitating to spare Riley some heartache, it won’t work. All lies unravel eventually.”

That did sound super ominous.But what could I say? Sorry? It all worked out in the end? I didn’t even know why Carlyle was in my car in the first place, but this conversation had more angles than the local gay bar.Jesus.“How do you fuckingdothat, huh? How do you know so much about every single little detail of everyone’s lives? How do you somehow manage to weaponize every word that comes out of your mouth? You know, Carlyle— I’ve known you for a long, long time, but I never really understood you, and I don’t know what the fuck is going on right now.” Reaching to rub my face roughly, I closed my eyes and rolled my jaw hard to pop the joints. I glanced over at him through my fingers.

Carlyle’s laugh filled my car, and he tapped his knee. “If I told you, it wouldn’t be magic, would it?”

CarlylefuckingSantino popped a joke at me! A joke!

Smirking broadly, he stretched his long legs in the passenger seat, and his collar drooped to reveal the huge, startling tattoo crawling up his neck. “For once, Reece, I would like to talk to someone other than Carl and Theo about something besides business.”

23

Riley

“Yes, I’m available to start Monday— of course.” Standing in the changing room, in just my underwear, I shivered as excitement prickled down my spine.

On the phone, Vanessa’s clacking on her keyboard echoed above the blood drumming in my ear, but it vanished when she inhaled in preparation. “Awesome. I’ll email you the training schedule, but considering your experience, I’m not expecting it to take the full 30 days. When you come in for full time orientation, we’ll discuss your salary and your training performance and go from there.”

We said our goodbyes, and my voice didn’t crack—not once!— as I hung up to stare at my phone screen.

I got the job.

I got the job!

“Yes! Oh, my God! Yes!” Punching the air, I swished my hips as elation threatened to burst open my chest. My phone screen went black, reflecting my huge smile, and tiny tears pricked the corners of my eyes. “I got the job! I got the job!” Dancing around the disgustingly large changing room, I kicked my bare heel against the carpeted floor before the curtain flung open.

Hannah squealed in excitement, rushing to hug me, and I bounced from excitement and pride.

Sure— Reece got me an interview, but I fuckingnailedit all by myself! Vanessa wouldn’t have put me straight into training if she didn’t think I was capable. How awesome was that!

“Yay! Congratulations! We’re gonna get so drunk tonight!” Hannah pulled back to hold my shoulders to shake me. “Yeah! ?You got the jo-ob! You got the jo-ob!?”

Reaching a trembling hand to swipe back my hair, I practically hyperventilated as emotion crowded my lungs. My cheeks ached from the fierceness of my smile, and I didn’t even care that I was mostly naked as I poked my head out to of the changing room.

Delilah stared at me with green eyes bright with awkwardness.

I tossed her a thumbs up. “You’re gonna party with us, right?”

“Um— yeah. I’d love to.”

Maybe Delilah feels like a third wheel.The thought was sobering, somewhat, and I gestured her into the changing room. She clearly felt out of place. I snatched a flowy, ocean blue shirt off the hanger as I wormed my head and shoulders in a little dance. “So, you know, Delilah…Why are you a model?” Mine was obviously thewrongquestion to ask, and the mood in the room changed drastically as I pulled the shirt over my head. When I could see again, I looked down at her.

Delilah was frowning thinly as she sat down on the bench to clasp her hands in her lap with a sigh. “The truth is.,,I was approached one day and told that I could either quit my job and work for Carlyle’s lacky, or I could disappear until he got what he wanted.”

My eyes widened in surprise, and my heart lurched as Hannah and I were shocked into silence.