Page 23 of The Woman at the Funeral (Costa Family #11)

The silence between us was heavy, but not empty. It was full of all the unspoken things between us.

Joy, hope, concerns, and fear.

I was so consumed by those thoughts that I didn’t hear the click of Goya’s nails down the hall.

But I shrieked and nearly came out of my skin when something cold and wet pressed into the side of my ass.

I jumped off of Nico, heart hammering, as I turned to see Goya sitting there, tail swishing.

The laugh bubbled up and burst out of me, dragging one out of Nico as well.

“That’s one way to get attention, huh?” he asked, reaching down to flip his waistband over himself. By the time he was done, Goya was at the door, whining. “You need to go out?” he asked, making Goya whine harder. “I…” he started, looking at me.

I nodded.

The moment was over.

The spell was broken.

Seeming to sense the same thing, Nico got up, walked down to the bathroom, then came back out a moment later to grab a t-shirt and shoes, then hook on Goya’s leash.

My arm was draped around me, but I was still naked when he glanced back.

I saw the regret on his face as he grabbed the baggie clip he’d bought and keys, then moved out into the hall.

I wasn’t sure if I was happy about the distraction or incredibly disappointed by it.

But as soon as the door closed, I got up to lock it, then took myself into the bathroom to quickly shower.

By the time I came out of the bedroom in slacks and a white blouse, my hair pulled back into a bun, the scent of coffee was already filling the apartment.

Goya was over his food dish, chowing down.

“We grabbed breakfast sandwiches,” Nico said, waving toward the brown bag on the counter. “But I also got a plain bagel, if you’re not an egg and cheese bagel kind of person.”

“Is anyone not an egg and cheese on a bagel person?” I asked. He reached into the bag and held out the foil-wrapped sandwich. “Thanks. Were you a good boy on your walk?” I asked Goya as I passed. His tail wagged, but he was too busy eating to look up.

“He made a friend. And scared some pigeons.”

“What kind of friend?”

“A Golden Retriever wearing a tie-dye shirt.”

“Well, it’s good to know he’s dog-friendly.”

“When I talk to Brio today, I will get more details about him,” Nico promised. He brought me a coffee, then went back for his own drink and sandwich.

“That would be good. And to know I’m not on some list for dog-napping.”

Nico shot me a smile at that. “I’m sure Brio told the shelter. Don’t worry.”

“So are you calling Brio? Or are you… leaving?”

“I have to leave,” he said, regret clear in his voice. “Hopefully just for a couple of hours. I have to check in with Zeno. Which is impossible to do without a visit, honestly. And, unfortunately, I’m going to need to drop in on the Ferraros to see if they have Matt’s laptop or anything like that.”

“I’m sure they’ll hand them right over. If you offer enough money.” My tone was a little bitter. But, hey, I’d been tortured by those people for years. I wasn’t going to feel bad about being glad I no longer needed to have contact with them.

“If they haven’t already sold them,” Nico agreed, clearly also through with the family after what Matt had been ready to do to him and his loved ones.

“Do I have to stay in the house all day?”

“I would prefer if you did. Unless Goya has to go pee or something. But if you want to get out for a bit, I could bring you to Zeno’s place. But, fair warning, you will hate it. It’s a complete disaster.”

“Could we bring Goya?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I’d like to go, if you don’t mind.” I wasn’t about to admit that I was a little freaked out about being in the apartment alone.

“To go to the Ferraro’s too?”

“God, no. Sorry, that was nasty.”

“Honey, from the sound of things, they treated you like trash. You have nothing to apologize for.” He paused to take a bite of his bagel.

“Honestly, I’m dreading it too. It’s not going to be easy to fake being nice just to get the laptop.

And I’ve yet to come up with a decent excuse for wanting it. ”

“You could say I want it. That I have work stuff or pictures on it or something. You can even say I’ll give it back once I get them off.”

“That might work,” he agreed.

“Or it might work against you, given how much they hate me.”

“If there’s one thing I know about the Ferraro clan, it’s that they like anyone whose pockets are deep enough.”

“I don’t know about that. I was always being guilted into paying for things for them. They still made no attempt to be friendly.”

“That’s their loss. And maybe it’s for the best now. If you were close with them and then discovered all of Matt’s betrayals, it would have been hard to maintain that relationship.”

“That’s true.” Sometimes, the universe had pretty perfect plans. Though I would never understand why I’d needed to suffer so much darkness to get to the end of the tunnel. “What time do you want to go to Zeno?”

“Zen isn’t much of a morning person unless he’s seeing it from the wrong side. I think it would be smart to go over there this afternoon or evening.”

“So you’re going to go to Ronny’s before that?”

“Yeah,” he said, shoulders growing tenser. “I figure you will be more comfortable being here alone during the morning anyway.”

I wasn’t about to tell him that I was being a big baby about the safe house as a whole. “Yeah,” I agreed, thinking I might just spend the whole time in the locked bedroom with Goya.

“I’ll take Goya for a walk again right before I head out, so he should be set until I get back. You’re not a prisoner here, but I really would prefer it if you didn’t go out at all. Or if you do, make it short trips.”

“Aside from Goya having an emergency, I don’t see a reason I would need to.

There’s lots of food here. I’m sure I can find something to entertain myself for a few hours.

” If nothing else, the whole apartment could use a good cleaning.

I’d found all the basics: broom, mop, vacuum, scrubbers, and products in the hall closet when I’d been looking for a towel for my shower.

“You will have your burner phone and the gun the whole time. For your peace of mind. And my own.” We’d set up his new phone and added each other’s numbers while we ate our ice cream the night before.

“Oh, in case of a, you know, real emergency, can you write down this address for me?”

“Of course.”

We made more small talk as we finished eating, then I offered to clean up while he showered. And I tried not to think about how much I wanted to strip out of my clothes and join him.

Even just the idea had me pulsing and aching again, despite being wholly satisfied just an hour or so before.

Things had been oddly… formal between us since he came back. Like maybe he, too, had decided that it was best if that was a one-and-done sort of thing. No matter how good it was.

Or , that sneaky, ugly little voice inside me whispered, it just wasn’t as good for him as it was for you.

It was silly to be that worried. I’d seen the way he’d looked at me. I’d felt the tension in his body.

But once that insecurity seed was planted, I couldn’t stop tending to it. By the time Nico was leaving to go to Ronny’s house, it had already rooted and sprouted through me.

So I spent the next three hours cleaning the apartment from top to bottom until my fingertips ached and I needed another shower to get all the products and sweat off of me.

I was about to text him, tell him to go to Zeno’s without me, when suddenly he was in the doorway.

One second, he was reaching back to lock the door, something about him crackling in the air around him.

The next, he was across the room.

And his lips were on mine.