“But not for me,” Corrado returned. “I have a fucking job, man. People I answer to, and things I have to take care of myself.”
For the most part.
But a few months away?
Could he even swing that?
It was hard to say. Dare would likely allow him time off from The League, if he asked. He hadn’t taken any time since becoming a full-time member, whereas others usually took a bit of time off every year, and some, after every finished job.
Everyone needed something different.
But it was more than The League, too.
It was also—
Alessio came out of the walk-in closet with his combat boots hanging from his fingertips. Corrado moved aside as the man came to sit in the chair he was standing next to, and watched as he slipped his feet into the shoes before lacing them around the back.
He had someone else to think about, too.
A few months was a long time.
“And I need this kept quiet,” Andino added after a moment. “No one can know the details—the less people that know, the more unlikely it is that she’ll be found. I don’t want to have to worry about killing the woman’s brothers, while at the same time, have to think about whether or not someone has figured out where she is. Do you get me?”
Fuck.
“Yeah, I get you, but—”
“A favor is a favor in this life. You say you owe it to someone, then they can cash it in whenever they fucking want. Am I right, or no?”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Hmm.”
Asshole.
Corrado scrubbed a hand down his jaw, and eyed Alessio from the side. He was done with his boots now, and leaning back in the chair with his hand resting at the line of his jaw while he stared out the large windows surrounding their bedroom.
“I was thinking,” Andino continued, “that since they have her so protected, the only time they might give us the chance to get her away from them is on the wedding day. If you could drive in, because I don’t want any paper trail attached to someone the Calabrese might recognize or know coming into the city, then—”
“I’m in Vegas. That’s across the country.”
“You have three and a half days. Drive fast.”
Perfect.
This was just ... great.
“She’s dark-haired, brown-eyed. About five-ten, or so. She’ll be wearing a large church hat that’ll cover her face. She will not be in a wedding gown. Make sure your vehicle is in front of the church to grab her as soon as she comes down those steps.”
Andino gave the name of a well-known cathedral in New York City, adding, “I need to know what vehicle you’ll be driving to let her know which one to get inside.”
No questions.
Just a demand.
So, they were really doing this, huh?
Seemed so.
Corrado thought about the Porsche, if only because Alessio had mentioned it earlier, it did need to be opened up—what better way than fifty over the speed limit on the highway—and it was probably the fastest car they owned between them. “A black Porsche.”
“Good.”
Alessio glanced away from the window at that, his brow furrowing. Corrado shook his head, not wanting him to worry. This didn’t involve his lover, and he didn’t want Alessio getting messed up in this, either.
It wasn’t that the Marcellos were bad people—in the underworld of criminals, they were more like royalty. He simply figured it would be better if he handled this mess alone, and let Alessio continue on doing what he always did without worrying about Corrado at the same time. He’d been the one to fuck up, so he would be the one who fixed it.
Easy.
Clean.
Just how he liked it.
“Better get on the road,” Andino told Corrado. “I’ll be in touch.”
The man didn’t even wait for him to agree, or say goodbye, before he hung up the phone. That might have pissed Corrado off any other time, but he was now focused on the fact that Alessio was looking his way with a question in his eyes.
Because, of course.
“What’s going on?” Alessio asked.
Corrado stuffed his hands in his pockets, keeping a tight hold on the phone at the same time to hide it away, too. “Something I have to do—last minute, it just came up.”
“A job?”
It wasn’t unusual for Dare to send Corrado or Alessio on a job without telling the other one. He left that to them to figure out between them, and whether or not the details were something they could or should share.
“Something like that,” Corrado replied, “but more like a favor. Outside of The League’s business. Nothing serious, but I need to head out.”
“For how long?”
Yeah, damn.
He didn’t want to lie.
He also didn’t want Alessio asking too many questions.
“Could be a while,” he replied, but then quickly added, “I can’t really talk about it a lot.”
It was the shadows that darkened Alessio’s expression that told Corrado he didn’t like that answer, and was more than willing to ask more.
“I have to look after someone for a while, keep them out of sight, and whatever else,” Corrado explained, hoping it would be enough for Alessio, “but they don’t want too many people in the loop about it. It’s just a favor ... it won’t cause trouble.”
“Yeah, all right.” Alessio cleared his throat, and looked up at Corrado, his blue eyes stormy again. That’s where his emotions always showed, even when the rest of him was blank. “Where are you going, then?”
“Back to Toronto, I think.”
“And it’s going to take a while?”
“Seems so.”
“Didn’t Marcus say, when he called, that they wanted to have a birthday party for you, Chris, and him?”
Yeah.
“It’d be better if you stayed here, especially if I’m still taking care of ... this issue,” Corrado murmured.
“Is that it, or is it something else?”
“What?”
Alessio shook his head, his jaw tightening as he turned to look out the window again. “Nothing, man.”
“You’re not good at deflecting, Les.”
“Maybe not, but I also don’t hide things people already know, Corrado.”
Ah.
Okay.
Now he knew what was wrong.
Except he really didn’t have time to do this with Alessio right now, not considering he had a very short window of time to get on the road, and start the drive to New York. It certainly wasn’t enough time to sit here and argue about this.
Again.
“I have to head out,” Corrado said, “so can we come back to that?”
“Right.”
“Les.”
Alessio looked back at him, and shrugged. “Yeah, we can come back to it. Where the hell else am I going to be, Corrado? I’m always here, right?”
He was.
Sometimes, Corrado wondered if he wanted to be, though.
Well, he knew what he wanted.
He always had.
Leaning down, Corrado kept his hands on the arm of the chair as he dropped a quick kiss to the side of Alessio’s jaw, feeling the man’s cheek twitch under his lips. “Cette partie de mon coeur est à toi, hmm? I’ll call you, yeah?”