“Besides, Goya is going to need somewhere to sleep too.”
“I bought him a bed,” I reminded him. With his arms full of luggage and dog food, I’d been the one to haul the giant soft inner tube up the stairs.
“Famous last words before you are waking up spooning your dog. Well, that’s all settled. I think I should head out real quick to grab some essentials. Can’t be here without some coffee at the very least. Any requests?”
“Just some ingredients to cook when we get hungry. Oh, and if you see anything for Goya that I missed. Or you think he might like.”
“Got it. Nothing for you personally? Chocolate? Ice cream? It’s been a day.”
“Strawberry ice cream,” I said. He was right. It had been a rough day. I could use to binge it away.
“Sounds like a plan. Don’t leave the apartment while I’m gone, okay?” he asked, walking back into the living room to rifle through his bag, coming out with a gun. Well,anothergun. Because as he moved, I saw the one in the holster under his arm.
“I don’t plan on going anywhere. I don’t even know where we are.”
“Good. I’m going to leave this with you. I wish I had a chance to show you how to use it,” he said, holding it out to me. “But this one has no safety. It’s just point and pull the trigger. So if you’re not familiar with guns, maybe don’t walk around with it. But keep it within arm’s reach until I get back.”
I reached for it, surprised by the weight.
“Goya and I will wait in the bedroom until you get back. I’ll keep it on the nightstand.”
“Perfect. I will be as quick as possible. Don’t use your phone or computer until I get a chance to ask Zeno about it. Actually… here,” he said, doing more digging in his bag and coming out with a small smartphone still in its store packaging. A burner phone. “Set this up. I can give you my burner number when I get back.”
“I can do that,” I said, tucking it under my arm, happy to have a task to do. Otherwise, the fears would run rampant.
“Lock the door behind me.”
“Okay,” I agreed, following him.
“I won’t be long,” he assured me again.
“I’ll be here.”
He gave me one last long look, like he genuinely was struggling with the idea of leaving me.
“Look after her, alright?” he said, looking at Goya.
Then he was gone.
I didn’t waste a second locking the door, then carefully took the gun and the phone into the bedroom, where I locked that door as well.
And proceeded to jump at every sound in the apartments above and below as well as the noises on the street.
After being spoiled by the soundproofing at my new apartment, it was going to take some getting used to hearing all the noises all around.
“What do you think, buddy?” I asked Goya as I sat on the edge of the bed. “It’s gotta be better than the shelter, right? All those other dogs barking and crying because they want a home.”
Just the thought of it made my eyes water.
“How long were you there, huh?” I asked, reaching out to rub his soft neck. “Months? Years? What was your life like before? Were you loved once? Or were people always bad? I’ve known a lot of not-great people too. I was married to one, it seems.
“I wonder what that says about me, you know? That I could share my life with someone like that but not see it. And what does that mean for who I can or can’t trust from now on? Like, Nico seems like a good guy. But is my Good Guy Radar just broken?” Goya turned his head to lick my arm. “You seem to like him. And they say dogs are good gauges.”
Come to think of it, dogs did seem to bark at Matthew a lot. I could be saying hello to one with no issue, then he’d walk up and there’d be snarling.
“What do you think? Can a man in the mafiabegood?”
To that, I got another lick.
