"The fuck does that mean?" There is no missing the hint of aggression in his tone.
"Honestly," I bark a laugh, "I don't know now. I was going to expose her to you and then likely send you after her.”
"You better not be fucking tracking her," he warns.
Damn, this is all kinds of interesting. I’ve never seen Ronan get this way about anyone besides his family.
"I'll remember that when you ask me to do that one day." I expect him to relent, thinking he might need me to ask that of me in the future.
"I know how to get the little fox to come out to play."
"If you say so." I chuckle. "I've got shit of my own to start tracking down."
Sal and the Amato family are on the top of my list right now. They are the only thing standing between my wife and me fully starting our lives together.
We've been waiting long enough to do just that already. As I said, Sal is a dead man walking.
I could give a shit if he's been up to something. He sealed his fate last night. All I have to do is to make it as clean as possible.
But only because my wife asked.
Chapter Twenty-Five
COSIMA
"You take your love for the color pink to a whole other level." Tova laughs.
"Why, thank you," I say. Pink should be taken to every level. If there is a level, there should be pink on it.
Pink wasn't always considered a feminine color throughout history, but if we've stolen it, so be it. Although, I'm not opposed to bringing more back into men's worlds. Right now the only man I'm thinking about is my own, and he could use some pink in this room of his. All the colors are dark, except for the glow of his one million computer screens.
"Is that a pink cat balloon statue? I've only ever seen them in dog form." Tova picks up the statue off the corner of Z's desk. "I love it."
"Hold on for a second." I scan the boxes I have lined up against the far wall, trying to find the correct one. "Here!" I rush over to the box, opening it to pull out another. "You can have it." I hand it over to Tova. She eyes the row of boxes.
"How many more have you got in there?"
"There might be one more," I admit. They were on sale, which actually wasn't helpful.
"You're insane." Tova laughs harder. "Are you still poking at Z? I thought since you two were together, that might die down."
"That will never die down." Our banter is half the fun. I think it's our foreplay, but everything leads to sex, so I can't be a hundred percent sure. "Wait, you think this is to poke at Z?" I glance around his room.
We've been back in the States for a few weeks now. I'm not sure what's going on with the whole Sal and Amato family thing, but it has to still be going because I'm on house arrest. It wasn't bad the first week, but I'm starting to go stir-crazy. I know it puts Z’s mind at ease to know I’m safe. Especially after what happened with the whole shopping trip with Tova and Marks. I’m sure that’s still fresh in his mind, so I can’t blame him for taking extra precautions. Even though it sucks for me.
“There's a lot of pink on his desk,” she points out.
“It’s to brighten his day. I’m trying to give the dark web an accent of color.”
“And a mascot?” She holds up the pink cat statue.
“Mascat,” I correct, making her laugh again. Having Tova home with me has made being cooped up a lot more bearable.
As much as I love it here, the home I grew up in can fit more than a few families. I'm ready to have my own place with Z. To create that space together.
“I haven’t heard from Marks in a bit. You?” Tova asks.
“No,” I say, unable to hide my disappointment. “I, ah—” I pause, not sure if I’m breaking girl code, but Tova is a girl, and she was friends with Marks first, so maybe it’s okay to tell her.
