Page 65 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
“Uhhh, early November? I can see if Beau and Gideon can cover for me until Thanksgiving.”
“Would love it if you could.”
“Awesome. I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”
My eyes are glued to the screen of my burner phone. The ellipsis pops up again, followed by:
As certain as I want this fucking debt repaid.
Let’s see.
He’s out of town. Don’t ask me where or when he’s coming back. I’ll let you know when I have another update.
“You need me to let you go so you can get back to jerking off?”
I huff a laugh. “No… sorry. Was just multitasking.”
Astor grunts as another impulsive question poises itself on the tip of my tongue. A question I’ve contemplated asking for the last decade and a half.
“You don’t happen to have any connections in Boston, do you?”
Astor’s pause only lasts a beat. “No… why? You make some friends up there I should introduce myself to?”
By friends, he means enemies.
The lie feels oily on my tongue. “No.”
I can feel his suspicion from here. “But?”
“But nothing, I just haven’t been since…”
Since my family was murdered.
“Since I was a kid.”
Astor’s tone softens. “Oh... Well, if you feel compelled to visit, I can always fly up there and join you. If you want. It’s one of the few places I’ve never been.”
Absolutely not; you’d murder me if you knew what I was doing up there.
“That’d be great.”
My eyes drift back down to the address.
I hear talking in the background.
A distant gunshot returns my focus to Astor as he sighs. “Right. I gotta go. Talk soon, okay? Let me know if you need anything.”
Concern has my stomach twisting into another knot.
“Will do. The same for you…”
He pauses briefly. “And Levi?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m proud of you. Not just for your new business, but just… everything.”
Those words force me to swallow back a small knot of emotion that rises to my throat.
