hush-hush keep-it-on-the-low thing can't go on forever. Secrets always come to light, Gabby. Always."
Gabriella considered that as she leaned back in the chair. "You're contradicting yourself. You expect me to keep this massive secret about his sister, yet you tell me that keeping secrets never works. You can't have it both ways."
"Yeah, I can," he said. "I can have it any way I want to have it. There's no law against me being a hypocrite. We're all hypocrites. No one is consistent all the time. But it's okay, you know, because there are exceptions. There are always exceptions. That's the way life is. And this? This is an exception. This is where we get to be hypocrites, because this isn't our secret to tell. If it goes south, we won't be the ones to die, so it's not up to us to decide. But this thing you have with Dante? That's on you. That's your secret. The fallout is yours."
She sighed loudly. "It could get ugly, though."
"You play with a poisonous snake, you shouldn't be surprised when the son of a bitch bites you," Gavin said. "I don't make the rules. I just, for some reason, get to be the one that constantly has to suck out the damn venom."
He flipped open his notebook again, like that was the end of the conversation, like he had nothing else to say about anything.
"Russo?" a voice asked as a young woman approached the table, holding a small bag. "Your order is ready."
"Thanks," Gabriella said, taking it from her. Once the woman walked away again, she turned back to Gavin. "You seriously do suck at this."
"Yeah," he muttered. "I should stop doing it."
"You should," she agreed, pushing her chair back. She stood up to leave when she ran smack into somebody walking past tables through the café. She stumbled, cringing as she caught an elbow right to the chest, the blow nearly knocking her back into the seat.
"Whoa, shit, didn't mean to hit you," a guy said, grabbing her arms to steady her. "You okay?"
"I, uh… yeah." She blinked a few times as she rubbed her chest. Ouch. "It was my fault. I should've paid attention."
"Nah, that was all on me," he said. "A guy always yields to a pretty lady."
Gabriella glanced at the guy, something striking her as familiar, like she'd seen him around. He offered her a smile, nothing sinister about it, but it didn't seem sincere, either. It was plastered on his lips, deliberately carved there.
"Hands off my cousin," Gavin said, his voice flat.
The guy pulled his hands away from her at once, his smile growing a bit, some genuine amusement shining through. "My mistake."
He skirted around her and disappeared to the back of the café.
Gabriella glanced at Gavin, whose attention was still fixed on his notebook. "Friend of yours?"
"If by friend you mean I'd be happy for the chance to send flowers to his funeral, then yeah, we'll go with that."
Huh.
"Just be careful, Gabby," he continued. "You walk around with someone who has a target on their back and you're at risk of getting hit, because some guys, you know, they've got really shitty aim."
"I thought you were done giving advice."
"That was the last time," he promised. "You're a smart girl. I'm sure you can figure everything else out on your own."
Gabriella walked away, heading for the exit. Her attention bounced toward the back of the café, momentarily catching the guy's gaze as his eyes trailed her movements. The second he caught her looking, he smiled again, tossing off a small wave that sent her guard up, like a silent 'I'll catch you later' when she'd rather he not catch her at all.
Gabriella spun back around, banging right into someone else. What the heck is wrong with me?
"Gabby, sweetheart, it's good to see you again!" Johnny Amaro grasped her arms to steady her. "You leaving?"
"Yeah, I was just grabbing some breakfast and visiting with Gavin." She motioned to his table as she clutched her bag of food. "I was helping him with his math homework or whatever."
"His math homework," Johnny said, eyes darting to where Gavin sat, working in his notebook. Johnny shifted out of the way, motioning for Gabriella to go around him, to step outside.
He followed when she did. Uh-oh.
"You doing okay, Gabby? No problems?"
"No. None. Everything's going great."
"That's good to hear," he said, the expression on his face betraying those words. He looked concerned. "You ever need anything, you know where we are."
"I'll keep that in