I shook my head, reaching for the sugar and pouring a long stream of the white crystals into my cup before stirring it. “Either way, it’s still bullshit."
He shrugged and sipped at his black coffee. "I've been dealing with it since before you were born, kid. Actually, it's not as bad as it used to be. The Seattle PD's been trying to get the Bertolis since before your uncle's time. For a while, around the time you were born, there were a couple of real go-getters on the detail. One of them was one of those super-cops who thought that he'd be polishing the commissioner's badge some day. He was a major pain in the ass."
"What happened to him?" I asked curiously. We were in a coffee house owned by my family, and at two in the morning, the customers were few and far between.
"Almost no man is a perfect human being," Pietro said with a chuckle. “He was a tough cop, but he also had a weakness for high school girls. And not seniors, either. More like freshmen. So, when the media just happened to get a video of him propositioning one who looked like she could’ve been underage, he went away. Didn't even need to get our hands dirty at all with that one."
"And since then?" I asked.
"The Bertoli case has been passed around like it’s a bad luck totem," Pietro said. "As long as we keep the street violence down and keep the gangs from growing, they won't make too much noise. It's ironic, because doing those things helps us even more than it helps the cops."
I chuckled and sipped my coffee. "Still, it's getting on my nerves."
“Just keep patient. You have the brains and you have the physical skills, so now, just learn some patience," Pietro said. "Actually, I asked you here tonight to talk about something else, something I didn’t want to discuss inside your father's house."
"What's that?" I asked, setting my cup down. I rubbed at my eyes, feeling the sand behind my eyelids.
"You’ve been neglecting one of your other duties," Pietro said matter-of-factly. "While I know there has been some tension between you and Miss Mendosa, she’s a guest, and she hasn’t been allowed to leave the house for nearly four days. Just today, my son had to come from the office to bring her some fresh clothes to replace what she'd lost in the explosion."
I sighed, trying to come up with the words to tell him how difficult it was for me to spend time with Luisa. Ever since the Space Needle, I couldn't get her off my mind, nor the way she’d flat out rejected me. It wasn’t something I was used to, so it was difficult to deal with. Normally, women threw themselves at me. The worst part was, I still wanted her so badly that I'd dreamed of her twice in those same four days.
In the end, I realized there wasn't anything that had gone through my head that would change the fact that I'd avoided doing my job. "You're right, Pietro. What should I do?"
“Figure out a way to give her some of your time. I'm sure she’d enjoy getting out of the house or something."
Pietro chuckled and finished off his coffee. "Besides, she’s a beautiful young woman. If I didn't know you better, I'd think you didn't like spending time with pretty girls. Too much time in the company of men does nobody any favors. Think about it."
He got up and paid the bill for our coffee, leaving me behind. I did think about it, and I went home, stopping outside Luisa's door. It was three in the morning, and I could hear her sleeping inside. Realizing that there was nothing I could to at the time, I went upstairs to my room, stripping down and setting my alarm. I wanted to be up by ten, and I felt like I could sleep until past noon with no problems. Sighing, I pulled the sheets up over me and rolled to my side, hoping I'd have a dreamless night.
"Luisa?"
I found her in the television room, watching something I didn't recognize on Netflix, looking antsy. "Luisa?"
"What?" she snapped before pausing the video and taking a deep breath. She was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts and a blouse, but other than that, she looked stressed, frazzled. "What can I do for you, Tomasso?"
I came in and sat down. "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I realize I've not exactly been the best host."
"I'm fine," she growled, reaching for the remote. "Anything else?"
I sat back and crossed my feet at the ankles, looking over. I realized that Pietro had been right. She was getting frustrated. "You don't seem fine to me. You look like you're going stir-crazy, and you have a pretty decent case of cabin fever to boot. I'm just saying, if you want to get out of the house, then let's do it. My treat."
“Are you asking me on a date?" Luisa said with a chuckle, looking over at me with her face brightening. "How romantic."
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. "Not a date. Just . . . getting out of the house. There’s got to be something you’d like to do.”
She thought for a second and shrugged. “You tell me. What is there to do in this town?"