“Sloane, do you realize how much shit I need to keep to myself every day? It is literally life or death if I don’t.”
My eyes widen. “Did someone…?”
“No.”
“Are we always going to play these games? And am I always going to have to be happy with whatever you decide is enough to tell me? Is that supposed to make me feel comfortable with your ‘business’ life?”
“It may not make you feel comfortable, but it’s what I can offer.” His eyes take on an unfamiliar sadness. “It’s all I can offer.”
“How am I supposed to feel good about that? Knowing that you can never be fully honest with me because someone might get hurt? Or killed?”
“Don’t you understand that if I am fully honest, it can put you in danger?” He sighs. “You have to believe that I want to make this work. But just like you aren’t allowed to talk about your patients, I can’t talk about my…clients. Every business has its own rules.”
“I don’t know if I can abide by those rules.”
I furrow my brow as a grimace twists Max’s face.
“Nurse Sloane.”
I nearly jump out of the booth when I hear my name. I twist around in the direction of the deep voice with the Brooklyn accent I’d become acquainted with a short time ago. “Oh, um, hi, uh…Gianni, right?”
Gianni smiles at me, but not the kind of smile that says Hey, it’s so nice to see you again. It’s more the kind of smile that says I’m the kind of dude that’s gonna make your skin crawl. And it does.
He peels his gaze off of me and targets Max with his beady eyes. “If it isn’t Maximo Oriani. It’s been a long time. A very long time.”
“Not long enough,” Max grunts.
“You look surprised to see me. I figured someone must have told you I was on my way out here.” Gianni walks closer to him. “I guess not.”
“Must not have been important enough to mention,” Max shoots back.
I swallow hard. What in the hell is going on here? They’re both eyeing each other like they want to tear each other’s heads off, and I may be the only thing stopping them. “Gianni,” I blurt out. “How’s your shoulder?”
He places a hand over his sling. “Well, it looks like I won’t be playing much baseball in the next few months. Good thing I already had the game of my life.”
I let out a nervous giggle. “I’m sure you’ll be good as new for the next season.”
“Yep. I’ll be ready by then for sure. Until then, I think I’ll keep those Louisville Slugger bats in my trunk.” His eyes flicker back to Max. “You know, Oriani, life doesn’t begin and end with baseball. I may be down, but I ain’t out. Not by a long shot. You get the joke, right?” Gianni slowly reaches into his jacket, and before I can even blink, Max grabs a fork off the table and shoots up from the pleather-cushioned booth, his arm around Gianni’s neck. The fork is about half an inch away from Gianni’s carotid artery, and a tingling sensation in my left arm indicates that I am damn-close to having a panic attack.
“Max!” I gasp, leaping out of the seat. “What the hell are you doing?”
Gianni lets out a dry laugh and drops a card onto the table. “Always ready to plug someone. Some things never change.”
Max lets him go and straightens his jacket as the hostess rushes over. “Is everything okay? I just saw…is he…are you all…?”
“Everything is fine,” I rasp, struggling to calm my breathing. “Just a little misunderstanding.” I look at the guys. “Right?” Oh Jesus, please say I’m right!
They mumble a response, and the hostess rushes back to her spot behind the cash register where she is no doubt making sure her cell phone is ready to dial the cops at any second.
My eyes fall to the card right before Max sweeps it away and into his pocket. It only had a number on it. That’s all. No name, no address, no graphic. Just a number.
Gianni adjusts his sling and reaches out to take my hand. “Thanks again, Nurse Sloane. I guess we won’t be going on that dinner date after all. In that case, I’ll have to find another reason to come out here to Jersey again.” He flashes a nasty smile at Max. “I’m sure I can find at least one.”
“Take care of yourself, Gianni,” I reply, my voice shaking like I’ve almost witnessed a fatal forking in a dingy diner in a crappy part of town.
Oh wait.
I did.