“That’s just silly. There’s always time to play music.” She spoke under her breath, wiping invisible lint from her lap.

I didn’t respond. What she said was true, but I had no interest in discussing it.

“How’s your mom? She doing okay?” she asked after a brief silence.

“Yeah. After she finally divorced my dad, her life got better. It was a little harder at first, but definitely an improvement in the long run. She moved to Queens and works in a small bakery. I try to help her out, but she’s stubborn.” I’d have forced the issue if Ma was unhappy, but she enjoyed her independence.

“I guess boxing pays well,” she murmured, eyes taking in the premium features of my car. “I never imagined you’d keep fighting. I thought it was some kind of phase or something.” She laid her head back against the headrest, her eyes hooded.

Her words took us both back to the day I broke it off between us. There was a heavy silence in the car, so thick with tension I expected the windows to fog at any moment. Neither of us responded, both lost in our own thoughts. I had no fucking clue how to fix what had happened. Talking like civil adults seemed like a good start, but after that was anyone’s guess.

After several minutes passed, I glanced over to see Sofia’s eyes shut and her lips softly parted in the amber glow of the city lights. The vibrant colors reflecting off the passenger window framed her face, making her look like an image from one of her paintings.

She was absolutely breathtaking—and clearly a bit tipsy.

She’d had several glasses of champagne. Between that and the excitement of the day, she’d succumbed to the lure of sleep. As much as she claimed she didn’t trust me, she was comfortable enough to fall asleep in my presence. That bit of information was far more telling than any arguments she could give. I knew it. Her subconscious knew it. Even her body was still victim to the inexplicable connection between us. It was only a matter of time before her heart followed suit.

She was too peaceful to disturb, so I made my way to the meet site and parked the car in the shadows where the lights wouldn’t bother her. I hadn’t been sure how I was going to explain my errand, so I was relieved she was going to sleep through it.

One of the tasks I’d started to handle as capo was to meet with some of our contacts who kept eyes and ears on the other families. The Outlaws Motorcycle Club had been around forever. We understood the value in maintaining a working relationship with them and several other gangs whereas the old-school mafiosos would have turned up their noses at associating with anyone they considered a thug.

From my experience, the club members varied greatly, meaning some were more tolerable than others. This particular meet was necessary to check in on the Gallo family. After Sal’s little setup made us look like we’d put a hit on one of theirs, tension with the Gallos had been through the roof. Inside the family, we used iPhones and weren’t worried about wire taps, but communications outside the family were best done in person. If we needed information, it meant a trip across the tracks.