Chapter 353 Twenty Questions and A New Safe House

Chapter 353 Twenty Questions and A New Safe House
“Don’t look so scared, Cowboy. Couldn’t lay ya bare if I wanted to, didn’t bring my fancy blades with me. I ain’t asking you to tell me yer deepest, darkest secrets or yer wildest dreams. I just wanna know more about the man who keeps lookin' up weird medical stuff as an excuse to text me.”

“Wow! I didn’t realize I was that obvious.”

“Well, I didn’t take ya for a man who had a particular interest in the side effect of antihistamines on blood thinners.”

“Hey, that actually was an interesting one from a chemist’s perspective.”

“I suppose it would be good knowledge in case ya wanna spike some walking heart attack or stroke waitin to happen with enough antihistamines to take down a buffalo. I've seen enough men in the world you move in, got a better shot than a snake in January at those men needin' a pulmonary.”

“You get me.”

Dominic's voice came out a soft whisper of his usual deep tone. He was...damn near emotional that not only did she connect the dots but seemed to find it even humourous on some level. She just looked at him, as if signaling she was done talking and was happy to sit in silence until he started on the path she kept turning them towards. He scrubbed a hand down his face and leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees.

“Alright, Dragon Lady, what do you want to know.”

“Well, I guess it’d be best to start from the beginnin’. Tell me where you were born. Where you grew up. How you became who ya are.  When ya search “Dominic Spigazzi” on the internet not much comes up. Actually, it’s alarming how little comes up.”

“You looked me up, Lou? I'm quite flattered.”

“You fixin’ ta sit there and tell me you don’t have a docket on me?”

“Fair enough. Well, Dominic Spigazzi was a name given to me by Bernardo Fiore, Lucian’s dad. I grew up here in this city. My parents were drug addicts. We spent half our time in drug dens whenever they got evicted for not paying rent. When I was eight, Bernardo happened to be driving by when CPS finally came to take me away for truancy, saw me punch the case worker and followed them to the station. Next thing I know, I’m in Italy and Lucian Fiore is my best friend.”

“Holy shit, Cowboy. I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. I think I’m one of the luckiest kids in the world. Bernardo is an amazing father figure though he was strict. He was harder on Lucian than he ever was on me...heavy the head that wears the crown and all that. His cook, Mama Rossi, was like the perfect Italian grandma you could ever meet. She was essentially my mom. Since then, I've never wanted for anything.”

“Your parents?”

“No clue. They never wanted me. Not even sure why they ever kept me. Never tried to find me and vice versa.”

“So why the secrets?”

“My main job is keeping Lucian and now Valerie safe. The more people that underestimate me, the safer they are.”

“I get it. No one looks twice at the tiny hitchhikers.”

“Weird phrase but yes, exactly!”

“So…ya gonna wow me with some other qualifications?”

“The reason you can’t find shit online is because I have a certificate in IT and data security from MIT.”

“Speaking of, you said Dominic Spigazzi was a name they gave you…what’s yer birth name?”

“Story for another time, mia bella.”

“Fair enough.  What’s your favorite color?”

“What?”

Dominic wasn't expecting such a quick turn of the tide in their conversation. He blinked at her, waiting to see if it was a joke.

“Standard twenty questions topic, Cowboy.”

“Ah, so it is. It used to be forest green.”

“Used to be?”

“Yea, but lately it’s been grey. You know, the color of the sky before the heavens open and you get swept away? That specific color grey.”

Dominic was looking into her eyes at that point and Lou got the feeling there was a deeper meaning behind his words. She felt a blush heat her cheeks and she took a sip of her drink to try and distract herself.

“What’s your's, Lou?”

“Black.”

Dominic snorted. 

“Black?”

“Yea. Black. What’s wrong with black?”

“Is it even considered a color?”

“You ever stared at a color so long it made you feel deeper, like it could figure you out?”

“Recently, yea.”

“Well, then you get why I like black.”

“Okay, okay. You’re a deep thinker, I get it.”

She just shurgged her shoulders and kicked off her shoes before sitting with her feet under her on the couch turning to fully face him. Taking a sip of her bourbon, thinking of her next question.

“Alright, here's a good one. What's your biggest fear?”

“Being unprepared.”

“That’s a new one.”

“You ever not study for a pop quiz?”

"No. Actually."

"Of course that was a terrible example for you. I forgot you were still a toddler when you went to college."

"I was a wonderfully stable teenage girl going through every single phase at the same time surrounded by frat boys who didn't think the legal age of consent counted on a college campus."

Dominic felt his muscles coil. What the fuck happened and who was he going to kill and dump in the river?

"There a story behind that particular statement you just made?"

"Nah, nothing like that. Honestly, it's why I joined the sorority. My sisters always protected me. Kirstin once lit a trash can of jungle juice, that was obivously more jungle than actual juice, on fire at a frat party so they'd leave me alone."

"I've been in a bar fight with Kirstin. I believe it."

"Yea, my sisters have always been better family than blood. Even Mauve."

She said with a wink and Dominic felt ice run down his spine.

"Ah, you...uh...you know about that?"

"I'm just ticklin' yer biscuits, Cowboy. You owe me no explanations and I ain't got not right to ask about anything you did before, especially since you didn't even know I existed. So long as you ain't got no kids or diseases, it ain't none of my business and vice versa."

Dominic immediate relief was tamped down by the tone of her voice when she said 'vice versa'. She obviously didn't want him asking about her escapades before they met. He suddenly wanted to rip everything apart at the idea of her being with someone else. The words from that medical student came to the forefront of his mind.

"You know, those medical students today really admire the shit out of you."

"Always nice to hear the good things people say behind yer back."

"They liked it when you put that other asshole doctor in his place."

"Yea, but he's harmless. A pompous fool, but still harmless."

"One of the students said they heard you were a lesbian. Something about someone else seeing you kissing a woman outside of a bar or something."

"I thought we just established it ain't none of either of our businesses."

"No, not like that. I only brought it up becuase I wanted you to know they thought you were."

"Ah. Okay then."

"Does it bother you?"

"The fact that they think I'm a lesbian or the fact someone saw me kissing a woman one night?"

"....I have so many questions my body is begging me to ask."

"Woah, bring yer ducks back to the pond, Dominic."

She sounded more friendly than angry at him continuing to push the subject, which he was thankful for. He shifted his weight on the couch and ran a hand through his hair, giving himself a moment to reign it in.

"Okay, I promise I won't bring it up anymore tonight."

"Mighty kind of ya."

"So, Dragon Lady, what's your biggest fear?"

“Tight spaces.”

“Hm. Is there a story behind that one?”

“Not one I’m drunk enough to tell.”

The more they played, the more Dominic made mental notes to go so much farther into her background than he already had. He'd been thorough, sure, but he hadn't gone as deep as he could have.

“I respect that. Favorite movie?”

“Gone with the wind”

Doninic spit out his drink.

“You’re fucking kidding me.”

“Yea, I'm fuckin' kiddin' ya. Don’t think I forgot about yer little bullshit attitude when I literally cancelled all my plans to come patch ya up…my favorite movie is Dunkirk. The original, not the new one.”

“You could’ve given me one hundred guesses and I never would've said that one.”

“Have you seen it?”

“Yea, I have. What makes it your favorite?”

“The greatest war story ever told, in my opinion. But I also gotta give a shout out for The Kingdom of Heaven- directors cut, specifically.”

“Another solid war story.”

“It's a hobby. What’s yer favorite movie?”

“The Odyssey."

“Ah, another good one.”

“Whats yer…least favorite food?”

“Oh man that’s a good one. I know I said I love everything southern but I just cant get behind collared greens. Yours?”

“Peaches.”

“Peaches? You’re from Georgia! Isn't that, like, a hangable offense there?”

“Immediate banishment from decent society, actually, and you dont think I'm sick of fuckin’ peaches?”

“This is fun.”

“It is.”

Lou finished her drink and gave Rueben who was now snoring, a quick scratch.

“That critters roughin’ it.”

“He suffers.”

“At least it ain’t stormin’. I better scoot before it get's too late.”

Doninic nodded his head wanting to tell her to stay. That he hasn't felt this seen or special ever in his life. That this is the most fun he’s ever had with his clothes on. Fuck, if he was being honest and dropped his fuck boy mask, he'd admit this was the most fun he’s ever had, period.  But he reeled himself in. Dominic was obsessive when it came to things he wanted. He couldnt chase her away. Not yet. He had to control himself, only allowing the obsession to come out when she couldn't see it. Because the thing was, Dominic was trained, his mind altered, his entire being rewritten that he protected those he cared about. Those important to him. For awhile, that was only Lucian, Bernardo, and Mama Rossi. Then it included Valerie. Now it was also Lou, and, since he was updating his mental list, he added Kirstin and Nial as well. But of those people, only Lou had the power to reject him. To tell him his protection, who he was, wasn't good enough. And that terrified him and like he said, his ultimate fear was being unprepared which, to him, meant the only thing he could do was maintain visual and learn everything he could. So as Lou patted his shoulder and thanked him for dinner, he knew when she said “see you later” as he closed the door behind her only were true for herself. He'd be seeing her real soon. He gave Rueben a quick boop on the nose, the sleeping raccoon snoring to himself, before Dominic took his stairs two at a time, up to his walk in closet, through the fake back wall, and grabbed his small backpack he hadn't unpacked from the last time he spent a few hours in the vacant apartment next to hers he'd secretly bought a few weeks ago. He told himself it would mkae a good safe house, which, to be fair, he was in the market for. It was as good a justification as any that when one bought a safe house, it would be stupid not to get to know the neighbors by listening in and paying attention to their habits while relaxed in their own homes.