Kissed by Fire (Book 5 of Wolves of Milano)

7.Dillema

Lyana wakes up to an empty bed. She smiles ruefully. Mateo is not at home anymore. Is it his morning shift at the station? She thinks it might be. She has trouble keeping up with her own schedule sometimes. She gets dressed fast and puts just a touch of make-up on her lashes. She never wears lipstick, but she looks too pale if she doesn’t put something on her face. Just to accentuate her eyes. Her breakfast is waiting for her next to a violet in a terracotta pot. He is trying. She has to give him that. But he has yet to tell her anything. s*x with him is amazing, but it’s just not enough. Not at the rate he does it. She got the feeling like he doesn’t care about her that way, but then he does something so freaking amazing, like last night, just to confuse her.

She gave him one week and his deadline is running short. He’s got a few days left to give her something. She can’t keep living like this. All the secrets between them are eating her up. She wonders what he does and her imagination is coming up with weird stuff. Is he somehow tied with Vito? Is he involved with something illegal? Is that why he never tells her anything? She suspects him of doing something. Where else would he be all day? He’s not at the fire station all day, she knows that for sure. He hides things from her and it hurts. Doesn’t he trust her?

She gets ready for work with time to spare, so she calls her cousin Tea. They haven’t seen each other in years, but they talk over the phone all the time. She knows she can lean on Tea if she needs to. Maybe she can ask her to look into jobs for her? She will need a job if she moves back to Avignon. And a place to stay. She can couch surf for a few days, but she can’t impose on her cousin and her family.

“Hey, Lyana! That jerk of yours giving you trouble again?” Tea greets her with laughter.

“How did you know?” Lyana gapes.

“You only call me in the morning when there is something wrong,” Tea answers.

“Right.” Lyana chuckles. “I gave Mateo an ultimatum. I can’t do it anymore. I need to get away if he doesn’t start telling me what is going on with him.”

“Still the most secretive guy in the world? Has he at least found a job?” Her cousin inquires of her.

“Not that I know about. He’s got that temp thing at the fire station, but I have no idea what he does most of the time.” Lyana explains. “It’s driving me crazy.”

“Will you come back to Avignon if you dump him? I’ll be happy to have you here.” Tea asks her. She misses her best friend from early childhood.

“I’m thinking about it, but I will need a job there.” She tells her.

“Still a nurse? I can get you a job in a nursing home. I know people there.” Tea says.

“Yep. Head nurse of the emergency room.” Lyana chuckles. “The pay is great, but the hours are killing me.”

“Don’t worry. You know you have me if everything goes to hell.” Tea promises.

“Thanks. I have to run to work now. It was great hearing your voice.” Lyana ends the call. She is always in a better mood after hearing from Tea.

Her shift is slow and she’s grateful for it. She has too much on her mind right now. She can’t shake the feeling that leaving Mateo would be the worst thing that ever happened in her life. Her wolf was on board when they discussed it before. Did something change? The beast is suspiciously quiet today. Pretending to sleep is not really her wolf’s way. She is rested from her free day and nothing hectic is going on today. She feels like it’s a half day's work. It hasn’t been this slow here in ages. Maybe never. Is that bothering her wolf? That there is no action at work?

She probes her mind to rouse the wolf, but the beast can’t be disturbed today. She is sulking in her corner. The moody little thing. So it’s up to Lyana to figure out what is going on. Or maybe not. The visitor at her station is Vittorio. She wonders why he would come here. There was no fire or accident that she knew of. Has something else happened? She looks at him questioningly. He didn’t bully her in their teens. He is older than they are, but not much.

“Can I ask a favour?” He whispers. So, he doesn’t want anyone else to hear him? Suspicious much?

“Sure. It just depends on what you want.” She nods.

“Vito went missing. We are all searching for him. I was wondering if someone by his description had been checked in? Maybe something happened and he couldn’t talk? Or he’s unconscious?” Vittorio explains.

“I shouldn’t give out patient information, but I can say for certain, he’s not here.” She shakes her head. “When did he disappear? Maybe I can give a warning to other departments?”

“Yesterday. He was at the solstice party. He made a mess, ruined everything and disappeared.” Vittorio tells her quietly. Still with the careful routine?

“What aren’t you telling me?” She inquires.

“Allegra is gone, too. Nobody knows where she is.” He whispers. “But, since Elio is not losing his mind, she must be in hiding.”

“Elio and Allegra? Who would have thought?” She smiles. “I must say, he’s quite the catch. I’m happy for her.”

“Yeah. Me too.” Vittorio nods. “He helped us out. He’s on our side.”

“Hm? Too bad you haven’t told me that before. He was looking for Mateo a few days ago. I only gave him Mateo’s number.” Lyana scoffs. She thought it was weird to feel safe with Elio, but she knows why now. The guy switched sides.

“Sorry. The less people know about this, the better for him. Vito might retaliate if he finds out.” Vittorio shrugs. “Or, maybe he should? Elio can eat him for breakfast. He would save us all the trouble if he took Vito out.”

“No love lost for your father?” She chuckles.

“Don’t remind me. Not after his latest stunts.” He shakes his head. “Tell Mateo to be careful, he better lay low for a few days. Vito can be extremely dangerous.”

“I’ll tell him.” She smiles softly. “I hope he’s never found.”

“You and me, both.” He winks at her. The guy is gorgeous, but she is not moved by his looks at all. Is that because Mateo is her mate? But where is the bond then?

“Oh. My. God!” Nina whisper-shouts behind her back. “Who was that hunk? Is he available?”

“Nina? Chill. That was Vittorio Totzzi. Mateo’s older brother. He’s happily married.” Lyana laughs. A small white lie, because she can’t explain mate bonds to a human. She knows Vittorio and Vannessa are not married like humans perceive the word, but a mate bond is just that. Maybe even more.

“Oh, bummer,” Nina sighs. “All the best guys are either taken or gay. When will I meet one that is willing to take me on?”

“I don’t see the future, dear.” Lyana chuckles. “But you will. There's a guy that will be happy to get you. All your quirks included.”

“You mean my overactive imagination?” Nina beams at her.

“No. Your inability to shut up.” Lyana tells her. Then they both burst out laughing. It’s just what she needed to lift her mood. Bad news is not her favourite thing in the world. She still has to warn Mateo, but her lunch break is hours away. She can’t have another private conversation at work. She might miss something.

The chat is over at the first call from the dispatcher. Lyana jumps into organising the staff and paging the doctors. Moments of peace and quiet are rare in the emergency room. Not surprising for a city this size. But when she has a moment of time to think back, Lyana has to admit that Nina was right. Vittorio is a hunk. She can be objective about it. She much prefers Mateo and his slick muscles over Vittorio’s buff, chiselled to perfection body. But she can see the appeal of him in any human woman's eyes.

She’s going to miss Nina if she goes to Avignon. If is the key word here. The loudmouth grew on her. They have been friends for about five years now. Nina is a hoot most of the time. And the woman can take pressure like nobody else. She transferred to them from the psych ward. The stories she could tell gave Lyana the creeps. She has decided after one month of knowing Nina that she would never accept a position in the psychiatric ward. They have to go get a drink after work someday. She can just squeeze in a tiny budget for fun.

Why wait? She is undecided about Mateo, but why shouldn’t she have some fun? If Vito is really missing, every wolf in Milano will be too busy to even notice her. She can do what she wants for once. She will go for a drink. It’s her right. If Mateo can be out every day, and God only knows what he’s up to, she can get a drink with a friend. Nina is the closest thing she has to a friend. She can’t say that about any of the wolves. Mateo doesn’t count and the others? Who cares? They only ignored her or bullied her.

She walks over to Nina with a smile: “Do you want to get a drink after work?”

“Who are you? What have you done with my boss?” Nina is in shock.

“Still me.” Lyana chuckles, “I just thought we might take one hour for ourselves and do nothing.”

“Oh! We’ll do a lot!” Nina grabs her gear, before she moves to the next patient. She is usually the one to take measurements and blood. This time, Lyana will act as her assistant to speed things up. “It’s gossip time. You have to know that, even if you never go out with us.”

“What do you mean by us?” She wonders. She is not ready to hang out with everyone on the afternoon shift.

“I can take it easy on you. It could be just us.” Nina winks. “No one will mind. We have to ease you in slowly, anyway.”

“If you can survive drinking one on one with Nina, you are ready for everything.” One other nurse says in passing. Lyana can’t remember her name, but she thinks it’s Leonora. The girl is very young and new to the crew.

Should she be worried? Probably! Is she? Surprisingly, no. She is a wolf. Her higher metabolism will burn through anything Nina throws at her. She was at quite a few parties in her student years, so she’s no stranger to alcohol. She let it all go after she cut all ties to the few humans in her life because she had to take care of her grandmother. Lyana doesn’t care about alcohol, just the company. If it was up to her, they would get plain juice. The human part of her can get behind the idea of a party without alcohol, the wolf is confused by it. What is the point of a party if all are sober and in control? It’s fun to watch people make fools of themselves. That gets harder with wolves. They can consume vast amounts of alcohol before it even affects them.

She’s waiting for Nina to show up, only to see the woman running. What is wrong? Nina never runs. Lyana frowns at her friend. She even hailed a taxi. They can’t really afford that on nurses' pay. She walks over to Nina to stop her:

“Nina! What happened?”

“Sorry. I have to run. My mother is in San Raffaele.” Nina shakes her head. “She fell. I don’t believe it. I wonder which meds she forgot to take.”

“All right. Go take care of her.” Lyana nods. She looks after the taxi and wonders if she should go home or get a drink with someone else. She is not friends with the other nurses. They just work together. Nina is different. She got under her skin. She understands her without explaining anything. She’ll just go home…She has things to think about.