by Sara V. Zook
The phone rang four times before he answered. “Hey, man. It’s Nicky.”
“Holy shit. How ya been, Nicky? How’s Haven treatin’ ya?”
“Good. Real good. How’s things back in Lazerne?”
Stan chuckled. “Shitty as always. I just got laid off. There’s just no work around here. Feels like the whole town is going down or something. Sucks.”
“Well, then maybe I caught ya at the right time. Feel like making a trip to Haven to see your cousin?” I asked him, hopeful he’d say yes.
Stan hesitated for a moment. “You know I really want to, Nicky, but I don’t have the funds right now. Maybe when I get another job…”
“Listen, do you have a way up here? Is your car dependable?”
“The car should make the trip, but…”
“If you can scrape up the gas money to get here, just get your ass here, and I’ll take care of everything after that. There’s plenty of room at my house,” I told him.
“Like when? Today?”
“Yeah, man, today,” I said. “I’ll text you the address. Lilah will be here.”
“Lilah? Is that that chick you brought to the funeral?” Stan asked.
I laughed. “Yeah, she lives with me.”
“I would’ve moved her in, too, bro.”
“Yeah, you’ll love her. So you on your way then?”
“I guess so. Nothing else I have to do but sit around this shithole…”
“Good. I’ll see you in a little bit then. I have some things to do, but I’ll be back. I’ll let Lilah know you’re coming.” A call was coming in. I looked at the screen. Remmy. “Hey, I gotta go.”
“Okay, Nicky. See you soon.”
Hanging up the phone, a little bit of excitement rippled through me. It was Stan and me back in the day. He was someone I could definitely depend on with my life in every sense of the word. I clicked over to Remmy. “Did you talk to him?”
“Yeah.”
“And?”
“Bello said one hour.”
“An hour?” I glanced up at the clock. “How the hell can they make it in an hour?”
“Said they had other business in the area.”
“I don’t like the sound of that at all. Not at all,” I repeated, my mind starting to go crazy that Bello had gone off in search of a new contact.
“I know,” Remmy replied. “You said you wanted the Triplets. Who else?”
I bit down on my bottom lip. “Everyone.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah. Tell them all to go to Carmine’s. We need to gear up. I’m not walking in there unprepared, just in case,” I said, my eyes glancing up at the clock again. It was late morning. I needed to get dressed, text Lilah about Stan, and get the hell out of here. “Have everyone there in ten minutes.
~~~
I hated this feeling.
Everything about it felt wrong, yet here we were. Augie was driving us into the field to face the Africans. The other men were in a car behind us. There was something about Bello that I didn’t trust. He was smart, too. He probably had guys positioned about the land, their guns already aimed at us. Made me ridiculously nervous that we were walking into some sort of trap. But the more I thought about it, what reason did Bello really have for killing us? Then again, not all men had to have reasons…
“They’re already here,” Augie stated from the driver’s seat.
My stomach was hurting—bad. Was this kind of shit ever going to get any easier? Yeah, when I was able to hide behind the glass like Carmine had. I didn’t want to play the game like Carmine had, though. I had other ideas.
Getting out of the car, my hand rhythmically moved to my handgun sitting in my waistband. I motioned for Seton and Remmy to come with me. Everyone else knew to sit tight but sit ready. Everyone was to keep their eyes open and be alert. Bello had his army waiting in the background with their machine guns in hand standing like soldiers very much like the last time I’d seen him. He had a huge grin on his face as he approached me wearing a red flowered shirt as if he were on vacation on some tropical island.
“Nicky Cain!” Bello shouted enthusiastically as he came over to shake my hand and pat me on the back. “I had no idea the last time we met who you were.”
“Me either,” I said, extending my hand out to him as well.
Laughter roared from Bello’s throat. “That Carmine, keeping secrets from us all, eh?”
I nodded. “Looks that way.”
Bello’s dark eyes moved from me to Seton and then to Remmy. “My sincere condolences on your loss—all of you.”
“Thank you,” Seton mumbled.
Remmy nodded, his face growing somber as if he was more of a son of Carmine’s than anyone’s.
“Yeah, thanks.” I tried not to look at the men in the background still standing there like stone statues. “I was told you had concerns, so I came to hash them out.”
Bello’s face grew serious then. He gestured for me to follow him in a walk of private conversation. He clasped his hands behind his back. “It’s just when I was working with Carmine, I knew what I was getting myself into,” he finally said after a few moments of just walking side by side. “I had certain…guarantees.”
“Everything remains the same as it was with Carmine. Nothing has changed with your guarantees,” I told him, my eyes searching the wooded area in the distance for signs of movement or other guys hiding out there.
“I’m not so sure that’s true.” Bello stopped for a moment to look me in the eye. “Not knowing you’re even his son until he’s dead…you are not your father. How do I know my investments will remain as they were before?”
“We have the same buyers willing to purchase the merchandise on our end. As I said, nothing’s changed. Give me a chance to prove myself, Bello.” I stared back, my jaw the only thing tensed as I clamped my teeth tightly together.
Bello pointed his finger at me as he began to step forward again. “You see, Nicky Cain, there’s something about you that I sense. Call it a feeling if you will.”
I raised my eyebrows. I knew this guy wasn’t stupid. “What’s that?”
Bello smiled again, his white teeth illuminating his entire face. “Let me ask you a question, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Do you trust me?”
I looked into his eyes and instead of the panic I’d had merely moments ago, I decided this guy needed to know the real Nicky Cain. “No.”
Bello’s eyes enlarged. “What? Did you just say no?”
The bottom of my mouth curled upward into a small smirk. “That’s right. I don’t trust you, Bello. Call it a feeling if you will,” I told him, reiterating his own words he’d said to me just moments ago.
The large black man just stood there dumbfounded. I doubted anyone had ever said that to his face before and lived.
I was the one who started walking again. This time Bello followed me. “You’re a smart guy, Bello. Something tells me you do research on your customers. You’re always one step ahead.”
“You are correct, my friend. I do do my research.”
I nodded. “See, that’s why my father was in business with you. That’s why I want to remain in business with you.” I tapped the side of my head. “Intelligence, Bello. That makes a good business partner. That’s why you and I can make this whole thing work together. But trust—no. Trust has nothing to do with the business aspect of it.”
His mouth fell agape again. “You’re wrong. Trust is everything. You have to trust me to know I’ll show up with the merchandise on time and so forth.”
I stopped walking and this time put my hands behind my back as I faced him. “That’s something entirely different.”
“Tell me.”
I pressed my lips together into a small smile. “Responsibility is what you’re speaking of. Yes, I do think you’re responsible, Bello. I know you’ll show up and you know I’ll show up.” I glanced back at the men standing guard still near Bello’s helicopter. I pointed to
ward them. “But do I think you wouldn’t hesitate to shoot me dead, kill every single man with me, and leave our bodies to rot in this field?” I put my hand back down. “No, I don’t think you would. That’s what I mean when I say trust. I’m not one who’s going to be comfortable turning my back to you for very long.” My mouth curled upward again.
Bello studied me for a few moments before busting out into a fit of laughter again. “You have made a good point there, my friend.”
What a term of endearment. I was Bello’s friend. Somehow it sounded as though it had another meaning behind it.
“You take me by surprise, Nicky Cain.” He was still recovering from his laughter. “I think I may like you more than I did your father.”
Thank god.
“I wasn’t sure what I was going to walk into with you, Cain, but I like you. I do.” Bello patted me on the back. He then turned to point toward the helicopter. “Those are my bodyguards. They’re with me always because I—like you—trust no one. They’re my security.”
I nodded toward my cars of men. “I understand. So, are your concerns taken care of?”
He looked me in the eye. “Yes, yes. I do believe you’re going to be a huge benefit to work with, Nicky Cain. My fears are no longer there, I assure you.”
Thank fuck. I felt like I’d been holding my breath this entire time and wanted nothing more than to exhale and then lap up the air I’d been neglecting myself from during this meeting.
We walked back to our original spots. Remmy and Seton were still there, their faces stoic but their eyes revealing their own concerns about what we’d spoken about.
“Same time, same place?” Bello asked.
I nodded. “Of course. We’ll be here.”
A huge grin spread out over Bello’s face again. “As will I. As will I.” He turned toward Seton and Remmy. “Gentleman.”
They nodded toward him as he turned around and headed back in the direction of his helicopter.
“He seemed…happy,” Seton stated gruffly as we made our own way back to our vehicles.
“He’s one big happy bastard,” I commented.
Remmy’s eyebrows rose. “So it went well then?”
“Why wouldn’t it have?” I asked them nonchalantly as if I hadn’t almost just shit my pants back there. I opened up the car door and got inside. Seton and Remmy exchanged glances before climbing inside the car, too.
~~~
I saw Stan’s rickety old piece of shit car outside my driveway as I pulled in. There was no way I could hide the smile from my face knowing I had family inside my house. My mother had died. So had the father I didn’t even know I had. All I had left was Stan.
“Holy shit! Look at you!” Stan bellowed out as we rushed to one another for a brotherly embrace. “Nice clothes, man.” Stan looked up at the ceiling and around the house. “Nice pad. How the hell did you manage all this? I had no idea you were living the high life in Haven.”
Lilah stood behind Stan. She raised her eyebrows and gave me a small smirk.
“I guess you’ve been acquainted with Lilah,” I stated, patting my cousin on the back another time.
He turned toward her and grinned. “I told her she was too good for you.”
“She is,” I stated, licking my lips deliberately as I knew she was watching. Lilah chuckled as she crossed her arms in front of her. I gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for being here when he got here.”
“Uh-huh,” she mumbled as we all entered the living room.
“Seriously, bro, what kind of job do you got? I need in on a piece of all this,” Stan stated as he tested out the comfort of my couch.
“Funny you should say that.” I sat down across from him in an off-white leather chair. “I have some things I want to discuss with you.”
Stan kicked up his feet and placed his hands behind his head. He laughed. “What? Are you some kind of high profile drug dealer out here or something?”
I raised my eyebrows as Lilah’s stare crashed into mine. This was a defining moment. Should I ask Lilah to go fetch us some drinks so she’d leave, or let her stay? I ran my fingers through my hair. If she wanted to know the real me, what kind of stuff was going down, I’d let her sit here and listen. She was a big girl. She could make her own decisions. If she wanted to leave me, she was free to go. It would be better if it was all out in the open. That way I had a clear conscience when it came to her. Then again, should I let her know my business? She wasn’t my wife or anything.
Fuck it.
I made a decision.
“My father was the head of a mob group here in Haven. He was a very powerful man. He’s dead now and has left an empire to me,” I said, sitting back and awaiting Stan’s reaction.
He didn’t say anything for a moment as if assessing if I was joking or not. His eyes shifted from Lilah to me. “What?” He sat forward on the couch, his hands going between his knees as he studied me. “You serious? I thought your father was some loser your mom dated a long time ago.”
“So did I. She hid the truth from me to protect me,” I explained.
Lilah shifted in her position on the couch near Stan. She then stood and smoothed out her skirt with her hands. “Maybe I should…”
“Stay,” I told her more as a command. “Sit.” She ran her fingertips across the material of her skirt one more time before settling back down on the couch. I returned my attention to Stan. “What do you have back in Lazerne?”
Stan laughed. “A shithole of a life.”
“Any connections whatsoever?”
“Just my dad…”
“Again, any connections whatsoever?” Everyone knew how I felt about my lowlife uncle. He had been a leech to my mother. He was the kind of person that when they came into a room, their mere presence made you sick to your stomach like you could spew everywhere. A disgusting piece of shit person. Thank god Stan was nothing like him. He must’ve taken after his mother—whoever she was.
Stan let out a nervous laugh. “No.”
I stood up then and paced back and forth in the large room for a few minutes. “Do you like what you see, Stan? Do you want a place like this to call your own? All it takes is for you to have my back and do what I ask—no questions asked. We’d be a team again just like we were as little kids, as asshole teenagers who got into a lot of trouble together.”
Stan’s brown eyes narrowed for a moment as he processed what I was telling him. “You’re serious, aren’t you, Nicky?”
I paused directly in front of him and looked him in the eye. “Dead serious.”
“If I had a place half as nice as this…” he mumbled, his eyes going to the high ceiling above him.
“How about this house?”
I heard Lilah gasp behind me but didn’t bother turning around.
“You want this one, Stan?” I asked him.
Stan left out another awkward laugh. “This house? It’s yours, Nicky. I can’t take your house.”
“I’m moving,” I told him, knowing it was also an announcement to Lilah. “My father, he had a mansion which is pretty much the gathering place for the group. I think it’s time I moved in there. This can be yours.”
“I can’t afford…”
“I’m giving it to you,” I assured him. “It’s a gift.”
Stan’s hands glided back and forth against the leather material of the couch. “I can’t accept this, Nicky.”
“Consider it a gift.”
“For what?”
“For being here. For being my cousin. For having my back like I know you will.”
“I’ll always have your back. You know that,” Stan told me.
“I do know that,” I replied. “Which is why I want you to have this place. Make it your own. Do whatever you want with it. It’s yours now, Stan. This house is fucking yours.”
Stan began biting on the edge of his fingernail.
I could feel Lilah’s heated stare boring into the back of my head knowing I’d just given her home over to my
cousin. Didn’t matter though. This wasn’t her choice to make. She had to know that.
“I mean…” he began. “What is it you want me to do?”
“Does it matter?” I asked him. “If you get everything we never had as kids…everything we deserve to have in this life and more…does it really matter what I ask you to do?”
Again he chuckled, his eyes locked in on the seriousness of my face. “No, I guess not.”
Lilah stood up then and left the room, her high heels clicking madly on the floor.
I placed my hands behind my back and looked down at my cousin. “Look, what I really need you for is to be my eyes and ears.”
Stan gave me a bewildered look.
“You know, if you hear anything or see anything suspicious, to let me know. Lilah is opening her own clothing place downtown. I want you to be her own personal body guard and follow her everywhere. She needs protected, and I need to know she’s safe. There’s no one I trust more to get the job done than you.”
“That’s it? Just follow her around.”
“You’ll have a gun.”
“A gun?”
“Yeah. Just in case.”
Stan scratched at the back of his neck for a moment as he thought the whole thing over. “I can do that, Nicky. I can make sure Lilah’s safe.”
I felt complete relief. “Yeah? Come here, man. It’s so fucking good to see you.”
Stan stood then and shook my hand as we embraced again. “This is really mine?”
“All yours,” I told him again, my eyes going to the open door where Lilah had slipped out. Now to explain that to her. “Come on man,” I said, “Let me show you around your new pad.”
SIX
CROSS
“My job here is almost done.” Victoria looked around the large room that made up most of my beautiful boutique—my dream—and admired all of the work we’d put in together over the past few weeks.
The CAIN DESIGNS sign had been placed days ago, and already we had some press urging us for some details on a story they could run in the local newspapers on what type of clothing would be sold, opening day times, but mostly they seemed interested in the name I chose for the store. It was causing the kind of attention I’d been hoping it would cause. So far everything was going as planned. Opening day was right around the corner.
