by Jolie Damman
That’s when, all of a sudden, he snapped his head to me much before I could look away. Our eyes locked, despite the distance between us.
There was something about his gaze which made me feel unpleasant, and something else that I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
The stare lasted a couple more seconds until Prudenzio nudged his shoulder and he was then absorbed by their conversation again. By far, they were still the liveliest group in the Bello Italiano.
Minutes passed as I checked some messages on my phone and talked to Rita. One of the cooks placed the pizza in front of me, and Fantino helped me with the beer cans. I walked with him to their table, put the pizza down in front of them, and then padded out of there after saying, “Buon appetito.”
Fantino strolled with me and commented, “I saw how you were looking at him.”
His words startled me, and he must have noticed my reaction, because he smiled in an instant. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to tell anyone. I guess it’s normal for someone like you to have a crush on him.”
He approached his head to mine and whispered, “Just don’t think he can ever love you back. You know what he’s like.”
I nodded and said, “Guess so...”
New clients then poured into the establishment, and we proceeded to serve them.
Despite being occupied with their pasta orders and Fantino’s words, I couldn’t help but steal more glances at Angelo. He was just so handsome, and as he continued to have fun with his friends, he felt more approachable – more human.
Before now, I had thought he was the kind of man who could only be uptight and serious all the time. Seeing him having fun made me wish I could have a chance with him, even if that had nothing more than a very slim chance of happening.
And what about that stare of his?
Did he like me too?
Why did he stare at me for so long until his best friend had to nudge him? Questions and more questions, but only one stood out.
We don’t really choose who we love, do we?
Chapter 6
Betrayal
Angelo
Iclosed the front door as my friends left the restaurant. They were my soldiers, foremost, but I still thought of them as my friends. Father didn’t like that much, but hey, what could he do about it?
People were beginning to leave the restaurant now, and the lights poles had been turned on outside. Behind the buildings, I could see the sun as it set. Fewer cars were going down and up the road in front of the establishment.
Another day was passing by, and I still hadn’t talked to Alide about who she was and our supposed marriage.
Doing that would be akin to committing myself to a wedding I still didn’t want to make happen, and I would like to avoid it for as long as possible.
Maybe a couple of months from now father would change his mind…
I glanced to one side and found her.
Alide was chatting with one of the waiters, and her cheeks were blushing. Her eyes looked so lively and full of energy. She was having fun, and that was good. I didn’t want to marry her, but if she managed to find someone right for her, then why not let it happen?
Father wouldn’t then be able to do much about anything, unless he wanted to tell her what she should know himself.
She had quite the hair, the cheeks and lips. She was stunning, and even more gorgeous than Tiziana, and that was saying something.
Her body, despite the waitress uniform, looked perfect, and made me wish I could have her in my arms.
And then… maybe on my bed too.
I shook the thought away. Daydreaming about her appearance would do me no good.
As I walked back to my father’s office to talk to him about Vinicio and another lead I might have on him, I reminisced about the stare we had had. It was like I had been feeling someone was watching me from a distance, and upon having snapped my head in her direction, I had discovered I hadn’t been hallucinating after all.
Alide had indeed been watching me, and something in her eyes had told me she shared some of my feelings for her.
But even if she did, did that even matter? It was not like we could ever work. She was too different. She wouldn’t merge well in a world like mine. I killed and made people suffer. She was far too sweet, in contrast.
And if she wanted a kid of our own, short of adopting one, I wouldn’t be able to provide it to her.
Damn being infertile, I cursed before opening the door without knocking on it first. Father didn’t need me to knock to know it was me who was coming in. His eyesight was pretty bad, but his hearing more than made up for it, after all.
“Father, I’ve got another lead on Vinicio, but I don’t think you are going to like it.”
He frowned his forehead. “Speak, my son. I don’t have time to waste.”
“He’s with the Ancelottis now. For some reason, they think he can be of help to them.”
He punched his stable and stood up in a flash. “Of course that traitor can be of help to them. He knows too much.” A moment of pause as he paced behind the desk. “You are going to have to get to him somehow. Use as many men as you need. Don’t let him talk.”
I nodded, and just when I was about to leave, he probed, “Have you spoken with Alide already?”
I sighed. “No, I haven’t yet.”
“God fucking dammit, Angelo. I thought I’d raised you better.”
“I’ll… talk to her soon.”
I closed the door. Soon was actually going to take a long while. As long as needed until my old man was dead, I reaffirmed before finding Prudenzio as he smoked a cigarette in front of the building.
I gestured with my hand for him to follow me. “C’mon on. We need to find Vinicio”
✽ ✽ ✽
Prudenzio paced in front of my desk, his hand cupping his chin. He was thinking, as was I. Was there a way to get to my brother without alerting all of the Ancelottis? That goal seemed unreachable.
Vinicio was in their hideout, and it was like a fortress. Men patrolled not only its border, but also the adjacent neighborhoods.
Prudenzio shot his finger up straight, and beamed, “I think I’ve got an idea. Not sure you are going to like it, though.”
I sighed and looked at nowhere in particular. “Just say what it is. I’m done playing cat and mouse with him.”
He strode to me, his eyes burning with a bright light of lucidity. “You are going to love this.”
✽ ✽ ✽
We pulled over just outside their defensive perimeter and slipped out of the Chrysler before anyone could catch sight of us. We wore black coats, pants and boots. The combination was perfect for a rainy light like this one.
And I was glad it was raining; it was going to make getting to Vinicio much easier. If all went as according to Prudenzio’s plan, I wouldn’t even have to use my gun.
We stopped by an alleyway, the road behind us uninhabited. No citizens were walking on the sidewalk, and no cars were coming or going on the road. The next light pole was a couple of miles away.
Other than the light coming from the windows of the small high-rises, there were no other signs that this part of the town was inhabited, I reflected before peeking my head to find a couple of men talking among themselves in between four buildings.
Prudenzio and I had hidden ourselves behind the walls of two high-rises, and our eyes were now studying what those guys were doing.
They were from the Ancelotti family and were going to be my ticket to Vinicio. I didn’t plan on taking Prudenzio with me.
In case things turned sour, he would go to my father and tell him the bad news.
I pulled out my Colt and nodded to Prudenzio.
We studied this through. We’d had no idea we were going to find those men precisely in this location, but it was perfect nonetheless.
The locale was as silent and uninhabited as it could get for New York City, I additionally weighed when we lurched in their direction.
Pru
denzio grabbed my arm and whispered, “I’m going to draw them out. You take care of the rest.”
I nodded, and he prowled toward them. There was a path of sorts connected to the alleyway, and it led all the way to the other side of it. It was perfect for the kind of plan we had in mind.
I waited in the shadows for Prudenzio to show up there. Seconds after he did, he shouted some obscenities to the Ancelottis.
They shouted back at him, and some of them picked up their submachine guns and pistols as they chased my best soldier.
I heard their hurried footsteps as they left the premises. I peeked at the end of the alleyway and found, this time, two guys. They had most likely been asked to stay here, since they couldn’t leave their post unattended and Prudenzio was just one man.
Adding to that, the Ancelottis chasing him at this moment were probably thinking they could get him without breaking a sweat.
I smirked waywardly. They knew nothing about him and his capabilities.
I prowled to those men. Their backs were turned to me. One of them babbled, “Idiot is probably dead at this point. Must have been too drunk to care who he was messing with.”
The other chuckled and nudged his shoulder. “Hey, at least we don’t have to chase anybody tonight.”
“Keep your eyes peeled, though. Anything can happen when your guard is down.”
“My guard-”
I pulled the trigger, killing the guy that was talking last. His friend stood up in a flash, his hand going for and now holding his submachine gun.
I had a silencer with me, so nobody in the vicinity had heard anything, and even if they had, they probably had concluded it had been just a rat running through their ventilation ducts or something of the sort.
These men had all been sitting here on cheap plastic chairs, I noticed. The rain still poured, soaking the lower parts of my pants. In this locale, they had some makeshift covers to protect themselves from the rainwater, but it was barely enough for all of them.
A minivan stood in the alleyway not too far from where I was, and the raindrops that fell on it were making so much noise I could barely hear the guy when he blurted again.
“Stay back, or I’ll shoot!”
Seriously?
That goon gave off the impression he was a danger to himself and not to me. And here I thought all the Ancelottis were hardened soldiers.
This one here, whose hand kept shaking as I got soaked by the rain, looked like a pussy.
And he was one.
“Now, let’s not do anything rash.”
I stepped forward, and a shot exploded in the air, hitting the ground not too far from me.
“Fuck!”
I dashed ahead before he could pull the trigger again, jumped and made him topple over with me.
I was on top of him now, and I then punched his face a couple of times until he couldn’t resist me anymore. His hand let go of his submachine gun, showing me I’d won.
I pointed my Colt at his face and spat, “Don’t push me again, or you are going to regret it.”
He nodded.
And that’s how I was going to get to Vinicio.
Chapter 7
Tell me the Truth
Angelo
Iput on his friend’s clothes, which included a black fedora hat, and we marched out of there in the direction of the Ancelottis’ hideout. He was reluctant, but with my gun trained at him, he could do nothing but obey me.
I asked him about Vinicio. He knew he was with them, and now, he was taking me to him.
What was going to happen from then on… Well, that depended on him.
I also hid his dead friend’s body. He expressed nothing about him. That’s how the Ancelottis rolled.
They didn’t care about each other much.
The rain had dwindled a little outside, but it was still there. The man whose name I didn’t bother to ask opened a door, took me through some security checkpoints where all I had to do was to look confident or hide my face - depending on who was at them - and then stopped in front of a black door with nothing but one guy guarding it.
He murmured to the man about letting me through, and he did so after glancing over my face. I faked that I looked confident to make sure they couldn’t recognize my face.
Pretending that was true sickened me a little, but it was nothing compared to Vinicio having chosen them of all gangs in the city to partner himself with.
The man guarding the black, battered door crept it open, and I stepped through. Just as I expected, he immediately shut the door and I then found myself all alone with a shorter-than-me, skinny man who was sitting on a couch, watching TV.
His face and torso jerked to me, standing up from the couch an instant later.
I sped to him before he could scream and call everyone to us. I needed this moment of solitary conversation with him, and he wasn’t going to ruin that.
I pounded him against the wall without making too much noise, and thanks to the rain outside, I knew the Ancelottis in the building hadn’t heard anything.
His eyes shot wide as I covered his mouth with my hand. He screamed, but the sound came out so muffled it probably didn’t penetrate the thick walls of this room.
“Shhhhh! I’m not here to kill you. We need to talk.”
I waited until his eyes stopped trembling. When he ungripped my arm, I knew he wasn’t going to scream. Vinicio was many things to me, and one of them was that he could trust me whenever he needed to.
I hadn’t come here to kill him. That was out of the question. Father asked me to bring him alive, and I didn’t want to end the life of my only brother.
Just fixating at him now… I couldn’t help but remember just how much he meant to me.
“If you are not here to kill me, then what do you want? To talk? We’ve got nothing to talk about.”
“I need you not to tell the Ancelottis about us. If you do, it would be like sending us to our graves.”
“I haven’t planned on telling them anything. I’m here just for their protection.” He stopped for a second, and then continued, “Father abhors me, after all.”
“Well, yeah, he does. You did the opposite of what he asked of you.”
“I had no choice. He wanted me to kill and rob people. I’m not like him.”
“The rest, lik-” I was saying the moment I heard hastened footsteps approaching us. Fuck. I knew that guy was going to end up telling his friends what was going on.
I glimpsed at the window at the other end of the room.
That’s my escape.
I jerked my finger at his face and promised, “If you tell them anything about us, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”
And I didn’t wait for his response.
I spun and bolted to the window. I jumped and then broke through it before barrel-rolling on the ground. The door up there was kicked open, and then Ancelottis shouted something about Vinicio staying right where he was right before a couple of them popped at the window.
They had assault rifles and machine guns trained at me, but the fog and the rain made it too difficult for them to get a clear shot at me. Regardless, they opened fire.
Before they could think of a better plan to off me, I was already scurrying through the many alleyways and dark roads with only one objective in mind.
More than ever before, I needed to make our father change his mind about Vinicio.
Alide
I should have known Fantino was going to ask me to come here to tidy up another room. I leaned on a wall and sighed. Working here is so hard.
There were far too many customers complaining about the littlest of things. It was like they came here to whine all the time.
It maddened me.
I could only hope I would, one day, make enough to find a better job elsewhere. The only thing that comforted me was Mr. Romani’s nicety. He was always gentle with me, like a father would.
I recalled that, more than anything, I needed the money for Luca’s medicine, an
d so, I leaned off the wall and minced to the room Fantino had asked me to clean up. I should have asked one of the other waitresses to stay here with me so that I could have begged her to do this thing for me.
Outside, the night was serene, though there were still people walking on the sidewalks as they chatted loudly, and some cars were driving on the road as well. It was nothing more than the usual for a night here in Little Italy.
Despite the rumors, I hadn’t experienced anything close to a shootout in this neighborhood, and that had reaffirmed my belief that I could continue to work here.
I put my hand on the door of the living room when, suddenly, I heard the sound of a shower being turned on somewhere else. Not too long after, steam began to come out through the gap of a door.
The sight piqued my curiosity.
Who was taking a shower at this time of the night?
I knew I was nosy, but did I really have to go there to check it out?
No, of course not.
But I still did.
I left the bucket with water and the mop by the entrance of the living room, and sashayed to where the steam was coming from. I put a hand on the doorway – the door was semi-open – and peeked inside.
My heart, which was racing a little, as usual, leaped when my eyes landed on him. It was Angelo. He was the one taking a shower, and he was washing his hair with shampoo.
I couldn’t help but scan his body from bottom to top.
He was stunning.
Every muscle of his seemed to have been sculpted by God himself.
And he had a happy trail that went from his belly button to his cock.
The steam made it impossible for me to see his private parts, but I still knew – or was just as sure as I could be – that he was hung and hadn’t shaved down there in a while.
I sighed unhurriedly, thinking about what it would be like if only we could have a chance.
But we hadn’t even had a proper conversation yet.
And why should we have had one anyway? He was from a different world.
He had nothing to do with me.
With that depressive conclusion in mind, I minced back to where I had been and went to clean the living room. It was good seeing him naked for the first time, but that was that.
