by Seth Eden
“I knew you would defend him. I almost didn’t tell you about this, you know?” I poured myself a cup of coffee, and when I brought the cup to my lips, Ricky held out his hand. “No!”
“What?” I asked with wide eyes.
“Caffeine, baby. No-go, sis.”
“What does it matter? I’m getting an abortion today,” I said. I tried to ignore him, but I couldn’t bring myself to drink the cup. I’d already decided that I wasn’t keeping the baby, but it suddenly felt immoral. “I hate you for ruining coffee for me.”
“How did I do it? You were the one who decided to go all who-needs-protection with Sandro. I didn’t force you to do that,” Ricky replied.
“You know what, if you’re going to be all logical lawyerly, you can just go,” I hissed, and Ricky laughed. I begrudgingly grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and drank it. “Are you happy?”
“I didn’t make you do that, either,” he said, “but yes.”
The doorknob to my front door started to rattle, and Ricky immediately jumped up. He reached for his gun, and for a minute, I fell right in line. Spending a few weeks with the Varassos rots the mind.
The door opened, and Sasha walked in, dropping her keys into her pocket. “Um, hi.”
Ricky looked over his shoulder. “You could have told me other people have keys to your apartment.”
I scrunched up my nose. “I don’t have to tell you everything.”
Sasha was wearing an understated outfit of jeans and a tucked-in tank top with white heels. She walked over to me and pulled me into a hug. “Oh, honey. I’m here for you. It’s okay.”
I plied us apart with a laugh, scratching her cheek lovingly. “I’m okay. My brother’s here. Ricky, this is Sasha. Sasha, Ricky.”
Sasha raised an eyebrow and held out her hand. “Hello. I’ve heard lots about you.”
Ricky took it and shook it gently. “And I, you, mostly from movies, but a little bit from my sister, I guess.”
Sasha let out a fake giggle. “All good, I hope.”
“Very good. I see you now, and I can see what she’s a fan,” Ricky replied, still with her hand clasped in his.
“Um, whatever this is,” I motioned to them. “Stop it. Stop. It. Please.”
Sasha pulled her hand free and walked over to the coffee pot. “Oh, is this fresh.”
“Yes, and please drink it. Smokey the Bear won’t let me,” I replied.
“I mean, you are pregnant.” She picked up the mug of mine with the fresh cup I’d just poured and helped herself.
“I’m aborting!” I bellowed while Ricky stared at me with a shit-eating grin.
“When are you going?” Sasha asked.
“The clinic opens at eight,” I replied. “I want to be there, like, right when it opens. I want to get this over with.” I checked the clock hanging above my front door and noticed it was quarter to eight already. “We actually should be leaving, Ricky.”
“Yeah, if you’re sure,” he said.
I nodded. “I’ll have plenty of opportunities to have a baby with a non-psycho.”
“He’s not a psycho,” Ricky grumbled with a roll of his eyes.
“That’s what I told her,” Sasha said.
“Okay, you two are never allowed to be in the same place again. Deal?” I started toward my bedroom to get dressed and turned around to look at Sasha. I motioned for her to come with me, and she followed behind me.
“Do you want me to come?” she asked, sitting down on my bed while I changed into a pair of comfortable leggings and a coverall blouse that went down to my thighs.
“No, I have Ricky. I think that’ll be plenty. Can you be here when I come back, though?” I asked.
“Of course, sweetheart. Whatever you need. I am going to take a nap in your bed, though, because I hopped on the first redeye back to L.A. and haven’t slept.
“Help yourself,” I said. I gave her a kiss on the cheek and then walked back out to where Ricky was sitting, but he was gone. “Damn it. Ricky, we gotta go!”
I continued over to the guest room and found Ricky looking at his phone with shock on his face. “What?” I asked.
“Apparently, Alessandro went off the deep end. Pushed Gabe, punched Luca.” He was dialing a number on his phone.
“What? That doesn’t sound like him.” I walked over and sat next to him on the edge of the guest bed.
Ricky side-eyed me. “Glad we agree that he’s not crazy.”
It slammed over me like a building being demolished over my head. Maybe somewhere inside of me, I knew Alessandro wasn’t crazy, but that didn’t change the fact that he was willing to kidnap children. That was still a man who shouldn’t be a father.
“Hey, Mol. What’s happening?”
I nudged Ricky and mouthed speaker, and he pressed the button, igniting the room with the sound of Molly’s panicked voice. “I mean, Gabriel nearly cracked his skull open. He made these nasty comments about me, and I thought Luca was going to take his head off. When he pushed Gabe, Luca swung, but Sandro ducked and got the hit in.”
“I can’t believe that. Alessandro’s loyal to a fault. He’d never hurt his own family,” I responded.
“He’s lost it, Ricky. He had the dead eyes that had, like, nothing behind them. Ever since Willow left, it’s like he’s not even the same person.”
That thought crushed me. I didn’t have anything against Alessandro’s family. In fact. I’d grown to care for them deeply. I made the decision that I thought was best for me, but I didn’t think he was going to flip out on his own family. I supposed I could have handled it with a little more grace, but I could only think of getting out of Philly and as far away from him as possible. I was worried, and I was scared. What was I supposed to do?
“When he and Luca were going over the plans,” Molly continued, “Sandro snapped and said he was going to take care of things himself, and then he left and took his dad’s jet to Cali. We hadn’t heard from him in hours, but then one of my runners told me that he got a call from Horatio’s wife last night saying that Alessandro had stormed into their house with a shotgun threatening to kill them! He took Horatio with him to go and find the Binachis on his own.”
“What? That’s psychotic!” Ricky shouted.
“Glad we agree on something,” I whispered to him, and he deflated a bit.
Maybe none of us really knew Alessandro. Was he always so close to the edge?
“Luca and Gabe left to go to California as soon as we heard, but they had to fly domestic since Sandro took the jet. I’m afraid they won’t get there in time. Do you think you can try and hunt him down? We reactivated the GPS app for the time being to help find him. You should be able to see it.”
I nodded my head at Ricky. I’d made a mistake, and I needed to fix it.
“I’ll find him,” Ricky said. “I’ll take Willow. Maybe she can talk some sense into him.”
“Okay, but please be careful. We have no idea how many of the Binachis are there. They’re armed and very dangerous. I’ve got some of my men en route, too. There is another option if you absolutely have to use it.”
“Yeah, unfortunately, I might need to,” Ricky replied. I furrowed my brow, unsure of what they were talking about. Ricky waved his hand at me. “Okay, I’m gonna go. I’ll keep you posted.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Ricky, and be safe.”
“Thanks, you, too.” Ricky hung up his phone and immediately opened the GPS app. “Oh, wow. He’s way upstate. About an hour. If we go now, we might be able to catch him.”
Ricky and I ran out into the living room where Sasha was filling up her coffee cup. “Whoa, where’s the fire?”
“Sandro’s here, and we think he’s going to do something really dumb,” I replied. “We have to go find him, okay? We’ll be back.”
I heard Sasha protesting, but I was already out the door with Ricky on my heels. We made our way down to my car and got in, and Ricky started to direct me on the route to get to where it seemed like Alessand
ro was. I saw him typing a message on his phone, sending a picture of the address to someone.
“Who are you texting?” I asked.
Ricky sighed. “An ace in the hole.”
The hour seemed to tick by at a snail’s pace. Traffic was bad everywhere. There were streets under construction everywhere, and if there was a delay for me to experience, I was experiencing it. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t shake loose the fact that I was supposed to be getting an abortion at the moment. I supposed that would have to wait.
I stayed the course for where we were headed, praying to any god that would listen that we got to Alessandro before it was too late.
24
Alessandro
The plan to stop and observe the Binachis for a little while was a good one. Horatio had guessed that there were only two or three of the family members staying inside the house that he brought me to, but sitting and watching for a few hours proved that there were actually about six. It wasn’t a large house, only a rowhouse among a bunch that looked like it, and it was most likely a cover house for them to keep tabs on Marco. I looked down the line of houses, imagining that my brother, his wife, and the niece I’d never met were inside of one of them. I couldn’t go knocking on every door, though, at least, not yet. I had to get the Benachis out of my way first.
I looked back at Horatio, tied up and gagged in the back seat of my rental. “Well, well. You proved to be useful. Well done.”
He tried to mutter something, but I couldn’t hear it because of the duct tape. I returned to watching the house, but it seemed like I’d officially gotten down to where the same six people were rotating in and out at any given time. I could take on six of them if I was quiet about getting in. I’d leave Horatio in the car. He was pretty well tied up, and I didn’t think he’d be getting out anytime soon, but to be safe, I looked back at him once again.
“Now, you say here. If you’re good, we’ll see what we can do about getting you back home safe and sound, yeah?” Horatio started nodding, and I smiled and nodded back. “Good.”
I was lying, of course. Horatio had been deeply involved in my family’s business and had proven to be a turncoat. No one who knew as much about the business as he did could turn and walk away. That wasn’t how it worked.
I grabbed the guns I’d brought with me and climbed out of the car, ducking down behind it. The house the Binachis were in was right on the edge of a set of homes. I needed to get around back. If I could get in without being seen, it was a done deal. When it seemed like none of the Binachis were out and about, I slunk across the street and into the alley on the side of the homes. I could see bodies moving around inside, but they all seemed relatively unbothered. I hadn’t been detected yet, and with their guards as low as they seemed to be, getting in was going to be a breeze. I pushed past the trash cans and around to the back, where I saw a small white door. I didn’t have any silencers. Once my first shot went off, they would know I was there. I didn’t want to try and pull the same stunt I pulled at Horatio’s in broad daylight with the amount of attention it would attract. I was going to have to take a different approach.
I pulled out one of my pistols and walked up to the door, peering around to make sure none of the rowhouse molding held any cameras, and then knocked on it a few times, hopping back into the crook in the stairs. The back door opened, and a man, who didn’t look to be particularly tough, poked his head out. It didn’t make any sense to me. If they were planning to make a move on Marco, why send such a pipsqueak? He stepped down the stairs and turned into the alley, and I quickly seized the opportunity to hop up onto the stairs’ landing and slide my way into the house. I could hear voices inside, five distinct ones, and knew my count was probably correct. As soon as everything started, it was going to happen quickly. I needed them dead so that there was no threat to Marco and his family, plus it would send a message to the Binachis that they were messing with the wrong family. I was going to need to lure them to one place where I could catch them all off guard, all at once. I noticed another small white door and figured it led to a basement. It would have to do. I quietly opened the door and slid behind it.
On the other side, I could hear the guy I’d coaxed outside coming back in. “There’s nothing out there.”
“Check the basement, just in case,” someone responded.
“Shit,” I whispered to myself. I started down the stairs, but the door was opening, and I knew I was out of time. The second the door opened, I fired, striking the lean guy I’d goaded outside right in the chest. He fell face first and slid down the stairs.
“What the fuck?” A voice boomed. He peeked around the corner of the door, and it was all I needed. I fired at him as well, hitting him square in the forehead.
He also dropped on the stairs, sliding a few feet down and gathering near the other body. I was waiting for another body to come around the corner when I felt cold steel press against the back of my head. They’d gotten the drop on me. So ended my miserable life. It was probably just as well.
“Well, well, well, look what we have here. If it isn’t one of the Prince Varassos?” I recognized the voice. He was a high ranking member of the Binachi organization, Colton. Not Binachi blood, himself, but highly trusted, like Ricky was to us. “I have to admit, I expected you guys to take the bait much sooner. Five months is a little long to leave your brother in harm’s way, don’t you think?”
Fuck. It was a trap the entire time. My senses slowly started to return to me one by one. It was like coming down off a very dangerous, very active drug. Why I would rush in, thinking I could handle it all by myself, was beyond my understanding. Whichever version of myself took over in mourning of Willow was a dangerous and terrifying man. I only wished that I could see Willow’s face one more time before I had a bullet in my skull.
“My brother was never in trouble,” I replied, playing cocky. “He may have gotten away from the organization, but the life is in his blood. He’s escaped death more than once. You people are hardly a threat.”
“Yet, here you are,” Colton replied. “Tell me, if you’re so big and bad, why did you only take out two of my bottom men, and now my gun is to your head?”
“I suppose that’s a pretty good question. Maybe you should be asking yourself.” I played a bluff, hoping he would go for it. “No, no, don’t worry. I’m sure you’ve got a handle on things.”
“I guess I’ll blow a hole in your brain and see if anything else happens. How about that?”
I started writing mental notes that I wished my family could hear.
Dad, I’m sorry I let you down. I spent all twenty-four years of my life trying to figure out which was up and only ever managed to go down. I took care of Gabe, just like you asked. Luca’s going easier on him, and he’s getting a little bit better at managing the business. Even without me around, I think he’ll be okay.
Luca, I’m sorry I questioned you and made things so much harder for you than they needed to be. Maybe I was trying to prove that I should have been in your seat instead of you. Maybe I was jealous of what you had with Molly and the kids. Either way, take care of them and get out while you can. I never told you this, but I don’t agree with dad. I think even once you’re in, you can get out.
Marco, I’m proud of you for looking out for yourself and your family before us. Our expectations of one another are selfish and dysfunctional. It kills me that I never got to see you again and meet my baby niece, but it makes me happy to know that you’ve found an island of serenity in this tumultuous sea.
Gabe, I hope you keep developing confidence and learn how to become your own man. Maybe consider finding your own special someone. Keep her away from the life, and treasure her above anything. You won’t regret it.
Willow…
Willow…
Thank you for defining me, for giving me a reason to breathe, and for giving me a reason to move. Thank you for smiling at me and laughing with me and loving me. Thank you for trying to give me a chance that I
didn’t really deserve. Thank you for being my everything, always. I’ll love you even in my grave.
The pop of a gun left me waiting for pain, if not death, but instead, a body collapsed to my side. I looked down and saw Colton on the ground with a bullet hole in the back of his head, already bleeding out. I whipped around, and my jaw dropped. Standing in front of me, like he had every right to be there with no announcement, was Marco, smoking gun in hand, and his hair humorously dyed blond.
“Marco.”
“Goddammit, you better be glad Kelly made me go on a fucking diet.” I glanced up behind him and saw the small, slotted window that Marco must have squeezed through to get in. “You are a lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
I couldn’t control myself. I threw my arms around him. “Fuck, am I glad to see you. How did you know I was here?”
“Ricky texted me.” He put a hand on my head. “Are you okay?”
Make that two of the Varasso brothers whose lives Marco had saved. “I’m okay,” I responded.
“Are you sure?” He punched me in the shoulder. “It looked like you fucking gave up.”
“I think I did, I—”
Another round of gunshots ricocheted upstairs. Marco and I both pulled out our guns and started up. I tiptoed around the corner, my pistol aimed in front of me, but when I walked into the living room, I was filled with even more relief. The remaining bodies of the Binachi family were scattered around with Luca standing amongst them. I didn’t even feel like I deserved to approach him. I’d acted like such a haughty asshole.
“Luca,” I murmured. “I…”
“Got possessed by dad for a second there, didn’t you?” he grumbled.
“I think so. Maybe the old man’s spirit hasn’t left yet.” I stayed standing in place, but eventually, Luca walked up to me.
He wrapped his arms around me in a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, but if you ever pull some shit like this again, or talk about my wife the way you did, you and I are going to have a serious problem.”
