Making Angel (Mariani Crime Family #1)

by Amanda Washington

  Johnny had jumped at the offer to work with my family, but didn’t have the money upfront. Father, feeling unusually gracious that day, gave him one week to sell the phones and come up with the dough. I’d made the drop and arranged a time and location for the payout. Everything was going as planned until Johnny didn’t show. Even worse, he’d vacated his apartment and skipped out. Bones had all of his contacts searching for the weasel.

  Since admitting I’d lost the fence would disappoint the old man, I said, “We’re working on it.”

  Father’s eyes narrowed. “Can you get my money or not?”

  Father had four core values: respect, loyalty, money, family, usually in that order. Ripping him off was a blatant show of disrespect, and would put a giant, expensive target on Johnny’s forehead. I didn’t want my friend to end up dead, so I was hoping to buy him a little more time to wise up.

  “Yes,” I said with more confidence than I felt. “I’ll find him and get your money.”

  Father frowned. “You never lose sight of someone who owes you. That’s bad business, Angel.”

  His displeasure felt like a knife in my side. Especially since I knew he was right. I’d been suckered by friendship.

  Today’s lesson… friends suck. Got it.

  “Yes, Father, it is.”

  “I never take my eyes off anyone.” He watched me for a moment before reiterating, “Anyone.”

  “I know you don’t.”

  “Well, Johnny doesn’t know anything, apparently. Not only did your boy blow my money at the track, but he also has a good-sized marker there. Now he’s hiding out, thinking I don’t know where he is and what he’s been up to.”

  My stomach sank. Johnny was the definition of stupid.

  “You say you can get my money? Good. You have one chance.”

  “What do you want me to do?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Back in the old days, you steal something, they cut off your hand. Johnny stole from me. I want his hand.”

  I tried not to gape at the old man. Sometimes he had a pretty twisted sense of humor. Hoping he was joking now, I asked, “You want me to bring you a bloody hand? What will you do with it?” My mind summoned up a gruesome scene of Bones and me trying to hack off Johnny’s arm as he screamed in pain. Then what? We’d cart it off in a big plastic bag?

  Father chuckled, tilting his head to the side. “It would make quite an impression. No, I don’t want his hand. I just want my damn money. Lucky for Johnny, he’s a coward. You go in there and break a couple of his fingers, he’ll find a way to come up with the dough. I guarantee it. Then I’ll decide what to do with him.”

  “I’ll get your money. Where is he?”

  He patted me on the back. “Patience, my son. I’ll give you a call later this week, when I have him where I want this little confrontation to take place.”

  Some fathers told their children to study or work hard. My father wanted me to break fingers, and nothing I could say or do would change him.

  “Yes sir. I’ll wait for your call.”

  CHAPTER TEN

  Angel

  MY FATHER WAS a complicated man with more layers than any fictional ogre. So many layers, in fact, that Tuesday afternoon he had me and Bones pick up the twins from school to kick off the annual Christmas drive for local orphans and foster kids. Father split a giant typed-out list in two, handing half of it, and Luciana, to me. He and several of his goons took Georgio. Luciana spent the next four hours dragging me, Bones, and a couple of Father’s guards up and down the aisles of locally-owned stores, marking clothes, toys, and games off the list as she piled them into our shopping carts.

  There was something heartwarming about watching my baby sister shop for kids in need. She didn’t ask for a single thing for herself. Not once. I did catch her eyeing a pair of princess pumps, though, and had Bones buy them on the sly. Her gigantic heart had earned every sparkle on those damn shoes. It’d be a miracle if I held off until Christmas to give them to her.

  Days like this reminded me of the good my father did for the community and made me proud to be part of the Mariani family. Too bad they couldn’t all be like this.

  Wednesday morning my team rented out a meeting room at the Wynn. While there, we hacked into the room’s audio, put it on a loop so the guards wouldn’t suspect anything, and installed our own hidden cameras and mics. Father had found out about a secret meeting a few of the city officials were holding there later in the day, and he wanted full surveillance.

  I was almost finished setting everything up when the old man called.

  “Your boy’s waiting for you in room ten-twenty-eight of the Strat. All trussed up like a holiday ham.”

  My boy?

  It took me a minute, and then Sunday night’s conversation played in my mind.

  Johnny.

  Next came images of my friend hog-tied with an apple shoved in his mouth. I shook my head clear, disconnected the call, and assigned another technician to finish my work. Bones drove us to the Stratosphere while I hacked into the hotel’s security system to get their site code. Since we’d been working, I had my gear. I punched the code into my handheld hotel-card hacking machine and pocketed it.

  “You want another piece?” Bones asked, gesturing toward the box under the seat.

  I shook my head no, closing up my laptop. “I have my SIG. Besides, Father says Johnny’s all tied up.”

  Bones chuckled. “Can’t wait to see what that means.”

  Since I wasn’t so sure I wanted to find out, I didn’t reply.

  When we reached the hotel, Bones turned the Hummer over to the valet and we headed in. We rode the elevator to the tenth floor and found room ten-twenty-eight. I pulled the small machine out of my pocket, slipped it into the lock, and started up the software. Bones whistled the Jeopardy final question music. Before he got halfway through the tune, the lock clicked open.

  “Room service,” Bones said, drawing his gun as he preceded me into the room.

  Rustling noises came from the hotel room. I kept the door propped open with my foot and my hand on the gun inside my jacket pocket, watching the hallway.

  “It’s clear, Angel,” Bones said, his voice heavy with humor.

  I stepped in and saw what had Bones chuckling. Johnny was, in fact, all trussed up. Just not like any pig I’d ever seen. He was naked and tied—spread eagle—with fuzzy red ropes to the posts of a queen bed. A brunette with caked-on makeup and wearing a slutty maid’s costume stood beside the bed holding a feather duster. She beamed me a sultry smile, dropped the feather duster, sashayed over, and offered me her hand.

  “Hi. You must be Angel. I’m Candace.” Her eyes seemed to drink me in as she leaned forward, giving me an eyeful of cleavage over the top of her black bustier. She retrieved a business card from between her breasts and handed it to me. “Always a pleasure to help out the family. If there’s anything else I can do, don’t you hesitate to call me, sugar.”

  Johnny gasped. “But—”

  Candace glanced over her shoulder at him and laughed. “Honey, you really thought I was doing this for you? Sorry, but you cannot afford me.” Then she gave me one more meaningful look before grabbing a dress from the floor. She slid it on over her costume, stepped into a pair of pumps, and headed out the door, swinging her hips as she went.

  Dreading the task ahead of me, I used a device finder to scan the room. A small camera was hidden in the smoke detector above the bed, aimed at the scene. Recognizing the design as one of my own, I left it where it was.

  The sick bastard wants a show? I’ll give him one.

  Still, I wouldn’t take all of Johnny’s dignity. I picked up a discarded blanket from the floor and threw it over his nakedness. Since I wasn’t about to sit on the bed, I dragged a chair over and sat, facing the putz.

  “Angel, I can explain,” Johnny started.

  I just stared at him and shook my head. It was far too late for explanations.

  “I’m working on a plan. I’ll get
the money. I promise.”

  “I told you not to screw with the family.”

  Sweat beaded on Johnny’s forehead. “They said it was a sure thing. An opportunity to double the money and prove I can be an earner. It was gonna get my foot in the door.”

  “A sure thing, huh?” I asked.

  “Yes. I swear to you. I wouldn’t have done it otherwise.”

  “You shouldn’t have done it at all. That wasn’t your money.”

  Bones stepped closer to the bed. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck, loosening up. Johnny looked from me to Bones, and his eyes widened. He tried to scoot up, but his bonds held tight.

  “I-I-I’m gonna make this right, Angel. N-n-no need for Bones. You know I’ll get the money. Y-y-you know I’m good for it,” Johnny stammered.

  I shook my head, frowning at the dumb bastard. “If only it were that simple.”

  “W-w-we go back a long time, me and you, Angel. I-I-I’ll fix this.”

  I chuckled, wondering if he thought I was stupid enough to buy his promises again. Wondering if he thought I had that kind of power. There was a freaking camera on us. My father wanted broken bones, and by God, he would get them.

  “I hope they let you live long enough to do just that. Really, I do. But in the meanwhile, what about me? I have a boss to answer to. I vouched for you, and you left me hanging. How do you think that makes me look?”

  Sweat rolled down the side of his face. “I-I-I—”

  “It makes me look like a damn fool!” I spat.

  A memory flashed in my mind. Freshman homecoming. I didn’t have a date for the dance, so Johnny had set me up with his sister, Melody. I was shy and quiet, and she was popular, gorgeous, and a senior. He’d done me the most important favor of my freshman year. I stared at his hand, wondering if I could really break his fingers. Knowing I had to.

  “But I never—”

  My gaze shifted to his face. The fear in Johnny’s eyes made me sick. It made me hate him for being weak, and hate myself for becoming his boogeyman. He needed to know the consequences of his actions though. If Johnny didn’t wise up, he wouldn’t last the week.

  “They’ll kill you. They’ll kill you, and then they’ll come for me. That’s what happens when you gamble with the family’s money.”

  Johnny started to reply, but Bones lunged forward, punching the bound idiot square in the jaw. “Enough talking!” Bones shook the sting from his hand.

  Johnny’s eyes watered. He opened his jaw, as if to gauge the pain, and it made a clicking noise. He winced.

  Johnny’s beak of a nose started to leak. He tried to wipe it on his shoulder only to wince at the pain of moving his jaw. I forced myself to watch every pathetic, pained move he made, knowing I’d inadvertently put him in this position. I never should have recommended him.

  Bones paced a few steps alongside the bed. I hadn’t bothered to tell him about my father’s orders, mostly because I’d failed the old man, and I felt ashamed. Bones glanced at me, silently promising to rip me a new one later.

  Bones stopped and pointed a finger in Johnny’s face. “You’re lucky to still be alive. And now you got Angel’s ass on the line. So help me, if you don’t pay—” Bones raised his fist, glaring daggers at Johnny.

  Johnny paled even further, if possible. “I’ll pay! I’ll pay! I swear! Oh God, I swear.”

  “Now?” Bones asked. “You gonna pay right now?”

  “Now? I don’t have it right this minute.”

  Bones flexed, his hand still poised to strike.

  “But soon. I’ll get it soon. I swear!” He turned toward me. “Please, Angel.”

  My silence added tension to the room. We marinated in it as I struggled to come to terms with my task. Finally, I leaned back in my chair, lowering my voice to the menacing tone I’d heard my father use when he played the part of the boogeyman.

  “I gave you a shot and you disappointed me, Johnny. The boss told me to cut off your hand and bring it to him, like they used to do to thieves in the old days.”

  Johnny’s bottom lip began to quiver.

  “I’m not a Neanderthal, though. If it comes down to me hacking off your body parts, I’ll just put a gun to your head and end this thing. You feel me?”

  He nodded.

  “Good. I’m hoping it won’t come down to that. It’s not lucrative to kill the people who owe you money. Makes it impossible to collect. I can’t completely disobey the boss and leave you unscathed, though. Bones, will you please release Johnny’s left hand. You’re right-handed, right, Johnny?”

  Johnny nodded again, his eyes wide with terror as Bones circled the bed and untied his left arm. It fell to the mattress, and then Johnny pulled it close, trying to hide it with his body. “What are you gonna do?” he asked.

  Bones chuckled, and the sound made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

  “Give me your hand,” Bones said with a smirk.

  Sometimes I worried that Bones enjoyed the work a little too much.

  Johnny looked from his hand to me. “Two days. I can have the money in two days, max. Maybe sooner. Let me call my mom and she’ll get me some—”

  “Your hand, you damn mammone!” Bones shouted.

  Since Bones had spent his childhood providing for his mom, he had no tolerance for money-leeching momma’s boys.

  Johnny’s body began to shake. He slowly eased his hand toward Bones. “What are you going to do?” he asked. Fear hovered over him like a storm cloud.

  My stomach clenched. Johnny had been my friend once. In return, I’d been too kind and he’d taken advantage, bringing us to this point. It was his fault. He was the dumbass who gambled away my family’s money. So why did I feel so bad? Refusing to show my remorse, I gritted my teeth and steeled my expression.

  I knew Bones would do the deed for me; all I had to do was ask. But this was my mess to clean up, and I couldn’t afford to show weakness or grace. Father wanted me to learn the lesson, and I was sure as hell learning it. I stood and leaned against the bed.

  “Hold him,” I told Bones.

  An objection formed on my friend’s lips, but he didn’t voice it. He held Johnny’s wrist with both hands and waited.

  I gripped Johnny’s pinky finger. It felt so small and delicate, trembling in my hand.

  “Angel, no. Just give me two days. Please.” Johnny writhed on the bed, trying to get away. “I’ll pay. You know I will.”

  I couldn’t handle his begging anymore. I released his finger and picked up his discarded sock, stuffing it into his mouth. His eyes kept pleading, but they were easier to avoid. I returned my attention to his pinky. Grabbed it and yanked it upward until I heard the bone crack. Johnny screamed behind the sock, and the smell of urine filled the room. Then, I gripped his next finger and did the same thing. Another scream.

  Two fingers. Good enough. I couldn’t stomach anymore. I stood and told Bones to release Johnny. I was so pissed at him for making me do this, I wanted to break his entire hand.

  “We’re not friends, Johnny. Not anymore. No friend of mine would put me in the position you did. No friend of mine would steal from my family.”

  Tears ran down his face. I didn’t care. We left him like that, his feet and other hand still tied to that damn bed, lying in his own urine. He’d get free, or the maid would find him. Either way, Johnny would know there’d be no more leniency from my family.

  And maybe, just maybe, this knowledge would save his life.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  Angel

  I COULDN’T ESCAPE from Johnny’s room fast enough. Fear, the smell of urine, and disgust threatened to gag me as I fled through the door, hurrying toward the elevator. The way Bones watched me made me feel like I had horns growing out of my head. The elevator doors closed, locking us inside. I ran a hand through my hair, wishing I could drown out the sounds of Johnny’s screams.

  Come on, Angel, pull it together.

  So I’d broken a couple of fingers. Definitely not the w
orst thing I’d ever done. Not by a long shot. Johnny would live, after all. Not the case for my first job. I was almost sixteen when Uncle Carlo picked me and Bones up in one of the family’s black SUVs.

  “Your father put out a contract. He wants you to fill it,” my uncle said.

  I’d always known the day would come, but still, it took me by surprise. My first hit. My pulse quickened as I climbed into the passenger’s seat and fumbled with my seat belt. Bones sat behind me, and I could tell he was as nervous as I was.

  Uncle Carlo drove for a while, taking us off the strip and into a run-down residential area off Main Street. He killed the lights and parked beside a chest-high wooden fence.

  “Here?” I asked, studying the area. Several blossoming Palo Verde trees blocked my view of whatever lay on the other side of the fence. It would be difficult to see someone, much less shoot them.

  “No, there,” Uncle Carlo pointed across the street to a blue and white single-wide manufactured home. A waist-high chain-link fence surrounded the property. Green plastic slats were threaded into the fence, but so many were broken or missing I could still see into the yard enough to make out a picnic table. Beyond the picnic table, steps led up to a door.

  “Who lives there?” I asked.

  “Doesn’t matter,” Uncle Carlo replied. He leaned his chair back and reached into the seat behind him. When he sat back up, he had a rifle in his hands.

  Bones leaned forward, studying the weapon. “That’s an m-twenty-ten, isn’t it?”

  Uncle Carlo nodded. “It’s overkill is what it is. But this beauty will definitely get the job done. It’s equipped with a Saker silencer. One of the best on the market.”

  He stroked the barrel of the rifle a few times before handing it to me. I looked from the weapon to the trailer and my heart pounded against my chest so loudly Uncle Carlo and Bones could probably hear it.