Faintly, I remembered spending time in Rick Cornell’s home. We had eaten banana splits every night and the man read me stories until I drifted off to sleep. We went to the zoo, to a theme park, and Cornell said he loved me, something that had never slipped through Adrian’s lips.
I still thought the man had to be insane to volunteer to care for me after my father had been incarcerated, but at the same time, I felt fortunate. Those memories were some of the most precious in my life. That year had influenced me greatly and I wished I had someone like Cornell for a father for a long time after my return to the dynasty.
As an adult, I knew the hand of friendship had been offered under false pretenses. Just an attempt to work me over, hoping promises of a better life would persuade me to tell all I knew about my father’s activities. And it would have succeeded if I had known the facts then that I now hid in deep crevices of my soul.
“What can you tell me, Sean?” Rick implored. “The only thing I can tell you, Pops. Only a guy like me can fight the storm heading toward Demora.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means that someday soon you might find yourself backing me up instead of taking me down.”
FOUR
(Jessie)
“LET ME GO! LET ME go!” A commotion outside peeked my interest later that night. I hadn’t been able to sleep in the uncomfortable chair anyway, so I stood arms folded in the doorway and watched as a pale, redheaded man scrambled to get past a security guard.
“Hey! Hey! You a cop?” He pointed at me. “Please, please you have to help me!” He screamed and pleaded with wild eyes as he was taken to his knees by security. “He’s going to kill me!”
“It’s okay.” I rolled my eyes, I had no authority, yet the guards relinquished without asking for credentials. “What’s the problem?”
“Not here. Gianetti has eyes. He will see. He will hear.” Frantically he wrung his hands and darted uneasy glances all around. Strung out, I thought but decided to oblige him anyway.
Maybe I shouldn’t have agreed to meet him alone, but I was intrigued by the man from Shamrock Knowles. It was rare to see someone from the little piece of land settled in the crook of the mountains that was founded by a lost Irish couple. Their culture – and prejudice of other cultures – had been preserved for centuries and I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to have a conversation with the deviant.
I stirred a cup of coffee in the hospital’s waiting room and listened as he told how he had held up a gas station in the early hours of the morning. His name was Stephen McClure and as he wove his web of disloyalty, I found myself thinking how remarkable it had been for the Irish to remain so untouched. In a world where races and cultures had nearly blended, the Irish were still white skinned as if they had never been kissed by the sun and I was sure that he hadn’t paid a dime to acquire the deep red color of his hair.
“I saw it all,” he went on, rubbing a coin from his homeland in his fingers and taking gulps of scalding coffee that must have burned his tongue and throat, but he didn’t seem to notice. “I couldn’t go to the cops. I would have been shot dead if I had stepped foot in that police parking lot.”
“Why the hospital? How did you know a cop was admitted?” Calmly and casually I popped pieces of a strawberry strudel into my mouth, screening each question before voicing it.
“I was there – I wasn’t supposed to be.” Annoyingly, he zipped the coin back and forth across the chain he wore it on.
“Where weren’t you supposed to be? Take your time.” I knew I should pick up the phone and report his crime, but I wanted to make sure this witness wouldn’t fall through the cracks. Not when his testimony could solve a big problem in my own life. So, I remained patient, sure that Stephen would only tell his story on his own terms. “Just tell me what you saw and I’ll try to help in any way I can.”
“You’re that cop’s wife, aren’t you?” He jumped up from his seat. “You’re probably not a cop at all. I wasted my time coming here.” He wrung his hands, nervously.
“Gianetti tried to kill someone I love,” I stated boldly. “And I may not have a badge, but I know people and I don’t see anyone else around willing to listen.”
“Okay.” He took a deep breath. “He was going to kill the cop, but they beat him down pretty badly first. I was sitting there thinking, damn this guy must have really pissed the boss off because the guy’s not the type to play around, you know? When Gianetti’s marked you – bang!” He put two fingers to his temple. “You don’t even know it’s coming.”
“But he didn’t kill him.”
“Yeah,” McClure finally sipped his coffee, holding it with both trembling hands as he lifted it to his lips. “But I’ll bet every penny in me pocket that his time is borrowed.”
I found it hard to swallow, but I choked back my sudden urge to flee back to Josh’s side.
“Stephen.” I laid a hand on his, stopping his nervously tapping. “Tell me exactly what happened. The Bureau’s going to want details – places, names, – everything, no matter how insignificant it may seem.”
“You want I sit and tell the courts – No, I can’t. I won’t live long enough. No one does. Just tell them to lock me up. I’ll get a few years for robbing that old fella, right?
“Maybe. Or I could just forget I ever met you.”
“Are you joking me?” Surprisingly, his skin turned whiter and a glower of fear froze his jaw in a widened state.
“Is that the only thing you witnessed?” I popped strudel in my mouth and shrugged.
“Isn’t that enough?”
“Not really. It would only get Gianetti a couple of months, probably less. My father worked for the Bureau. I know how this kind of thing works and they won’t make a deal for information unless it sends that man into The Abyss.”
In my time, criminal acts paid harsh consequences and those who sentenced to more than ten years were dropped into a pit so deep you could not see daylight. A place where they fought to survive every minute of every day. No one ever made it out alive.
I threw my purse over my shoulder and rose. “Good luck to you, Stephen.”
“No, no, wait. I know more. I know where his warehouses are. I know how they make it and I know who’s connected. I know the whole operation.”
I stopped and smiled inside, confident that this Gianetti would feel the wrath for causing turmoil in my life.
“Well, if that’s true, Stephen, I can take you to some people who can help.”
“That’s great.”
“Here’s my number.”
“Cicconi?” He laughed. “Your daddy was – well known. I bet he left you everything, huh?”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You’re man is pretty obsessed with Sean Gianetti. I bet your life is complicated huh?” The slight way he twisted his mouth into a smirk angered me. “I bet Gianetti’s arrest would make your life – much easier.”
I could see the wheels turning in his head as if he thought I would bribe him to ensure my gain. “It doesn’t matter to me one way or the other. My fiancé is well protected and my life will go on no matter what you decide. I won’t pay you, Stephen and I don’t beg.”
~ ♥ ~
“You’re awake,” I rushed to Josh’s side and gave him a careful peck on the cheek. “I was afraid you weren’t going to wake up again.”
He lifted his hand from beneath the cover and presented me with a single red rose.
“How …”
“I can tell by the look on your face that you weren’t expecting this.” Josh grinned menacingly. It was unexpected. Josh had never been the type to surprise me romantically. “I had a little help from the nurse.”
“I’m worried,” I admitted. “I’ve been worried about you all this time and now this … Josh, it’s time to give up this case.”
“It takes more than a beating to take me down.” Josh was the toughest agent The Bureau had. He could be hot headed and stubborn, a flaw that I had despi
sed when we first met, but he could also be funny and that – and his good looks, had fueled my attraction.
“What is it?” he touched my hand. “What are you thinking?”
“Just – I’m wondering if everything will be the same as it was before.”
“Do you know how much I’ve missed you? I’m glad my cover was blown,” he whispered.
“Your friends were right. You are insane.”
“I’m glad because I can be with you again.” Then he sighed. “But Gianetti’s still a free man and it’s not going to be over until he’s wearing prison blue.”
“Oh, I can say without a doubt that he’ll be wearing that jumpsuit in the very near future.”
Josh narrowed his brows and stared inquisitively. “While you were sleeping I had an interesting conversation with one of Sean Gianetti’s mules.”
“And? Did you turn him in?”
“Not yet. He’s scared, but I think he’s ready to talk – I can see it in his eyes.”
“Do you have any idea how much I love you right now?” He pressed his lips to mine, ignoring the cast on his arm. “I always knew you would be a big help bringing down that jerk.”
Finally, we could truly be we were intended without worry of it being uprooted by a Gianetti. That had always been my biggest dream.
FIVE
(Sean)
“Gianetti, let’s go.”
I picked up my jacket, smoothed my slumber damaged suit and I strolled to freedom wearing a sly smirk two weeks after my capture.
“How many times do we have to do this, Sean? How many times am I going to have to bail you out of jail after I run around like an idiot putting together some kind of alibi for you?”
I stepped out of the car in front of Demora’s Grand Hotel and turned to face my lawyer. “I’m paying you, right?” I grinned and flicked my eyebrows up. It was not the first time my lawyer, Eric De Luca, had picked me up from the jail. “Dinner?” I offered, brushing the problem away as I buttoned my jacket.
We walked into the hotel side by side, crossed the red-carpeted lobby and entered a set of double glass doors. The host immediately ignored the guests he had been talking to.
“Monsieur Gianetti.” The middle-aged man spoke in a fake uppity tone and offered his hand for a respectful shake. “It’s so good to see you again.”
“I’m sorry, I don’t have a reservation,” I admitted.
“Reservation?” The man waved his hand as if he were swatting a fly. “You never need a reservation. Your party is already here.”
“Of course.”
All eyes glanced our way as we were led across the room to a corner table that was already occupied by two men, Matt and his younger brother Grato. There was a short compilation of people that I trusted and the Divani brothers were at the top of that list. The duo was never far from my side, no matter where I went.
“I will send a waiter straight away.”
Eric watched until the man scurried out of sight before returning to our conversation. “I’m getting sick of all of this, Sean.”
“It’s not a big deal.”
“Not a big deal?” Eric questioned with contempt written all over his face.
“You know the feds run me in every time someone blows their nose around here.” I pulled a tin of cigarettes from an inside pocket along with a gold plated lighter, stuck one in my mouth and lit it.
A woman from another table gave me a reprehensive glare and I blew out a cloud of smoke in response and leaned back in my chair.
“This time they know it was you,” Eric whispered, tapping a nicotine stained finger on the table.
His eyes lifted. A pair of crystal water goblets was set down in front of us. Damn, I wish my discussions were not halted by deathly silence every time someone approached my table.
The waiter eyed me. “I’m sorry sir, but this is a non-smoking –”
I pulled a neatly folded one hundred dollar bill from my pocket and held it in the waiter’s line of vision. The waiter stared at it a moment before taking it. Yeah, like that wasn’t what he was after. “Can I get you anything else, sir?”
“Whiskey. Keep my glass full and find me an ashtray.” There was nothing I couldn’t buy. There was no rule that could not be bent. It was not a bad life and I knew I could have anything I wanted – anything, but Sara. No amount of money could bring her back to me.
“You have to let this thing with that cop go,” Eric advised, running a frustrated hand through his styled blond hair.
“Mickie is the only family I have. No one – I mean no one hurts my family!” I clenched a napkin tight in my hand.
“I think of Mickie as my little sister too, Sean. What the feds did was dirty, but killing Tucker won’t do her any good. Time is the only thing that can help her mend.”
“Time doesn’t heal that kind of pain,” I cleared my throat. “He was already pissing me off and he had the nerve to do this? I’ve ignored him – because of Jacob but he went too far. Here I thought Mickie had finally found someone. She was so happy – and the whole time the guy was lying and making promises to Mickie he would never keep. Tucker knew she didn’t know shit. This was a personal hit and he will pay for it. Mark my words. He will pay.”
“You are not my only client, Gianetti.”
I locked glares with my longtime friend. Eric had never been intimidated by my muscular frame or my nonchalant disposition like so many others. I respected him for it, but that night, it was pissing me off.
“No,” I paused for the whiskey the waiter poured before finishing the sentence. “I’m just the client that makes it possible for you to give your family such a comfortable life.”
“Why do you do it?” Eric insisted. “You never wanted this life. Your father is gone. Why don’t you just quit?”
“I hardly think owning a chain of furniture factories is considered criminal.” I laughed.
“Cut the bull,” Eric raised his voice slightly.
We had known each other since childhood. Meeting through our fathers who shared the same relationship. “You and I both know what those businesses conceal and that was what Tucker was looking for.”
My family owned factories in a half a dozen cities, all under the names of false owners. We made everything from dining tables to sofas. It was a profitable business on its own, but it was what was hidden inside the hollowed out legs that earned our fortune. I inherited the large drug cartel the moment my father died. It was not the life I had wanted, but it was the only one I had left.
“You know this isn’t some job you can just walk away from,” I reminded him. “There are people who won’t let me walk away.”
“Do you think that Sara would want this? I know you’re hurting …”
“Don’t bring her into this.”
“I’m telling you as a friend and as your lawyer to get out. The Bureau’s hiding around every corner. You know that now. They are watching your every move. It’s not like it was when your father was in charge. It’s only a matter of time before they get their hands on a witness and put him somewhere you can’t get to him.”
“There is nowhere they can hide anyone.”
“You almost didn’t find Ramirez,” Eric reminded me of a former hired man who had recently admitted to the cops that he tracked down the undercover agent at my request, leading to my recent arrest.
I glanced at Grato, who gave a short shrug.
“I had nothing to do with Ramirez.”
“Okay, so you’re not responsible this time. Call it luck that the guy overdosed last night. Your luck is going to run out, Sean. This was a close call – too close and I don’t like it.”
“Are you trying to tell me to get a new lawyer, Eric?”
“No. I’m saying get out. Let somebody else do it. Hell, let Bolivar take it.”
“Look, I get what you’re saying, but these addicts are going to get their drugs no matter what. Dealers are going to sell as long as the addicts are buying. I might as well profit f
rom it.”
“Only you won’t be in jail for the rest of your life if you just give Bolivar what he wants.”
“My father spent his life keeping Bolivar from taking over. I’ll be damned if I just hand it to him. It’s a game.” I laughed. “The entire thing. It’s all it’s ever been.”
Eric leaned back in his chair. “A game?”
“It’s the way it is, Eric.” I stared at him, no longer caring what could go wrong. I had tried to fight once and it had cost everything.
“I’m not as hungry as I thought.” Eric tossed his napkin onto the table and walked out of the room.
I lit another cigarette and sat back in my chair. I cast my eyes upon a red-headed man across the room, a former lackey that I despised. I’d ordered him to leave town and I guess he needed a reminder, but he wasn’t alone. His company was – very well put together and I was envious the moment the attractive woman he was with touched the jerk’s hand. The lowest scum alive got chances I couldn’t even hope for.
“Nice catch for McClure.” Matt Divani never failed to set eyes on any object that held my attention.
“You two hang back.”
They nodded. They knew the underlining meaning.
I snuffed out my cigarette. Rose from the table and approached the couple.
“Stephen,” I addressed him with false respect and ruined what seemed to be a pleasant moment. “It’s nice to see you. You’ve been missed – I don’t think I’ve met your lady friend.” I scanned her from her long, dark hair to the elegant, toned legs she revealed under a short black dress. No tract marks to be seen and her eyes, beautiful and un-dilated. Definitely not the type that would entertain a junkie.
“Sean,” Stephen, gulped and nervously toyed with the chained coin he always turned to for luck. “Um – this is – this is my girlfriend.”
The woman’s eyes shifted, narrowed slightly, revealing that she didn’t particularly agree with the label.
“A pleasure,” I bowed, kissed her hand, then patted Stephen on the back. In a tone, only the man would understand I issued a threat. “We’ll get together. Real soon.” I let out a chuckle and left their presence.
Son of a Mobster (Criminal Desires) Page 3
