“How’s my nephew?” Carlo asked.
“Good, healthy.”
“But still determined to leave.”
I nodded. “Yes sir, as soon as Markie is cleared.”
“Soon. Her appointment is the day after tomorrow.”
It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t answer. He frowned and watched the restaurant for a few beats, taking another sip of wine. Carlo dismissed the guards standing nearest him. They joined the other two at the door, too far to eavesdrop, but close enough to rush in if they were needed.
“Relax, Bones,” Carlo said, lowering his glass of wine. “I’ve never been big on theatrics. If I was going to take you out, you’d never see it coming.”
It was a promise, both comforting and alarming.
“You should know me better than to think I’d do it here.” He sipped his wine, never taking his eyes off me. I wondered what he saw, what he was looking for. Did I measure up? Was I everything he’d hoped I’d become that fateful day when he stopped out in front of my school and offered me a job?
Carlo put on a pair of latex gloves and opened the bag his bodyguard had brought him, sifting through its contents as if the items would reveal their secrets. Finally he pulled out the phone and powered it on.
“Joey Durante, huh?” Carlo rubbed his chin, staring at the screen. “He’s gotta be out of his goddamn mind to start shit now. What could he possibly hope to accomplish with that handful of bastards of his?”
The question wasn’t directed at me, so I didn’t answer. We sat in silence as Carlo searched the phone, seeing the pictures, reading the texts, getting all the information I had.
“Who is this woman they’re talking about grabbing?” Carlo asked.
My stomach sank. I knew he’d see the texts and ask the questions, and all I could do was be honest and hope for the best. Anything less would be suicide, since Carlo probably already knew at least part of the truth.
“Markie has a sister by the name of Ariana. Matt used to date her and was seen today at her place of employment. The two were arguing. That’s how I got the lead on him.”
Carlo nodded. “Who wants the girl?”
Here’s where things got tricky. “Matt didn’t know. He said he was contacted by a woman.”
“Did he give you a description?” Carlo watched me. I knew from his teachings that he was monitoring things like my breathing, how many times I blinked, whether or not I looked him in the eye… all the tells of a liar.
Careful to show him my honesty, I stared right back at him. “Long dark hair. Dark eyes. Maybe five six? About a hundred and fifty pounds. Nice rack. Big ass,” I repeated word-for-word, just as Matt had said it.
Carlo’s brow furrowed. He put the phone back into the bag, took off his gloves, and pocketed them before announcing, “This has nothing to do with Angel.”
“You know who’s after Ari?” I blurted out. It was a stupid mistake, and I realized it the moment the words left my mouth. But they were already out there, drifting in the space between us. My tone, the nickname, the worry in my voice, had all revealed too much.
He steepled his hands and instead of answering me, he asked a question. “How long have you been working for me, Bones?”
I wanted to demand answers, not spend time telling him what he already knew. But because I valued my life, I did the math in my head and answered, “Thirteen years, sir.”
“And in all that time have you ever had any complaints with your compensation?”
My pay? What the hell does this have to do with Ari?
“No, sir. You’ve been very generous.”
“Have I been cruel? Have my tasks been too difficult? Have I not given you adequate training?”
As far as capos went, Carlo was probably the best one to work for. Sure, he was a hard son-of-a-bitch, but he was fair. “No. None of the above.”
He laid his hands on the table and straightened his back. “And yet you’re planning to leave with my nephew, aren’t you?”
It was a direct question, requiring an honest answer. Lying to my capo would most assuredly lead to my death. But telling him the truth could also be lethal. I took my chances with honesty and nodded. “Yes sir.”
“Why?”
I thought about my life, about the way Carlo had saved my family from starving, about the pride I’d felt in being able to help Ma provide, about how useful protecting Angel made me feel. I got paid well to have my best friend’s back, and I loved that part of my job. But then there were the other tasks. Matt’s face came to mind, two holes through his head. Blood. Pain. Threats. Shakedowns. Beatings. Murders. I used to hate the way the job made me feel. I hated it more now that I felt nothing; no remorse, no shame, nothing, and I hated myself for it. But since I couldn’t tell him any of that, I focused on the part of my job I loved.
“I remember the day I met you, sir. You showed up out of nowhere and you saved my family. We wouldn’t have made it through these years without you. Without the family. But that day, you gave me my first order… you told me to befriend Angel.”
My mind drifted forward about a year, to the day when Angel found out about the arrangement I’d made with his uncle. We’d gotten close. I liked Angel. He was a good kid—smart and funny. Most weekends I stayed at his house, playing video games, working with his trainer, or running through his father’s family safety drills. No one questioned my almost constant presence. Then one afternoon we were in the swimming pool recovering from an especially grueling workout when Angel started asking me about my family’s finances. He’d noticed we were doing better and couldn’t understand why.
“Did your mom get a raise?” he asked in that open, direct way he’s always spoken to me.
“Not exactly.” I didn’t know what to say… how much I should tell him. Would he be pissed? I didn’t want to lose my best friend, and my family couldn’t afford to lose my paycheck.
Angel watched me. “What changed then?”
I respected him too much to lie, so I came clean. We both treaded water as I recounted what had transpired between me and his uncle the day I got suspended for breaking a kid’s arm. Angel listened, his face a mask as I admitted I’d been paid to befriend him.
When I was finished, he asked, “So Uncle Carlo pays you to hang out with me?”
“Yes. But I’d be your friend even if he didn’t.” I’d grown to really like Angel. He wasn’t like the other rich kids at the school. Sure, he was some geeky whiz-kid, but he was also a genuinely nice guy. He brought me food and helped me with my homework. His family was the most powerful in the city, but Angel was never cruel nor condescending. “You’ve become like a brother to me. If my job ended today, I’d still want us to be tight.”
He nodded. “And your family needs the money, so it all works out.”
“Yeah.”
“You had to do what you did to survive. I get it.” I’d expected him to be angry or hurt, but he looked almost relieved. He stretched backwards, floating on top of the water. “Besides, it could be worse.”
I gaped at him, wondering what could possibly be worse than finding out your best friend was being paid to hang out with you.
He cracked a smile. “One of the other families could be paying you.”
Angel had never had a friend before. Not a real one, anyway. Everyone in his life wanted something from him, so he’d assumed I did too. My family could suddenly pay our bills, so he was worried I was a traitor, probably selling information about him. That was the first time I got a full look at how screwed up his life really was. My family was dirt poor, but at least I had friends. None of them were like Angel, though.
“I didn’t even know what friendship was, until I met Angel,” I told Carlo. “He’s more of a brother to me than any of my blood and he’s leaving the protection of the family and going God-only-knows-where to do God-only-knows-what.”
“Angel’s made his decision,” Carlo said.
“Yeah, he has.” I lowered my voice. “But he’s still
family, and you know he’s not like us.”
Carlo raised an eyebrow at me.
“Don’t get me wrong, he’ll protect his broad and his job, and he’ll fight for whatever’s his, but he needs someone there who’s got his back.”
“And you want to be this person?” he asked.
I nodded.
“You’ll be off the payroll.”
“Yes sir. I have some money saved up, and I’ll be living with Angel. He’s already offered me a job.”
“But it won’t pay nearly as much. How do I know you’ll stick with him and not bounce the second you get a better offer?”
“If I was in this for the money, I’d be staying in Vegas.”
A waiter entered the room, water pitcher in hand. Carlo waited until he left to start in with more questions. “You’re prepared to leave your mom? Your brother?”
“They can always come visit us,” I replied.
He tapped the table a few times before leaning back in his seat. “Here’s what’s gonna happen. You’ll be allowed to leave the city with Angel, but only after you do one more job for me.”
He was going to let me leave. I’d be free… out of this place for good after I did just one more job. There was always one more. “Thank you, sir. What do you want me to do?”
“Find Joey Durante and do him up.”
This job, I’d been expecting. “Yes sir.”
“Oh, and Bones… this woman who’s after your girl… that’s your problem. She’s not after Angel. You better keep my nephew out of it, or you and me… we’re gonna have beef.”
I froze, taking in every clue Carlo gave me. After my girl, my problem, Angel wasn’t involved, keep him out of it or die. Sure, no problem.
Angel was tearing up my phone by the time I made it back to the Jeep. I returned his call and filled him in on my meeting with Carlo.
“How you gonna find Joey Durante?” he asked. “The Durantes have been underground for years. Hell, I didn’t even know any were still in Vegas.”
If only I wouldn’t have killed Matt. I could have put a tail on him and waited until he led me to his new boss. “I don’t know. Matt couldn’t have been his only dealer, though. There’s gotta be more out there, and I’ll get a line on one of them.”
“I’ll see if I can track down a digital footprint for any of the Durantes.”
“Thanks, Angel.”
“Hey, no problem. What are you gonna do about Ari?”
Now that I knew someone was after her to get to me, I couldn’t let her bus it and possibly get nabbed. I had to find a way to protect her. But since she currently hated me, I wasn’t sure how I’d accomplish that.
“Shit.”
“Flowers,” Angel suggested. “Here, wait a second. Markie wants to talk to you.”
“Hey, Bones,” Markie said. “If you want to get on my sister’s good side, don’t get her roses, okay? Get creative.”
“Creative. No sweat.” How the hell was I supposed to do that? “Any pointers?”
Markie giggled. “Walk into the floral shop and pick out something that makes you think of her, like lilies or orchids or something. Then talk to her. Be real with her, Bones. I know there’s a lot you can’t tell her, but she has to know she’s important. Here’s Angel.”
“You get all that?” Angel asked.
“Yeah, sure. Get the girl flowers so she’ll let me protect her and take out the bad guy. What could possibly go wrong?”
He chuckled. “Everything. Just be careful, okay?”
“When am I not?” I asked. Then I hung up before he could answer.
I didn’t have time to chat with Angel. Ariana would be getting off work soon, and apparently I had to buy her the perfect bouquet and spill my guts in order to save her life.
“No sweat,” I repeated to myself, but I was definitely sweating.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Ariana
I WAS IN the back of the restaurant trying to compose myself when Piper showed up. She handed me a tissue and said, “That’s the guy who’s been messing with your head? The ex?”
“No. We’re just… I don’t know. It’s complicated.” It seemed everything in my life was complicated apparently. “That’s not the ex. That’s the one I currently live with.”
“But you’re not dating?”
I wiped my eyes, blew my nose, and threw the mess away. It was time to get back to adulting. “Nope. See? Complicated.”
“Well, that explains why you’re interested in the room I have for rent.”
I started to protest. Yes, Bones was definitely part of it, but it was more about getting my independence back. Okay, it was about chasing down my dreams and leaving the asshole boys alone.
Piper held up a hand, silencing me. “Don’t get me wrong, he is fine. Something about a man in a suit. Mmm-mmm. Especially when you can tell he’s stacked beneath it. But I don’t care how hot he is, you gotta take care of you.”
I nodded, knowing she was right, but she hadn’t seen the other side of Bones like I had. She didn’t know the kind, sweet, loving Bones who still took care of his mom even though she’d basically sold him to the wolves so they could survive. A guy afraid of losing himself and falling over the edge into whatever the world wanted him to be. I understood that Bones. He was suffocating beneath the thick neck and bruised knuckles, and I wished I could get him air.
“Oh honey, men are assholes,” Piper said.
“They sure are.” And yet I couldn’t keep myself from hoping Bones was different. Even now.
Done airing my relationship laundry to Piper, I glanced in the mirror long enough to wipe away any smudged mascara before getting my butt back to work. The restaurant stayed busy for the last couple of hours of my shift. Thankful for the pace, I went on auto-pilot, bottling my confusing emotions so I could deal with them later.
My shift ended, and I clocked out and headed for the exit.
“You want a ride?” Piper asked before I reached the casino. “I can take you by my place so you can check out the room. Make sure it’s gonna work for you.”
My last apartment had been one safety hazard away from being condemned, so I was fairly certain I could live with whatever space Piper had to offer. I still hadn’t officially told her I’d take the room, but after today, I knew I would. I just needed some time alone to think. “Thanks, but not tonight. I’m dead on my feet. Can I give you a call tomorrow?”
“You’re not working? Oh, that’s right, it’s your birthday. Yeah, grab your phone.”
We swapped numbers and she made me promise to give her a call after her shift so she could take me out for a drink.
“I mean it, Ari. I don’t even care how late you call. We’re going for that drink.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling a little better. I’d committed to a birthday dinner I was now regretting since Bones would be there, but no matter how much it sucked, at least drinks with Piper promised to be a good time.
Piper took off, and I lingered inside the restaurant, hesitant to head home. A couple asked me for drink refills, and I knew it was time to bail before the manager put me back to work. I rounded the corner and found Bones, still dressed in his suit, holding the most unusual bouquet of orange and purple flowers I’d ever seen.
Deep down, I knew the smartest thing I could do was to turn and run the other direction. But then Bones met my gaze and gave me that crooked smile of his, shredding my resolve. I was nowhere near ready to forgive him, but I was curious enough to approach.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Funny story. I was walking through a flower shop, and I saw these and thought of you. The florist said the orange ones are called birds of paradise and the purple ones are tiger lilies. They’re beautiful and unique. Kinda like you.”
His words were like flint and steel on the dying embers of hope inside of me. Afraid to let him ignite this thing between us again, I stood back, my arms across my chest. “What were you doing in the flower shop, Bones?
”
He swallowed. “Thinking.”
“About…?”
“About that night on the mountain. About what you said… I’d keep you from your edge and you’d keep me from mine.” Something flickered in his gaze. It was like his mask slid off, revealing a young, vulnerable Bones beneath. “I know I haven’t been doing a very good job of it, but I need you. You still up for the task?”
How could I say no? How could I walk away from that? The tough badass I couldn’t get out of my head was asking for my help, and I’d have to be the biggest bitch in the world to deny him.
Tears stung my eyes as I nodded. “Yeah.”
We stood there staring at each other, each of us too afraid to move and wreck the moment. Finally, Bones asked, “You gonna take these? I feel kinda funny holding them.”
Laughter bubbled out of my throat and a tear ran down my cheek. I wiped it away and accepted the flowers. They were beautiful and unique, their fragrance sweet and alluring. More tears threatened to fall, but I blinked them away.
“Let’s go home,” Bones said, draping an arm over my shoulder. “We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. He led me to a blue and black Jeep Wrangler. The shiny chrome wheels alone were probably worth more than my entire wardrobe.
“Whose ride is this?” I asked when he opened the passenger door for me.
“Mine.”
I didn’t even know Bones had a car, and I was surprised he hadn’t showed this baby off. Leather seats, sunroof, tinted windows, buttons and controls for days, a stereo system that thumped. As if his looks and bulging muscles weren’t enough, this car would definitely get him laid.
“Do you like it?” he asked.
I nodded. “Is it new? Did you just get it?” It still had the new car smell.
“No. I’ve had it for a while, but we keep it stabled. Not many people know about it.”
“Ah. So this is your incognito ride. Your girl on the side?”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I guess you could say that.”
I began to wonder what Bones was up to today that he didn’t want to be spotted doing. Something told me it wasn’t buying flowers. My gaze drifted to his knuckles. I wanted to ask him, but knew he’d tell me when he was ready. “How’d it go? Did everything turn out okay?”
Breaking Bones (Mariani Crime Family #2) Page 14
