by Nicole Fox
I shook my head, still not able to wrap my brain around this whole idea. “I understand staying away from the law. And I know the Vincenzos are a real pain the ass. But it doesn’t make sense if we just roll over and play dead. Don’t you think the other family is going to take advantage of the fact that we’re in such a powerless position?” In my mind’s eye, I could see the Vincenzos overrunning the city. It was just the kind of thing we had been trying to avoid. “Besides, you’ve worked really hard to build the family up to what it is today.”
Big T patted me on the shoulder. “We won’t be powerless at all, my boy. We’ll have the law on our side—without paying them. Some of the money we lose will be made up for right there. And it isn’t as though the Vincenzos can try to make us buy protection for our own businesses. They’re stupid, but they aren’t that stupid!” He gave another round of roaring laughter at his own joke. “It’ll be perfect. I want each of you to have a plan for legitimizing the businesses you’re in charge of by next week. Then we can decide where to go from there.” He waved his hands, signaling his men to leave as they wished. He had said his piece, and he knew nobody would argue with him about it.
A few of the capos stuck around to talk to Tonio, but most of them filed back into the front of the bar to have a drink on the house. Their lives were about to become much easier, and I could see by the lift of their shoulders and the straightness of their backs that they were savoring the thoughts of their new lives.
That was it. This was his final word, and there was no changing the course of the future now. I gestured with my head toward Frankie, and he dutifully followed me out through the stock room and to the bar itself. I didn’t stop there, heading out onto the street as I pulled a cigarette from one pocket and a lighter from the other. I didn’t smoke much, but it seemed necessary at the moment.
“Can I bum one of those from you?” Frankie had been walking alongside me in silence, willing to wait until I was ready to talk. I didn’t have to tell him I was thinking things through and that I needed a minute. I didn’t have to tell him I was pissed. He was my best friend, and he just knew. He was a small man, short and narrow, but he had the eyes of a mischievous imp. I’d always liked that about him.
“They’re bad for your health,” I warned as I handed one over.
“Never stopped me before.” He lit it and took a deep puff, blowing smoke out into hot, summer air. “Besides, I gotta have something to do while I wait for you to talk. After a meeting like that, I imagine it might take all night.”
“Damn right,” I agreed, so angry inside I was seething. “Can you believe that shit? I’ve spent my whole life waiting for my turn to be Don, and then he tells me I’ll be stuck in middle management. I might as well quit it all right now and go flip burgers in some greasy joint.”
Frankie shrugged. “Maybe he won’t really do it,” he offered. “Big T always has big ideas, but he doesn’t follow through on all of them. He’s just getting older, and he’s tired of all the work.” He turned to watch a cute girl walk away down a side street.
“Then he should just hand over the reins and quit with the crazy schemes,” I barked, startling him into paying attention again. “Just what does he think we’re going to do with a shipping company and a laundromat and a Chinese restaurant? Is this what my life has come to? Deciding which shitty job I’ll take for the rest of my life?” My dreams had come crashing down around my shoulders in a matter of minutes. I didn’t know where to go from here.
“Give him a little time. Go talk to him in person, alone. I’m sure you can talk him out of it.” Frankie took another long drag and coughed. “Where’d you get these things, anyway? They’re terrible.”
“It keeps me from making too much of a habit of it. I know I’ve had my father’s ear before. He’s been willing to listen to me, even if it’s just to see how I will handle things when I take over. But this is different. I just have a feeling about it. He means it, and he doesn’t want to hear any objections.” I studied the city around me as we walked. It was always so intriguing at night, with the bright lights and the dark shadows. The tall buildings could make a man dizzy if he stared up at them too long, wondering who was inside and what they were doing. No matter what time of day it was, everybody had some place to go. They walked with purpose or hailed cabs with determination. I loved this city, and I had thought I would own a piece of it someday.
Frankie gave a soft laugh, an indication that he was thinking. He made a surprisingly good capo, even though he had a terrible poker face. “You could just start up your own syndicate. I don’t see how your pop can stop you from doing that, especially if he wants to get out of the business so bad.”
“He’d know about it in an instant, and he has too many eyes everywhere. He’d either be so happy that he wouldn’t stop giving me advice, or he’d have me whacked. There’s no in-between with that man.” I threw the cigarette butt on the sidewalk and ground it with the heel of my shoe. It joined numerous other butts and splatters of gum that clung to the concrete. It was a dirty city when you looked closely enough.
“You’ll figure it out, Ciro. You always do. And you’ll come out on top, because you always do that too. Why do you think I’ve stuck with you all these years?” He waggled his eyebrows at me.
I gave him a friendly punch in the arm. “It wasn’t because I was good at telling jokes, that’s for sure.”
Chapter Four
Ciro
There were invoices all over my desk. It was part of the new protocol that my father had arranged for the shipping company I ran. Now, there were no miscellaneous boxes full of illegal weapons that we marked as peanut butter or pencil cases. They were actually full of the items listed on the outside of the crate, and it was my job to make sure everything was right. There was nothing more boring than paperwork, and I turned to the small window in my office.
Outside, my men were loading the boxes from a barge to a truck. They worked steadily, joking with each other between loads or pausing for a drink of soda. I hadn’t said much to them about this whole new business plan. I didn’t want it to take the wind out of their sails like it had mine. But I knew it wouldn’t change their lives—not really. In a lot of ways, it would only be easier on them. They would be working authentic jobs with regular hours, and they would never need to worry about cops or inspectors showing up. I envied them, not because they were so normal, but because they had so little to worry about.
Frustrated and cagey, I stepped outside. The sea breeze whipped through my hair, and the boards of the dock thumped under my feet. The salty air filled my lungs and sent a tang across my tongue. I stood still, leaning against the corner of the little building that housed my office, and just listened to the sound of the men working. It would still sound the same once everything was legal. There would still be supplies to be loaded, unloaded, stacked, and inventoried. I would keep the same employees (as long as they didn’t go running off to Vincenzo). My office would still be here, and it would still look drab and boring. But it would be drab and boring because it actually was, not because I needed it to seem that way in case the inspectors came by. And it would all sound the same, but it would be completely different. I hated it.
“Hey, Ciro.”
The cold voice at my shoulder made me open my eyes and turn my head, though I did it reluctantly. Most of my workers knew better than to disturb me unless there was an emergency. I wasn’t the most sociable guy out there, and I liked it that way.
I instantly recognized the hollow eyes of Joe Pitera. “What’s up, Joe?”
He put his hand on his hip and tipped his head back. He was trying to look down his nose at me, but I was still taller than he was. Joe was such an ass. “I need to talk to you in private.”
“You can say whatever you need out here. Nothing’s that important.” I leaned my head on the building once again and stared out at the sea, not interested in anything this creep had to tell me. It made sense to go inside, considering he was a crooked c
op on our payroll. That much hadn’t changed yet. But if the Santoras had to be lawful, then the police should have to be as well.
“I think you’ll change your mind when you hear what I have to say.” His teeth ground together, and his eyebrows came down to hood those sunken eyes. “Trust me. It’s a very private matter.”
I sighed. “Fine. Come on.” I yanked open the door to the building and went down the short hallway to my office, closing the door behind us. “Lay it on me, Joe. But just so you know, I’ve got plenty on my mind right now. I don’t have the time to deal with any bullshit.” I plopped down in my chair, put my hands behind my head, and leaned back.
Instead of taking the ratty chair, Joe pressed his palms against the front edge of the desk. “You remember my son, Christopher?”
Searching the back of my mind, I vaguely remembered that he had a boy. Joe used to bring his wife around to all the parties for a while, but he pulled back once he became a father. It was a sensible decision, but it had put them far from my thoughts for a long time. “Yeah. Sort of.”
The cop gave a snort of a laugh. “He’s five years old now. You know that?”
“Get to the point, Joe. Is he selling stuff to raise money for Boy Scouts or something? I’ll buy it. You don’t have to go through the whole spiel.” I opened the top left drawer of my desk, pulled out a checkbook, and slapped it on the desk. It would be a nice start toward that “legitimate” business my father wanted so badly.
“Oh, no, Ciro. This is nothing so simple. You see, the boy is getting a little older now. He’s losing his baby fat. His face is changing. If you look closely, you can see bits and pieces of the man he’s going to become. And that man, interestingly enough, looks just like you.” He pointed a finger straight at my chest, curling his thin face into a snarl.
My blood pounded, making the vein on my neck throb. That was impossible. Five years old? Had it really been that long since I’d seen Sophia? “That’s ridiculous, Joe. Your extortion attempts won’t work on me.”
“Extortion? No, I’m not sure money would make it right. I’m not sure anything would make it right, considering you slept with my wife and I’ve been raising your son as my own. That’s a big piece of my life that you just marched in and stole, Ciro.” His gaunt face was furious.
I racked my mind for information. The affairs of my employees or any government officials who worked with the Santoras weren’t my expertise. Bruno handled most of that shit. But there was a small spark of memory, and his bare left hand only confirmed it. “Aren’t you two divorced now?”
“That’s not the point!” Joe picked up his hands and slammed them down on the desk. “Don’t you see what’s going on here? You slept with my wife, Ciro. We might not be married now, but we sure as hell were back then.”
“Calm down, Joe. Don’t you think I would claim it if I had done such a thing?” I spread my hands wide and carelessly. “I’m not the kind of man who hides from the truth. I’ve slept with plenty of women and a decent amount of them were married. That doesn’t mean Sophia was one of them.”
When was the last time I’d said her name out loud? Probably not since that night I had whispered it as I ran my hands down her body. The party had been a large one, celebrating some success of my father’s that I could no longer remember. I could have had my choice of plenty of women that night, but my eyes had landed on Sophia. She had that long hair the color of dark honey and those wide eyes that tipped up slightly at the corners, and I knew I had to have her. The ring on her finger didn’t matter any more to her than it did to me. I wanted her, and she needed me.
“Trust me. She tries to tell me the same thing. I’d always had this feeling that she had a crush on you or something, but I ignored it. It seemed so impossible. But now I can see your face every time I look at my son, and I know.” He pulled his cell phone from his pocket, flicked his fingers across the screen, and turned it around to show me. “Take a look at that little boy, and deny that he’s your blood.”
My heart stopped. I was looking at a picture of myself as a child. Substitute the ratty couch in the background for a plush sofa in my father’s mansion, then get rid of this kid’s Goodwill clothing and dress him in the best toddler outfits money can buy, and it was me all over. I kept my face carefully neutral. I couldn’t give myself away.
I would gladly claim what I had done to this man’s wife just to get under his skin. I’d never liked Joe, and I wouldn’t blame any woman who was with him for sleeping around. But there was Sophia to think about, and now this little boy. She was wonderful, beautiful, soft, and sweet. And I had a kid. I didn’t know how I was going to do it yet, but I had to protect them.
“He’s a cute kid, Joe. There’s no denying that. But he looks like any other five-year-old out at the park. It sounds to me like you’re looking for some excuse not to pay child support and that’s not my business.” I picked up several of the invoices and tapped them into a neat pile.
His hand shook around the phone as he put it away. “You’re delusional, Ciro. You think you can just get away with everything because of who your father is. But your reign is over.” His face was turning red as he spoke.
I knew Joe thought he was being intimidating, but it only made me want to laugh. I wasn’t afraid of him. I wasn’t afraid of anybody, but certainly not some crooked cop who couldn’t keep his wife in his own bed. “Really? Let’s pretend for a second that I did sleep with Sophia. And I’m sure it would have been fantastic. Just what do you think you’re going to do to me, Joe? I do get away with things because I hold power in this city. Far more power than some piddly officer.”
The cop’s hand clenched and unclenched helplessly at his sides. If this had been anyone else’s office, he might have swept all the papers off the desk or knocked over the lamp, but he knew he wouldn’t get away with that here. “First of all, I’m done with the Santoras.”
“Oh, I’m so scared.” I held up my hands, palms out, and shook them. “I’ve got news for you. We’re done with you, too. We don’t need you anymore. I’m sure my father had a nice severance package planned for you, because he’s like that, but I’m happy to pass along that you’ve already declined it.” I smiled. No matter what Joe said, money was the one thing that kept him going. He would go home that night and imagine how big his payoff might have been.
That finger was pointing at my chest again. “Don’t forget that I have a lot of information on your family. I know about all your fake companies and the real business that happens in the back room. I know about all the people you’ve had killed, and I know where to find you and everyone else in the family. You think you’re powerful, but I’m dangerous. I can bring your entire family down on your knees.”
“I bet Sophia looks nice down on her knees. Oh, but of course you wouldn’t know.” I couldn’t resist needling him some more. I knew I shouldn’t, if only for Sophia’s sake, but the bastard deserved it. And no matter how many threats he spit at me, I wasn’t about to give in. Admitting what I had done with her would only make him want to hurt me more. “And don’t forget who you’re blackmailing and what role you’ve had in all this. You’re an officer of the law. If you run to your chief, don’t you think he’s going to wonder why you didn’t say anything sooner? And weren’t you the one who killed some of those people for us? And isn’t it interesting that we also know where you live?” I smiled and waggled my finger at him. “The Santoras don’t do anything lightly, Joe. We wouldn’t have hired you without ensuring some recourse on our part.”
“You just wait, you bastard. I’m going to prove what you’ve done, and I’m going to prove that you fucked my wife.”
“Are you sure?” I asked, eyebrows raised. “You want to prove to the world that you weren’t man enough for Sophia?”
He launched himself over the desk, his fists flying. I caught him easily by the wrists and shoved him back onto his feet. Without letting go, I came around the desk and yanked his arms around behind his back. We made our way back
to the front door of the building, where I pulled him close. “I’m going to let you get away with that this time, Joe. Not because I’m nice and not because I like you. I’m not and I don’t. But I don’t feel like dealing with you right now. Just know that you won’t get another chance. Get out of my life, and don’t show your ugly mug around here again.” I opened the door and shoved him out. He tripped slightly on the threshold and shot me a dirty look over his shoulder before straightening up and making his way casually to his car, as though nothing had happened.
Bastard. I was going to have to find some way to fix this.
Chapter Five
Sophia
I’d just finished the morning shift at the diner. I was tired, but I was happy to have the rest of the day off to spend with Christopher. “I think we’re going to clean your room today,” I announced as I served him a snack at the table. “And we can take a walk down to the laundromat and make sure all your clothes are clean.” It wouldn’t sound like much to anyone else, but Christopher was always a good helper, and he liked to watch the soapy clothes spin in the washer.
