Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2)

by E. J. Fechenda

“What did I interrupt back there?” Victor asked once the door was closed behind us and I noticed he was back to being his more relaxed self.

  “They think you and I are together and they wanted details.”

  “Really?” He laughed and shook his head.

  “Oh, yeah, I’m serious. One of them said, and I quote: ‘We’ve been trying to get a piece of that action for years.’”

  “Man, that shit’s not right. Sorry you had to go through that.”

  I shrugged, I’d been through worse situations. “Is it a big secret about who I am, is that why Gio introduced me as being with you?”

  “Yeah, only Jimmy and I know about the arrangement, and the capos, of course, but Gio’s keeping it quiet until everything is done.”

  “That makes sense.”

  “So do you want to have some fun with those women?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Pretend we’re together and give them a show.”

  I crossed my arms over my breasts and felt myself retreat inwards. While it would be fun, putting on a show meant kissing and I wasn’t interested in Victor that way. I glanced over my shoulder and could see the wives sitting on the sofa cackling away.

  “Fuck it, let’s do this.” Grabbing his hand, I pulled Victor along behind me and we went back inside. “Come on baby, I’m hungry,” I said to him, just loud enough for “the wives” to hear me. I pouted and tugging on the two front belt loops of his jeans, yanked him closer. He smirked before leaning down to kiss me. I fought the urge to turn away. Victor’s mouth covered mine with lips that were surprisingly soft. He wrapped an arm around my waist, his hand found its way beneath my sweater. It was warm against the small of my back as he pressed me against his hips, before slipping his tongue into my mouth. My body tensed the moment he passed that barrier and I released his belt loops. Victor broke off the kiss and, resting his forehead against mine whispered, “I can tell you’re not into this, but I think we gave them enough for their fantasies.”

  I laughed at his last statement and the tension eased. Keeping his arm around my waist, we walked out of the room and into the kitchen. As soon as we were out of the wives’ sight, he removed his arm and I stepped away.

  “Here, you said you were hungry.” He tossed me a garlic knot. There were three baskets full of them on the counter.

  “You’re such an attentive boyfriend,” I said before inhaling half of the buttery roll.

  Victor laughed and grabbed a beer from the fridge. “Want one?” he asked and I nodded since my mouth was full. Just like that any awkwardness was gone and the rest of the night was spent by Victor’s side, even when we sat down on chairs with maroon velvet cushions for dinner around an enormous dark wood table with the most ornately carved feet I’d ever seen. There were twenty-five of us at the table and another table the same length, but not as elaborate, was set up on the patio for the kids. Caterers buzzed around serving us prime rib and lasagna. There was also turkey, broccoli rabe, stuffed shells, antipasto and an endless supply of garlic knots.

  Victor remained relaxed even with Gio in the room, but maybe that’s because we were at opposite ends of the table. Wine was poured and toasts were made. Before I knew it, the table was being cleared and it was time to leave. Gio and Samantha stood by the door, a two person receiving line, to see their guests out. When Victor and I stepped up to say goodbye, Gio once again kissed the back of my hand.

  “I’m sure we’ll be seeing you again,” he said.

  “Thank you for dinner, it was delicious.” It was too and I was glad I had gone for a run earlier after the carb load I’d just inhaled. Samantha nodded at me coolly when I thanked her. And that was it, Victor and I walked through the now empty courtyard, only embers remained in the chiminea. The front gate was locked, but Victor had a key and he let us out. A handful of cars were left in the driveway with Victor’s being the last.

  I waited until we were on the road heading back before asking Victor all the questions I had been storing up over the evening. Most of the guests at Gio’s were family, not that they were all related, but Gio’s capos were there with their families and Jimmy had his mom there, but Victor was like a lone wolf in his pack.

  “Hey Victor?”

  “Yeah?” he responded, not taking his eyes off of the dark, winding road.

  “Is your family out of state or something? Why aren’t you spending Christmas with them?”

  It was like I flipped a switch with that question as Victor’s face shut down. The emotionless mask was back on, except by the way he was gripping the steering wheel, I knew he was feeling something.

  “I’m sorry. It’s none of my business. Forget I asked.”

  He exhaled and loosened his grip. “It’s a long story.”

  The car filled with silence with the exception of the radio turned down low, Demons by Imagine Dragons played in the background.

  “My dad’s in prison. He’s ten years into a thirty year sentence for murder. I was sixteen when he got arrested. Basically, he had just taken somebody out and was leaving the scene, when his car got t-boned. He still had the gun on him.”

  I didn’t say anything, letting Victor continue. “Gio and my dad were tight and this happened before Gio became Don. Anyway, after the sentencing, my mom wanted to leave California – start over fresh. During the trial, Gio was there for me. I mean, I had a lot of shit going on in my head then. I refused to leave with my mom, but that didn’t stop her. She took my three sisters and moved to Florida. I stayed behind and Gio looked out for me. He gave me the loan to start my tattoo shop.”

  “Wow. I don’t know what to say.”

  “You don’t have to say anything. It is what it is.”

  “So why are you so serious around Gio? It’s like you’re a completely different person around him.”

  “I owe him my life and act that way out of respect.”

  “Okay, I think I understand. Thanks for telling me.”

  I was so focused on Victor’s story I didn’t realize we were pulling up to the gate for my apartment complex. Victor entered the code and the gate slid open. We parked and I opened the door.

  “Thanks Victor, I had fun tonight.”

  “Me too, especially messing with the women.”

  “Yeah, they weren’t the friendliest.”

  “That’s because you’re young, beautiful and they see you as a threat. If they could, they’d drain your essence dry like a bunch of vampires. This life as made them hard and it shows on their faces.”

  ‘And out here Botox is the new black,” I added, making Victor laugh. “Actually it’s like that in Philly too.”

  Victor walked me to the door and did a quick security check of my apartment before leaving me alone. For my first Christmas truly on my own, it wasn’t that bad. I slid the gun case out from underneath the futon and opened it. Lifting the gun out from the foam padding, I held it for a few minutes. The cool metal eventually warmed in my palm and it didn’t feel so foreign. I was going to learn how to shoot and felt the beginnings of empowerment settle in my soul. In the past I’d been practically defenseless and I never wanted to be in that situation again.

  Chapter 26

  Sun peeked through the horizontal blinds in Chelsea’s room at just the right angle to penetrate my eyelids, forcing me awake. I groaned and flipped over, but just as I dozed off, the alarm started blaring, making me jump. I smacked it, immediately silencing the beeping and laid there, on my back, staring at the ceiling. Aside from the muffled murmur of a television coming up from the apartment below and the low hum of traffic on the freeway located a couple blocks away, it was quiet in the apartment. In Philly there was always a car alarm going off somewhere or the wail of sirens. Snuggled up in the warm confines of the comforter, my eyelids started to close until I remembered Victor was coming to get me to go shooting and this was the only reason why I set the alarm in the first place.

  Excitement got my body moving and I took a quick shower then pulled on jeans and
a long sleeved t-shirt. I was pouring coffee into a portable mug when Victor knocked on the door. My gun case was on the counter next to my bag and Victor grabbed the case before we headed out.

  Instead of his Harley or Audi, Victor opened the door to a dark blue Ford F150 pick-up truck.

  “Do you have a car for every day of the week?” I asked as I stepped up on the chrome running boards to climb in.

  “Hey, I like my toys.” He emphasized this by gunning the engine and peeling out of the parking lot. He hopped on 405 and we were heading into east into the foothills.

  “Where are we going?”

  “I rented us a private range at this place.”

  “You can rent a range like for weddings and birthdays?”

  Victor laughed and shook his head. “A shotgun wedding, maybe.”

  “Ha, touché!” I eased back in the passenger seat, propping my feet up on the dash.

  “I prefer renting a range. We don’t need people knowing our business and the owners are discreet.”

  The freeway stretched out ahead of us and was fairly traffic free once we got outside of the more developed areas. Neighborhoods turned into homes built far apart from each other and into farm land. Signs of civilization had become pretty scarce by the time we arrived at the shooting range, which had fencing surrounding it making it look more like a cattle ranch. Dust billowed out behind the truck when Victor turned onto the dirt driveway. It must have been another mile along the rutted road until a building came into view. Out in the distance, metal glinted against the brown craggy hills dotted with fading green scrub brush.

  I stepped out of the truck into a strong wind, instantly getting sandblasted. Particles stuck to my freshly applied lip gloss and I sputtered, trying to remove the grit. Grabbing a hair tie from my bag, I pulled my hair back so it wouldn’t be wrapped around my face. That wouldn’t help my aim at all.

  Victor watched all this, his lips twitching with an amused smirk. “Are you ready, Princess?” He started walking toward the building, which reminded me of a ski lodge in the Poconos where I went skiing once. With the large wooden logs, it blended into the natural environment. Gun shots carried on the wind and I couldn’t help but flinch every time I heard a shot. Picking up my pace, I caught up to Victor.

  Inside was brightly lit and a large counter, which was a large glass display case full of fire arm accessories like ear and eye protection, ran the length of the room. A register was on the right and various banners for gun and ammo companies blanketed the wall behind the counter.

  An older man greeted Victor like they were long lost buddies and quickly checked us in. He looked over our hand guns, set extra ammunition on the counter then handed me foam plugs for my ears and large clear safety glasses.

  “You know where you’re going Victor, so I’ll save a map.” They shook hands and Victor thanked him.

  We climbed back into Victor’s truck and he drove down a narrow road, which wasn’t much wider than a path. As we got closer to our range I realized the metal I saw glinting on the hillside were targets. Some were traditional bull’s-eye, but a lot were shaped like animals. The truck came to a stop in front of a chain-link fence that had bright yellow warning signs about live ammo being fired beyond that point. We grabbed our gear and went through the gate.

  Victor started me out at a beginner’s target level that had a distance of 25-feet. He showed me how to load bullets into my gun, check the safety and how to hold my shoulders and not hyperextend my arms as a way to better absorb any recoil after pulling the trigger. I remembered how surprised I was when I first fired a gun at Genovese’s men. My first shot went wild and took out a row home window. So, this time around I was better prepared and actually hit my target on the first attempt, impressing Victor.

  “Princess, you’re a natural.” So of course I got overconfident and missed my next shot, but after that I kept my focus and felt pretty good every time I heard a bullet ping when it made contact with the metal.

  We spent two hours at the range and by the time we were done, my ears were ringing a little bit, despite the ear plugs and my arms were tired from holding my gun. We left the range and as we were driving back down the bumpy road, Victor reached behind my seat. I turned to see what he was reaching for and he handed me a bottle of water, which I gratefully accepted. I was pretty thirsty after being windblown and in the sun for so long.

  As soon as we re-entered civilization, Victor’s cell phone rang like it was signaling our return. He answered, keeping one hand on the steering wheel. I wasn’t listening in until his voice got slightly louder when he said, “Yeah, she’s with me now. I’ll tell her.” He hung up with a sigh and cast a sideways glance.

  “What’s going on?”

  “That was Gio. Marco just called in a favor. He’s learned you’re here and basically handed you over to Gio gift wrapped. Marco wants us to take you out.”

  I ran clammy palms against my jeans while licking suddenly dry lips. A roaring filled my head and my ears felt hot as tiny dots danced in front of my vision. “Shit,” I said. “What did Gio tell him?”

  “He said he would look into it and to give him until after New Year’s. Dom and Grant’s deadline just got moved up.”

  “I need to let Grant know,” I pulled my cell phone out of my bag and dialed the number he had called me from on Christmas, but I got a recording that the number wasn’t in service. “Damn it! You’re going to have to get in touch with one of them somehow.”

  “Relax, Princess, I’ll handle it.”

  I was immersed in memories after that, staring vacantly out of the passenger side window; not seeing the buildings we passed, but the barrel of a gun. My shoulder developed a phantom ache at the memory of the bullet passing through muscle and tissue. It wasn’t until the truck’s engine shut off that I realized we were parked in front of my apartment building. I gathered up my stuff and started to get out when Victor circled my wrist with his right hand, preventing me from leaving.

  “You’re not going anywhere Princess, not until you tell me what happened in Philly. Dom said you saved his life. I know there’s a story behind that.”

  I sat there, staring straight ahead, tension seeping in. My shoulders and stomach were competing for most number of knots. “Long story short, Marco is not a good person. He hurt me and one of my friends. Dom was shot twice during a drive-by and became incapacitated. I killed the man responsible using Dom’s gun.” I turned and looked Victor in his eyes. “I took someone’s life and it’s really fucked me up.”

  “The first kill is always the hardest,” he said. “But it sounds like you had no choice. If you hadn’t, would you be alive today?”

  “Probably not.”

  “You did what you needed to survive and to protect someone you love. That’s how I see it.”

  Victor was right and while I still harbored guilt over killing a man, I knew it very well could have been me or Dominic with a bullet in our head. I needed to let it go and move forward. After inhaling and exhaling deeply, I smiled at Victor. “Thanks for the pep talk.” Opening the truck door, I hopped down to the asphalt and started up the walkway with Victor right behind me. When I reached the stairs, I heard someone coming down, so I glanced up to see Jason.

  “Hey, what are you doing here? I thought you were in Sonoma until tomorrow?” I called out to him. Jason met me at the base of the stairs and pulled me into a hug. My arms were full and basically crushed in between our chests.

  “One of my dad’s clients got arrested so he had to come back. I was just coming by to check on you. Did you get my voicemail?” He stood in front of me with his hands in his jean pockets.

  “No.” I frowned and handed my gun case to Victor so I could dig around my bag, locating my phone in one of the side pockets. I noticed the little red notification indicating I had a voicemail, something I’d completely overlooked when I tried to call Grant. “Oh, sorry I didn’t see that I had a message.”

  “I was wondering if you wanted to han
g out – grab dinner and maybe watch a movie.” Jason looked over at Victor and then back at me, “Unless you have other plans?”

  “That sounds great. Victor was just dropping me off.” I started climbing the stairs, fishing my keys out of my bag. Victor took them out of my hand and opened the door, going in first in all business mode; serious expression and guarded movements as he searched the apartment for any hidden dangers, which there were none of.

  “Victor, Marco gave Gio until after the holidays. It’s too soon to be wary.”

  “Unless Marco contacted someone else to get the job done before the New Year.”

  Crap. I hadn’t thought of that. With this new possibility, I sunk down on the futon.

  “Wait, what’s going on?” Jason asked. He crossed his arms over this chest, stretching the fabric of his white t-shirt.

  “Marco knows I’m in L.A.” I said, surprising myself with how calm I sounded.

  “Jesus Christ,” Jason sat down next to me and took my hand in his. “Are you okay?”

  “You know what? I am. I just want this to be over. I’m tired of being scared and in hiding. If Marco wants me dead, I’m not going out without a fight.”

  Both Victor and Jason stared at me like I was on horseback, wearing a kilt and had blue paint smeared on my face, but then Victor grinned.

  “Oh the confidence of owning a gun has gone right to your head,” he said with a laugh.

  “Nat, you own a gun?”

  “Yes, I do now. Victor got me one for Christmas.” I stood up and grabbed my gun case off of the counter. I sat back down on the futon and set the case on the coffee table before popping it open. I lifted the piece out to show Jason and he leaned away, eyeing it warily. “It’s not loaded,” I assured him with a laugh, realizing I sounded like Victor when he was reassuring me just the day before. Maybe Victor was right and the empowerment had gone to my head.

  “Can I talk to you?” Jason glanced at Victor. “Alone?”

  After setting the gun back on its foam padding in the case, Jason followed me down the hallway to Chelsea’s room. He closed the door as I turned around to face him. He moved forward, closing the gap between us, until he was close enough for me to feel his body heat. He looked down at me and his blue eyes seemed even brighter than usual. “What is it Jason?”