Grant stayed out in the hall to stand guard. I nodded at him before closing the door hard enough to make a sound.
“What the fuck?” Marco flew off the bed, his dick stuck out at me from underneath his rolls. “What are you doing here, Dom?”
“Allegra, go. You don’t need to see this. Thanks for your help.”
She nodded, her eyes wide, quickly grabbing her dress and bag off of the floor with shaky hands, then bolted out the door.
“Did that bitch tell you I was here?” Marco sputtered, his jowls shaking.
“Yeah, and Paulie let me know when you dropped off Aunt Paulina.” His eyes narrowed with this information.
I pointed my gun at him and he started laughing. “You think you’re going to kill me?” Uncle Marco took a step backwards, towards the window where his clothes were on the floor, his gun on top of the pile.
“You can try to make it, Marco, but guaranteed you’ll be dead before you reach your gun.” He stopped moving and looked at me, nervously licking his lips.
“You don’t have the fucking balls.”
“Balls? That’s a good place to start.” I lowered my aim to his shrinking dick and pulled the trigger.
With a howl, Marco dropped to his knees, holding his crotch. Blood ran down his hands and started to pool on the floor. I walked up to him and placed the gun against his forehead that was now shiny with a layer of sweat. His howling quieted to whimpers as he stared up at me. “Why Dom? After all I’ve done for you.”
“For me? You haven’t done shit for me except try to control my every move. You hurt your wife, your kids and everyone around you with your selfishness. Plus, you’ve been making bad decisions, which are getting people killed. How does it feel knowing your own son and daughter want you dead?”
“You’re lying!”
“No, I’m not.”
“You’re doing this for that cunt, aren’t you?” he said, wincing when I ground the barrel of my gun into his skin.
“Do you mean Natalie?”
“Yes,” he answered and groaned, holding onto the shredded remains of his manhood.
“The reasons why are numerous, but the fact that your death cancels the hit you put out on Natalie is reason enough for me to kill you.’
“Wait, Dom, we can work something out.” He held up a blood soaked hand as he pleaded.
“Fuck you, Marco.”
I pulled the trigger.
***
Allegra was in the hallway with Grant when I left the room. “Is it done?” Grant asked.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Our gunshots weren’t heard over the people partying in the bar and Sam stood as stony faced as ever by the front door when we walked down the stairs. I paused in front of Sam before we left The Speak. “Remember you saw me and Grant. It will be important later.”
“Huh?” Sam’s face wrinkled up in confusion as he watched us leave.
Allegra was shivering by the time we reached the street corner, so I handed her my jacket. She wrapped herself up in the warmth and sighed. “I’m glad you guys showed up when you did. I don’t know how long I could have stalled,” she said once we started walking again.
“I’m sorry you had to go as far as you did, but it’s definitely appreciated.”
“After what he let happen to Brittany and Nat, I don’t mind.” She hugged my jacket closer to her body as we hurried to Grant’s car. “What happens now?” she asked.
“We’ll drop you off at home and then we’ll deal with the shit storm we just created.”
Minutes later we pulled up in front of Allegra’s row home and she climbed out, taking my jacket off and handing it to me. “Thanks, you guys be safe.”
Once she was inside, Grant pulled out onto the narrow street. “Call Gio and let him know it’s done,” he said. “The sooner he knows the better.”
“Right.” I dialed Gio’s mobile number, but it went right to voicemail, forcing me to leave a message. “Hey it’s Philly; our business deal went through tonight.” I disconnected the call and leaned my head back against the headrest, letting out a deep breath of relief. It was done. Once news of Marco’s death spread, the mark on Natalie would end, but we still had damage control to deal with.
Chapter 28
Even though it was New Year’s Eve, the streets were empty except for a few cabs and the occasional drunk who didn’t care that it was cold enough to snow. Grant navigated down a narrow side street around the corner from my parent’s house and parked. We waited a few minutes for Dante and Miranda to arrive. Since my dad was underboss to Marco, basically like the Vice President to the President, he was next in line to be Don. That wasn’t going to happen. He’d either be joining his brother in death tonight or retiring peacefully. I hoped for the latter.
Usually my parents were in bed by two in the morning on New Year’s Eve and always have been for as long as I can remember. When we walked up and saw lights on in all the windows on the first floor, I had a hunch that news of Marco’s demise had been delivered. Eva’s bedroom was dark, but I knew she was spending the night at her friend Cynthia’s house.
Paulie, Johnny and Anthony were walking down the sidewalk and we waited until they joined us outside the front door. Anthony handed me his house key and I opened the door.
My dad was in the hallway shrugging on his black wool dress coat. My mom stood behind him, hugging her pink satin robe closed. Her hair was scrunched up on one side from sleeping and her face was pale with all of the make-up washed off.
They both jumped and turned when they heard the front door open. I saw my dad reach for his gun, momentarily relaxing when he saw me in the doorway, but then a combination of anger and grief rippled across his face.
“What have you done, Dom?” he yelled, charging forward and grabbing me by the shoulders, shaking me. “Is it true – did you kill Marco?” It was like he was pleading with me to deny it.
“Yeah, I killed him.”
“Why?”
“Oh it’s obvious, Rico,” my mom said, stepping forward. “He found out about the hit on Natalie.
She turned to me, “Am I right?”
“That’s not the only reason, but a big factor, yeah,” I paused. “Wait a minute, you knew about that?”
“Yes. I overheard your dad and Uncle Marco talking about it…” She started to say something else, but I cut her off.
“You fucking knew? Both of you?” I turned back to my dad. “Why didn’t you say anything, or try to stop Marco?”
“Of course I fucking tried to talk him out of it, but he didn’t listen. Do you think I wanted Natalie dead? She saved your life.”
We were in each other’s faces now, but I towered over my dad by a good three inches and made sure to use every inch to an intimidating advantage.
“Dominic, stop it!” My mom tried to wedge herself between us. “Natalie told me she wanted out. She already had it all planned. Knowing about the hit, I thought it best to help her leave.”
“Jesus Christ, is there anything fucking else I need to know? Any other secrets you’re keeping from me?” I paced across the living room, rage and betrayal boiling in my blood, demanding release. With a roar, I punched a wall, cracking the plaster and sending a flurry of paint chips to the hardwood floor. My knuckles were scraped and bleeding when I pulled my hand away. They’d probably be swollen and hurt like hell later, but I savored the little bit of pain I was feeling at that moment.
“Dom, calm down, bro. We need to focus on what we came here to do.” Grant had appeared at my side and talked low in my ear.
“Right, thanks.” I took some calming breaths, harnessing the rage, and faced my dad again.
He was silent and watching my every move. My mom hovered behind him peering out past his shoulder. When my gaze settled on her she shrunk back.
“Are you here to kill me too, son?”
“If it comes to that, I’m prepared to. We’ve already discussed it,” I gestured to Miranda and the others. “Miranda�
��s in agreement too.”
“What about you, Anthony?” My dad asked, but Anthony couldn’t meet his eyes. He shrugged and looked away, but not before I saw the anguish on his face.
“Dad, you know Marco wasn’t running things right. He was greedy, selfish and paranoid, a bad combination for leading our organization. Do you agree?”
“He was ruthless and made the tough decisions, though, Dom and we never wanted for nothin’.”
“We can still have money without the side of crazy, but you need to step down. I’m going to be in charge.”
“That’s bullshit!” My dad drew his weapon and pointed it at me the same time I drew on him.
“No!” my mom shrieked and tried to move in the middle between us, but Grant held her back with one arm while she kicked and screamed, struggling to break free. “Don’t do this, we’re family!” she cried.
“Can you be ruthless, Dom?” my dad asked.
“Why don’t you ask Uncle Marco that, he’ll give me a great recommendation.” I moved my finger over the trigger, very aware of my mom and brother watching. Anthony hadn’t tried to interfere and my mom’s struggling had slowed. She hung limp, defeated; practically folded over Grant’s arm.
My dad and I stared at each other, our guns unwavering. Minutes passed by in a standoff I never imagined possible. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his weapon.
“What do you want?” he asked. “I’ll do it.”
I nodded at Grant at he released my mom, who collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. Anthony sat down next to her and gave her a hug. She clung to him, his fleece pullover absorbing her tears. “It’s over, Mom,” he said in a soothing voice, helping her stand. They walked over to the black leather sofa in the living room.
“As of now, you’re retired. You’re going to step aside as underboss and just run your construction business.”
“That’s it?”
“No. You’re coming with us when we go tell Uncle Al the same thing. You will support us.”
“Okay.” He signaled his compliance by holstering his gun.
And just like that, I became the boss of the Philly Mob.
Chapter 29
LOS ANGELES
NATALIE
Dirty was slammed and I was so glad I’d long ago mastered the art of squeezing through groups of drunk people without spilling a single drink otherwise I’d smell like a distillery. A DJ was set-up on the stage usually occupied by local bands and dance music blared through the sound system. It was almost midnight and the New Year’s Eve party was in full swing. We were so busy that Callie was in the kitchen helping to keep the buffet station of hors d’oeuvres replenished.
It was on a trip up to the bar to get more drink orders filled when I saw Victor walk in. He easily moved through the crowd and walked up to me.
“Hey, I thought you had the night off,” I shouted over the music.
“I do, but wanted you to know…that Marco is done.”
“Wait, what?”
Victor pulled me closer and whispered in my ear, “Marco is dead.”
I gasped and took a step back, colliding into a woman walking past. She glared at me, but kept going. “I hope you’re not joking,” I said.
“It’s done. I thought you’d want to know right away.” He kissed me on the cheek. “Happy New Year, I’ll see you around.” Victor turned and left. I stood there, stunned into temporary paralysis. Marco was dead. I was safe. Relief hit with a sense of euphoria and I practically floated to the bar. Jason looked up at me and smiled.
“What’s with the goofy grin, Nat? Suffering a psychotic break?” he teased as he flipped a bottle of vodka in the air, caught it and poured a hefty amount into a shaker.
“No, Victor was just here and he told me Marco is…” I leaned across the bar and in a lower voice said, “Dead.” I could hardly contain my excitement. This was definitely an example of how my recent life experiences had changed me – a year ago I didn’t know about organized crime and now I was celebrating someone’s murder.
“That’s great, Nat. So you’re safe?”
I nodded and could feel my cheeks beginning to ache from my smile. I gave him my drink orders and continued to grin like a fool, even moving my hips to the beat while I waited.
“We’ll celebrate later,” he said as he loaded up my tray.
The rest of the night was a blur and once the crowd had cleared out and the doors were locked, I collapsed on one of the bar stools to count out tips. Everyone else had gathered around the bar while Jason, Collin and Rayne, the only female bartender, finished closing out their registers. Rebecca, one of the other waitresses, sat down next to me and yawned. Callie walked over to collect the register trays and bank bags, her curly hair frizzy from being in the hot kitchen all night. “Happy New Year guys, we made it!” she joked.
We laughed and wished each other Happy New Year, raising our complimentary drinks in the air for a toast. Callie surprised everyone; the two bouncers, the kitchen staff, Rebecca and me as well as Collin, Jason and Rayne when she gave us each a one hundred dollar bill.
“Thank you for working so hard. I know Frank would have been thrilled to see how busy Dirty was tonight.” Her eyes glistened and her voice cracked as she looked at all of us. “This was his dream and I wish he was here to see it come true.”
My throat tightened with emotion and I took a sip of my martini. I admired Callie. She was a strong woman, an incredible mom and a smart business person. She was proof that when bad things happen, one can move on and even grow from the pain.
Callie went to her office to take care of the financials, but she let us stay and have our own New Year’s celebration. David, the head cook, brought out all of the leftovers from the buffet and we gorged on mozzarella sticks, Buffalo wings, stuffed mushrooms and quesadillas. The bartenders took turns making drinks and I noticed whenever Jason made me a martini, they were stronger and always had four blue cheese stuffed olives on a toothpick. I was on my third martini when my face started to go numb and this made me giggle. Jason was sitting next to me when I snorted, setting me off even more.
“Okay, looks like somebody’s had enough,” he said, sliding my glass towards him.
“Hey, you said we’re celebrating. I don’t have to feel my face to do that,” I made a grab for my drink, but almost fell off the stool. Fortunately Jason was there to stop me and I collided into his chest.
Everyone started laughing and Rayne set a round of tequila shots on the bar for everyone. “Uh, I think I’m taking a cab home,” I said, tipping another shot back. For the first time in weeks I didn’t feel like a walking target and the euphoria on top of the booze made for a heady experience.
Jason chuckled, shaking his head before downing his shot. As the morning progressed and more shots were poured, Jason pulled my stool closer to his, so I could lean against him. He was definitely testing the boundaries of the friend zone, especially when his fingers started to brush the inside of my thigh near the hem of my shorts. I set my hand on top of his to prevent further exploration.
Callie had made all of us promise to all take cabs home before she left. Mike, one of the bouncers, set the alarm and locked the door behind us. By the time we exited Dirty, the sky was beginning to lighten. A line of taxis waited for us in the parking lot. Collin said goodbye and climbed into a cab with Rayne since they lived a few streets away from each other. I started walking towards the next in line and Jason followed.
“I’m going with. I want to make sure you get home okay,” he said.
“But it’s out of your way. I’ll be fine.”
“I’ll sleep on the floor until I’m sober. Please, let me do this?”
I stood there, one leg in the cab and thought about it. The chances were pretty good I was going to pass out at any moment, so having Jason there to make sure I made it home without getting ripped off…or worse, seemed like a smart plan. “Okay, fine and you get the futon; I’ve been sleeping in Chelsea’s bed.”
&nb
sp; “Even better,” he said with a smile that made the fine laugh lines around his eyes crinkle and slid into the cab beside me.
I did pass out and was leaning against Jason when he woke me up. We were in front of the closed gate for my apartment complex. I gave the driver the code to open the gate and within minutes, Jason had paid him and helped me up the stairs.
The long night had definitely caught up with me and I yawned when I unlocked the door. After grabbing a pillow and blanket for Jason, I brushed my teeth and crawled into bed.
When I woke, Chelsea’s bedroom was dark and the faint sound of voices drifted down the hallway. I rolled over to look at the alarm clock and was shocked to see it was after five. I had slept for close to twelve hours straight and had slept right through what would undoubtedly have been a hangover from hell.
Jason was sprawled out on the futon watching TV. He didn’t have a shirt on and seeing his tan, sculpted and smooth bare chest as the first sight of the day was not unbearable.
“You stayed,” I said and took a seat on the end of the futon.
“Yeah, you have to get your car too, so I figured we can cab it back to Dirty together.”
“I need caffeine first.” I stood back up and grabbed a Diet Coke out of the refrigerator since it was too late to make coffee. “Want anything?”
“I’m good.”
I went back to join him and mindlessly stared at the images on the screen. Jason was watching some action movie where something was exploding every other scene. I left him after a few minutes to go find my phone, realizing I could get on a regular plan now that I was done hiding. I could go onto Facebook and Snapchat again. I could call my friends. I did a happy dance in Chelsea’s bedroom. Then I checked my phone.
Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2) Page 20
