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“I’m not sorry that we ended up screwing each other’s brains out in the back of this thing.” Her cheeks redden. “I suppose I can try to look at this situation a little differently.” Her eyes suddenly light up. “You’re going to move in with me, right? Isn’t that what you said?”
“Yeah, my guys have probably already moved my things in. You’re stuck with me, baby,” I say, trying to make it sound like a good thing.
“Are you gonna sleep with me in my bed then?” She looks eager, and I find that to be a good sign that we’ll get along even though I’ve taken over everything she has.
With a nod, I let her know one more thing about me. “I sleep naked, and from now on, so do you. I will never force you to have sex with me. I might force you to do a shit-ton of other things, but fucking me ain’t ever gonna be one of those things. You have to want what I got, or you won’t get any of it.”
“Still, you’re taking everything I own. And that’s not a nice thing to do.”
“I ain’t a very nice man. But it’s just business. Nothing personal at all.”
“Exploiting people is your business?” she asks, her head cocked as if trying to understand.
“Yeah. I’m in the business of exploiting people and taking advantage of opportunities that others might not. Mine is a profitable business, and you will benefit from what I do—if you make my life easy. It’s all up to you how this plays out.”
“Up to me?” Her eyes light up.
I squash her sudden enthusiasm. “You should know that we know where your grandmother is at all times. In case you don’t believe me, she’s in Jersey at her sister Stacy’s home, and we know the exact address. If you don’t do what we want, we’ll kidnap your grandmother and hold her until you comply. If necessary, we would even take her life.”
The way her shoulders droop and her head hangs low tells me that she’s finally understanding things a lot more clearly now. And then the sobbing starts.
Shame it’s gotta be this way.
Chapter 5
Lisa
Inside the church, Frank leads me to a man wearing an expensive suit. “This is my brother, Enzo,” he says. “Enzo, this is Lisa.”
With a nod, Enzo puts a briefcase he’s carrying on the nearby table. Stunned, I see a recent picture of my grandmother as she left the floral shop a couple of days ago. The gun lying next to the picture does nothing to make me feel better about my situation.
“Lisa, I have documents for you to sign before you two get to your nuptials.” Enzo seems to be the type of man who deals with things in a very serious way. He’s as stoic as a stone and doesn’t even have laugh or frown lines around his mouth. I know he would never have any compassion for me or my poor grandmother.
I had no idea I would be signing anything. “What’s this about?”
“The business. I explained this to you already. Don’t play dumb.” He pulls out a chair for me to take a seat at the table. “You don’t have to waste time reading. Just sign where the yellow highlights are. Then we can go get dressed.”
I scan the first page and discover it’s a document giving Frank Vietti my business. “This will be a legal transaction then?” I ask his brother, Enzo.
“It’s legal, yeah.” He nods, then looks at Frank. “You said you made her understand how this works.”
“I did.” Frank places his hand on my shoulder, giving it a menacing squeeze that bothers me. “You know you had two choices. You can give me the business or pay the pizzo money. You made the choice. Now, sign the papers, and let’s get this over with. Or should I tell my guys that they need to grab your grandmother and bring her here to watch her only granddaughter get married today?”
“I just didn’t think it could possibly be legal, is all.” I realize right away that I should have kept that remark to myself. To settle the two of them down before they do anything I’ll regret, I sign the first paper. “Okay, this one’s signed. Where else do I sign?” I can’t allow anything to happen to my grandmother. No matter what hell I have to endure, I won’t do anything that will have them harming a hair on her sweet head.
Seeing that I’m cooperating, Frank pats me on the back. “That’s my girl.” He turns the page, and I see more yellow highlights. I continue signing my life away. Everything belongs to Francisco R. Vietti now.
And I am scared to death!
“Glad to see you have her in check,” Enzo says. “I was beginning to wonder for a second there.”
Now that I know they’re both total assholes, I keep my comments to myself. But I do want to know what comes next, so I ask, “Now what?”
“My wife is waiting in the dressing room in the back,” Enzo states before taking the papers, placing them neatly into the briefcase, and then walking away.
Frank takes my hand. “I’ll show you the way. I’ve got to change too.” He leads me through some rooms in the back of the church to a room where a woman with blonde hair and dark brown eyes smiles at me when the door is opened.
“You must be Lisa.” There’s a pleasant tone to her voice as she greets me. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”
