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I used to be one of those people. I used to lie to myself too. I knew what my father—Gino the One-Eye—did for a living. I only saw him on holidays, and on my birthday, but I knew I didn’t want to be like him. Every time my mother washed the blood out of his shirts, I felt my disgust build. I didn’t want to be like him, I didn’t want his life, and I didn’t want to spend my time kissing people’s shoes.
And then he came back in a wheelchair and told me I was going to go work for the devil himself. Gino’s loyalty to Orlando knew no bounds, and I guess Orlando liked the old man. So when Gino lost his legs, Orlando allowed him a way out of the life and to prove his gratitude, and Gino gave me up; I would work in his place, that way no one would ever think he would become a rat. A man could rat on his boss, but a true man could never rat out his only son.
I hated him for it. I tried to run. I packed all my shit in a bag, jumped out the window and ran down the street, only to find Orlando’s daughter leaning against a beat up old Chevy.
“I told my dad you were going to run.” She said, as the wall of muscle I grew to know as Antonio opened the door for her and myself. The look in his eyes as he held the door open, and his visible gun, told me I didn’t have any choice in the matter.
Melody didn’t speak to me. Instead she sat back, flipping through an Irish-to-English dictionary. I tried getting them to talk, I called them every name in the book, but Melody’s only response was to take out a knife and drive its blade deep into the dashboard. That shut me up quick.
As we pulled up to their mansion, she laid down the law. “Your loyalty is to my father and me for the rest of your life,” she said. “You will kill for us, you will fight for us, and you will lie for us. In return, you will not only be a very wealthy man, but you will be much safer than you would be without us. Your father has pissed off a lot of people, all of whom would kill you just to get back at him. Run again, and Antonio will put a bullet in the back of your skull. Goodnight.” And with that, she got out of the car and walked into her house, leaving me completely stumped.
“How old is she?” I asked Antonio.
“Fourteen,” he said, as he shook his head, a thin smile playing on his lips. “The boss wanted to put her in high school, but was afraid she would eat the other students.” He laughed. “Come on, time to show the new dog his cage. Wouldn’t want to kill you so soon. She ain’t joking about the rules.”
No, she wasn’t. Over the years I spent there, I grew to understand my place. I grew more loyal to her. I wasn’t sure why. She just had a way of getting into your head and staying there. She worked ten times harder than the rest of us, and never asked for anything in return. She just worked…more than any girl her age should. You wanted to make her life easier. You wanted to do anything she needed. And by doing almost nothing but being cold, calculating and murderous, she had gained our loyalty. She was the reason I was making this call now.
“Gino,” I said into the phone.
“Fedel? Why…”
“I don’t have time, Pop. I have one question and I need you to answer it as honestly as possible.” I could feel her gaze on the back of my neck.
“I cannot lie,” he lied into the phone.
I fought the urge to roll my eyes. “What do you know about Aviela, Orlando’s ex-wife?”
“Aviela? Why are you asking? That woman has been dead for years,” he replied, lying to me again.
Damn it, Pop.
“Do you know anything?” I asked again.
“No son, I don’t.”
With that, I hung up.
I was going to have to do this the hard way.
“Well?” she asked, seated behind me as Antonio pulled up at the looney bin. She never spoke unless she had to.
I met her brown eyes in the rear-view mirror.
“He’s lying, ma’am. He knows something,” I told her honestly, and I watched her as she stared at me.
“Can I trust you to do what’s needed?” she asked.
“Yes.” Because I was loyal; the ranking of my life was Melody, Liam, God, then family. It was fucked up, but that was just part of life.
MELODY
Was my request of Fedel too much? Would he really do everything he needed to do to get the job done? Time would only tell, and right now, I had bigger fish to fry. As I walked up the stairs and into the stone structure—which looked like it belonged in a Stephen King novel—rats ran freely into building.
“Mrs. Callahan, I was so happ…”
“I want Natasha Briar, you can kiss my ass later,” I told the short doctor, who looked like he needed to be a patient himself.
“You can wait out here.”
“Take me to her.” I leaned into his face. “Now.”
He jumped, and the nurses behind him stood back as he opened the door for me. I could feel Antonio walking beside me. The moment the doors opened, all I could hear was gibberish mixed in with different levels of screaming. It was madhouse, that was for sure. The women were all frizzy-haired and pale faced, and they seemed to be in their own worlds. Some sat in the corner shaking, while others played with their hands or talked to themselves.
“Shoes!” A woman yelled suddenly, trying to reach for me. Antonio grabbed her, though I doubt she noticed. “Shoes! Me want shoes! Red Shoes! Me want red shoes!”
“What good are shoes with no feet?” I warned her, just as the doctor told the two nurses to take her away.
“I dated a chick like her once.” Antonio stated. “Actually, I think that may very well have been her.”
“I’m sorry about that, Mrs. Callahan,” said the doctor. “I try to let them out of their rooms so they can socialize and so they don’t feel like caged animals. Believe me, you are perfectly…”
“Are you trying to sell me something, Doctor?” I asked.
“No ma’am…”
“Then stop wasting my time,” I hissed through my teeth, causing him to drop his keys. He grabbed them quickly before rushing down the hall.
Her “room,” which looked more like a cell, was the last door on the left. Through the small window, I could see that her blonde hair was all over the floor as she sat in the corner. Every time she brushed a lock back, it seemed to fall off, making her sob… it kind of reminded me of Orlando.
“Ms. Briar, Mrs. Callahan is here to see you.” The moment he said it was me, she was up and pushing herself further into the wall.
“No. No. No. Please, no. NO!” she screamed before she started crying.
The doctor turned for the nurses, but that wouldn’t help.
“Open the door,” I demanded. Before he could argue, Antonio took the keys and opened the door himself.
“NO! PLEASE NO!” Natasha begged, curling into a ball.
“‘No. No. No.’ Oh shut up,” I snapped, pulling her from the ground. Her eyes were wide, and she was covered in dirt and dried blood—from only God knows what or where. She looked like a complete savage, and she sure as hell smelled like one.
“It’s your lucky day. I’ve come to save you.”
“No,” she said again. “You don’t know how to save. God saves. The devil destroys.”
“Good thing I’m neither. But I can do both. Now, do you want to leave or would you rather stay here with the good doctor?” I didn’t give her time to think before pushing her to Antonio.
