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Luca grinned. “Always am,” he said. He opened the door and got out then walked over to Roberto with his arms spread. “Roberto, my main man, how’s it hanging?” he said to the security guard.
I groaned a little bit and shook my head, then looked back at Colleen. She was still glaring at me as Luca’s muffled conversation with Roberto filtered in through his closed door.
“Listen,” I said. “I’m not trying to be hard on you. It’s just that this meeting is important for both of us. If things go well, the Don will make sure you’re taken care of.”
“You mean, killed?” she asked, still glaring at me.
“No,” I said, softening my tone. “I mean, kept safe and returned home when things calm down.”
She snorted. “I doubt that,” she said.
“You really think I want to kill you?” I asked.
“I think you’ll use me however you want and get rid of me as soon as I’m not worth anything to you,” she said.
I looked at her for a moment. I couldn’t blame her for thinking that. The girl didn’t know me, only knew that I intended on using her against the Club.
But I’d never hurt her. I couldn’t leave her on the ground back in that bodega because I’m not the kind of man that would let a woman suffer.
So long as she was mine, she’d stay safe.
I couldn’t tell her that, not right now. I needed her to be afraid of me during this, at least until I could gauge how the Don wanted to proceed in this war. After that, I could be more open about my intentions.
“Get out of the car,” I said.
She snorted and pushed open her door. I opened my own and shut it behind me as I walked toward her and took her by the arm. She made a face at me but didn’t try to rip her arm away.
“You gotta work out, man,” Luca was saying to Roberto as we came around the back of the car and stepped onto the sidewalk. “I mean, look at those guns.”
“Leave him alone, Luca,” I said. “Nice to see you, Roberto.”
“You’re just in time, Steven,” he said then looked at Luca. “Your Lieutenant was about to see my real guns.”
“Oh wow, and he’s funny too,” Luca said. “You’re a real treat, you know that, Roberto?”
The security guard ignored him, turned to the door, and opened it. Luca followed him first and I came last with Colleen in between us. We stepped into an entryway with a high ceiling and dark hardwood floors. There was a parlor on the right with couches, a thick, expensive rug, and a modern, sleek coffee table. Oil paintings of fruit bowls and other still lifes hung on the walls, and Roberto strode past it all, leading us beneath a beautiful crystal chandelier.
Colleen stared at the wealth all around her. I would be willing to bet that a single painting from the walls would be worth more than she ever made in a year, although I didn’t know what she did for a living. We moved past a staircase and down a side hall to the left that cut across the other homes on the block.
I caught glimpses of other rooms, but I was too busy watching Colleen for any sudden moves. The girl was staring around like she just walked into Disneyland. We passed gold statues on ornate plinths, exotic plants in huge floor standing vases, modernist and cubist paintings, and doors with expensive and elaborate carvings in the wood. She stared at it all with wide eyes until we reached a large ornate wooden door at the end of the hall.
Roberto knocked once then pushed his way inside. We followed and stepped into a large office, with a big window on the left and bookshelves lining the walls. Lights dangled from an impossibly high ceiling, and there were rich couches on the right surrounding a fireplace with old and beautiful handmade tilework around its edge depicting lions, bears, and horses.
The Don sat behind a desk at the far end of the room. The desk was huge and mahogany with lions carved into the front. Roberto gestured for us to approach, then lingered near the door, hands in front of him. The Don stood and smiled, spreading one arm out and leaning on a can with the other.
He looked like a kind old grandfather with wrinkles around his eyes and a large, crooked nose. He had dark eyes and dark, tanned leathery skin. He wore a cream colored suit and a white shirt, his gray hair slicked back.
“Steven,” he said. “My favorite Capo. What did you bring me today?” The Don tilted his head, staring at Colleen.
“Don Leone, this is Colleen Colley,” I said. “I found her last night.”
The Don frowned. “Colleen Colley?” he asked. “I know that name.”
