“It’s better to have an enemy in your pocket than dead in the ground,” Don Mancini said.
“And you think they’re going to come to the table peacefully?” I asked incredulously. “They’re gonna ambush you.”
“We’ll come prepared?—”
“And they’ll come prepared to kill you. I’m telling you, this is not the way to go about it.”
“We hired you to be part of our crew,” Elio said. “Not to have you in charge. That means you’re going to shut your mouth and follow orders. Or you can crawl back to Cosa Nostra.”
I stared at Don Mancini’s captain and felt my rage simmer on the surface of my skin. It took all my strength not to act on it. I’d always had a temper, even as a kid. Maybe I was just an angry person.
Francesca was the only person who didn’t make me angry.
“Cosa Nostra has incredible reach and efficiency because Don Russo trusts his lieutenants to see what he misses. Choosing not to use me is the same thing as driving with blinders on. We’re going to walk into a trap, and it’s going to be my burden to get us out of there alive.”
“We know Lombardi better than you do.”
“Really?” I snapped. “Because you missed the knife he stabbed in your back.”
A heavy silence ensued, so quiet that it seemed as if no one drew a single breath.
Don Mancini shattered the silence. “Set up the meeting for tomorrow night, Elio. We’re finished here.”
It was past eight when she texted me.I don’t want to be that girl or anything, but are you still coming?
I’d been running around all day, taking care of business that Don Mancini should handle himself. I drove with one hand on the wheel and texted with the other. I had big-ass hands, so it was easy for me to hold the phone and type at the same time.What girl?
I don’t want to nag.
That was nagging?I smirked.
I know you’re probably busy, and I don’t want to bother you.
“Bother me?” I asked with a little chuckle. I set the phone in the cupholder and then used the dashboard screen to call her. It rang a couple times, like she was staring at my name for a moment before she took the call. When I heard the click, I started to talk. “You aren’t bothering me. Text or call whenever you want.”
She was quiet over the line.
“Someone there?” I’d assumed she was home alone, but I guessed it was possible her father stopped by at the worst possible time.
“No. I just wasn’t sure what to say to that.”
“I’m your man, aren’t I?” I asked. “Call whenever the fuck you want. I’m always at your disposal.”
She was quiet again.
“If I don’t answer, it’s probably because I’m snapping someone’s neck. But don’t worry, I’ll call you back whenever I’m done.”
She still didn’t say anything.
“Something wrong?”
“I just feel like this is going really fast.”
“Huh,” I said as I drove down one of the roads and approached the dirt path that led to her side of the property. “Didn’t notice.” My elbow was propped on the armrest while I continued to drive with one hand, slowing my car when my tires left the asphalt and hit the dirt. “I’m on the dirt road. Be there in ten.”
My Range Rover could handle the off-road path, but I drove slowly to minimize the amount of dirt that was kicked up into the air just in case any of the security guys found the cloud of dust suspicious. The direction of the wind was always different, so it could carry it anywhere.
Minutes later, I pulled up to her two-story villa and parked outside. With Sicilian blue tiles on the stairs and pots overflowing with flowers on the balconies of the second story, it was a cute place. Fit her perfectly. The only thing I didn’t love about it was how vulnerable she was. If I could get to her without being seen, then that meant anybody could.
