Page 1 of Unruly

Sometimes life was better when it was slowed down. Most times that was impossible for Cross Donati. There was no such thing as slowing down life for a person like himself. He was always going from one thing to the next, bouncing back and forth from one responsibility to another like a ping pong ball on speed.

It could be too much if he let it.

At thirty-three, he had learned how to slow down the things around him, but it was nothing more than an illusion. He could hand off jobs to others, and rearrange responsibilities as needed. Eventually, it still caught up with him.

That was life.

Unpredictable.

Uncontrollable.

Unruly.

Usually, he didn’t mind.

Lately, he wished for peace.

Cross knew that was impossible, at least for now.

“What about Arnold Callaghan?” Cross asked.

His gathered Capos quieted at his question.

Tribute was one of his favorite times of the month. Money, good food, and business was always had at the meetings. As the boss of the Donati Cosa Nostra, tribute was meant to be only his day. His made men gathered to see their boss and pay their dues from the dirty money earned since the last tribute. He liked to hold the meetings in one of his many restaurants because he had the best chiefs in New York State working his kitchens.

And the conversation?

Business?

It was good, too.

Damn good.

“Well, what about the Senator?” Cross asked again. “Was progress made, or not?”

Zeke, his long-time friend and consigliere, waved a fork at Cross’s question. “Bobby’s on that, boss.”

Cross turned to the Capo in question. “Bobby?”

“We got him three weeks ago at the Four Seasons restaurant. Our girl got his attention, so contact was made on that end.”

Nodding, Cross grinned. “Good.”

“It’ll take a bit to work his angles, but no worries,” Rick, his underboss, assured. “We’ll have that asshole in our back pocket by the spring, boss.”

Rick had a point, and Cross settled himself on knowing these things took time. Patience was a crime boss’s best virtue in most situations where money and connections were concerned. Not all things could be done overnight, after all.

It took work.

Good extortion took time.

Republican Senator Arnold Callaghan was one of Cross’s many ventures. The senator had a hand with the police in the state, given his family’s long history with three separate, major departments. He also had a massive stake in his family’s contracting company that mainly focused on construction jobs. From appearances, the senator seemed to use his connections to line his family’s pockets using his own company.

The Republican also had a pretty wife. A woman sixteen years his junior, and four kids from two previous marriages. He put on a good show when it came to politics, making sure his beautiful family was front row and center, and so were the cameras every time he attended yet another Evangelical sermon on Sundays.

It was the perfect storm.

Cross smelled construction rackets, bribes, blackmail, and good old extortion rolled into one coming his way very soon.