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His words shook through me, sending a chill down my spine. “I’m not free. None of us are, Sonny. Angelo Sr. paid for me so he could hold it over my dad and Angelo’s heads for the rest of our lives. At some point, this has to stop. He doesn’t own me. He can’t control us.”
“He can and he will. You know that, G. You’re only free because he allowed it. He could have let you sweat it out with another buyer. But he knew he could use your freedom to his advantage. Now, look at all the favors your father owes him. Your family will never finish repaying him. Angelo will never be done. Mr. Morelli will always want more. He’s never satisfied.”
“I still don’t get it, Sonny. Why did Enzo take you and keep you captive for a week? The timing of your release lines up with when I was sent to Dante. They held you long enough to make Angelo believe you took me, and that you were working with them. Then they let you go as if nothing had happened.”
“Because they assumed Angelo would kill me. They underestimated our friendship. Angelo wanted to kill me, but he knew I could never hurt you. Dom used to make comments to Angelo about how one day I would steal his girl away from him. Maybe that got back to Enzo. He knew I was watching over you. If I were the one who kidnapped you, it would have been the ultimate betrayal. It would have been grounds for getting whacked. I would have deserved to die.”
“I guess I’m your biggest weakness, too.” I wiped the corner of my eye and sighed. “I never thought anyone would use me to get to you.”
“You’re not my favorite anymore.” Sonny kissed Faith on top of her head. “Another girl’s taken your place.”
I reached across the desk to gather the file folders and laughed.
He smirked. “I’m just messing with you. But I’m not joking about Faith being my favorite. It’s my job to protect both of you, and as her godfather, I take my responsibility seriously.”
Sonny assumed Pete would be Faith’s godfather since he’s Angelo’s oldest brother, but I insisted we choose Sonny. He was a perfect choice.
“I know.” I flashed a smile at him. “Thank you. I couldn’t keep up without you around.”
With the folders in my hand, I used the desk for support and pushed myself up to my feet. Sleep was impossible with Faith. The heels I attempted to wear to the office were hurting like a bitch, while the rest of my body screamed for a nap. Adding my father’s garbage on top of everything else I had going on, it made my head spin. Angelo Sr. was pulling too many strings, each of us going in different directions.
I couldn’t stomach signing my name to the papers in my hands. My family had already lost so much because of our involvement with the Morellis. Angelo was the love of my life, something I would never change. Even if loving him came with a world full of pain. But I hated how much of our lives were ruled by his father.
I stuck the key in the lock on the filing cabinet, about to close it when I noticed a picture frame on the shelf above the cabinet. My father had tons of pictures of him
with senators and local politicians on his walls and shelves. He even had a few with professional athletes and other wealthy benefactors in the community. But one picture, one I’d never noticed before, stuck out like a sore thumb. Or maybe it was the man in the photo that held my attention.
I leaned forward, standing on my tip-toes to grab the frame from the shelf. Sonny came up from behind me as I studied the faces of the men next to my father.
“Angelo and his brothers look just like him when he was their age,” Sonny said.
I nodded. “Look at their rings. Do you recognize them? I’ve never seen them before.”
He hovered over me to get a better look. “Yeah, Mr. Morelli had a ring like that when we were kids.”
“I don’t remember my dad having one.” I stare in awe of the thick, gold Sicilian bull ring on my father’s ring finger. “Why is he wearing the same ring as the man who kidnapped me?”
Angelo Sr., my father, and a man I didn’t recognize all wore the same ring, each of them making a fist for the camera to hold them out as if they were proud of them.
“Do you know what it means? Why do they all have one? And who is this man?” I pointed at the tall, dark, handsome man between my father and the Don.
“It means tyranny,” Sonny told me. “Your dad was part of a crew when he was younger. That was their symbol. It meant they were going to rule the city.” Sonny took the frame from my hand and looked at a man I’d never met. “That’s Joey Scaglione. They called him Junior. He was the son of Joe Scags, the man Angelo’s father killed to become boss.”
A chill ran through me. “How many people had those rings?”
“Mr. Morelli ran a small crew back then, no more than ten men under him. Most of those guys were killed in the war he had with Scags.”
I looked up at him, still in shock. “Is Joe Jr. alive?”
“Not sure. No one has seen or heard from him since his dad got popped. I would hide too if I had a target like that on my back.”
“I knew all about Angelo Sr. fighting Scags for territory, but I had no idea my dad and him were friends with his son.”
“There’s a lot you don’t know, G. Some things are better off left in the past.”
“Whoever kidnapped me had one of these rings. Maybe it had nothing to do with Angelo killing Antonio Mancuso. What if all of this is over what Angelo Sr. did to Joe Jr.’s dad?”
Sonny took the frame from me and set it on the desk. He turned me away from the cabinet by my shoulder, so we were facing. “You’re reading too much into this. A handful of guys had the same rings. After Mr. Morelli won the war against Scags, a lot of his men fled to Jersey and New York. It’s possible one of them works for Big John or Dante.”
