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CHAPTER THIRTY
’13 DEAD END DRIVES’ BIIANCO
Much like the first time I walked through this cemetery, Leo holds me close with his arm wrapped around my waist. This time however, my mother hangs on his other arm. She absolutely loves Leo and treats him like he’s her son.
Honestly, she’s the same way with Brian and Hector too. In fact, I’ve seen her slap Brian on the back of his head with her chancla when he said something she didn’t like.
Being a grown man doesn’t protect you against a mother’s house slipper slap. Hell, not even being a grown woman does either. Letty had to dash out of the room when she repeated whatever it was Brian said.
Still, it’s a home. A family. My mother and I went from two women protecting each other and living alone to being surrounded by protective men who are sometimes overbearing, and two women who love us as their own.
Ma and Joann have been spending so much time together that I’m kind of worried what will happen when Joann goes back to her country house after the holidays are over.
We’ll cross that bridge when we get there, I tell myself.
“I have a feeling the dead rose bush was a gift from Julian, was it not?” Leo asks my mother softly as we get closer to my father’s gravesite.
My mother smiles as she watches the leaves blow against the path, “Yes. I kept them alive easily but about a month after he died, the roses began to wilt until they stopped growing all together.” My ma sighs as swipes at the tears that fall from her eyes. Her love for my father is unending. Even after his death, my mother’s heart continues beats for the man she once knew.
“Perhaps they died because a piece of me died,” She says so softly I don’t think we were meant to hear it.
We turn down the second path and come to a stop at my father’s marker. The ground has a very light dusting of snow, and the setting sun makes everything look ethereal.
“In the spring, I’ll have a couple of rose bushes planted here,” Leo tells me when my mother moves ahead of us.
My mother walks over to the simple headstone and runs her gloved fingers over the edge, “Hello, my love. It’s been a while…”
I pull on Leo so we can give my mother and her long-lost love a private moment.
We find a bench far enough away to give her some privacy but close enough to still hear her cries as they float on the wind.
To keep the rope on my heart from tightening painfully, I decide to speak above her tears.
“I wasn’t going to ask you this, but did you mean it when you said I’d meet my brother tomorrow?”
Leo turns his black eyes to me, touching the apple of my cheek, his go-to caress, "If you have a question, ask me. If it's something I can answer, I always will. Yes, you'll meet Manuel tomorrow. I have some business partners I will need to meet with tomorrow at club Sucia, so we will all meet there in the VIP room."
I make a face hearing the name of the club I once danced in. I didn't work there too long, just long enough to get the rent money and a little extra.
The club has three levels for customers. The first level is for club goers who just want to dance and party. The second level, where I worked, is the strip club. Private dancers and pole dancers perform for the big spenders and those with boundary issues, the third level is more of a lounge.
There you will find men and women of power enjoying their wealth and planning world domination. They are usually people like Leo who have politicians in their pockets and police chiefs on a leash. You have to have explicit permission from the owner to enter the third level.
Top tier dancers work the floor, but they have to be one hundred percent screened and background checked first.
"If you'd rather meet him somewhere else, we can do that. You need to know and understand that most of my clubs are similar and though I don't personally own this one, I must attend. This is how it is in my line of work," Leo shrugs as he watches for my reaction, but he won't find one. I'm not against him meeting in a strip club but if I ever find out he goes for pleasure, I'll cut his eyes out. "What you see in the movies—Mafia men meeting in sophisticated restaurants—is not how it always is. Most meetings are held in the clubs.”
"I get it, Leo. It doesn't bother me, but you do know that I used to work there, right? I was a second-floor dancer for a month."
Leo huffs, "I wouldn't be the Don I am if something as small as a job history slipped past my knowledge, would I?"
I roll my eyes at that.Cocky bastard.
Though I have to admit, seeing how unaffected Leo is by my work history makes me love him a bit more. Not many men have the balls to be with a woman who tore her clothes off for money. Granted, I never fucked for money and I never danced for drug money; my choices were purely for my mom and me. I did what I had to do and got out when I could.
We sit for a little while and watch as my mother stands from the grave and makes her way to us with a big smile. She’s finally got closure, a moment to say her goodbyes.
As we stand to leave, a loud whistle sounds from somewhere in the graveyard.
