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I toss the folder toward Lauro, who picks it up as quickly as he can. “You’re fucking crazy,” he mutters.
“Right? You thought that would make me easier to control than my old man, didn’t you?” Giulio asks, grinning. “I figured I should make a splashy entrance. You gonna tell all the others about this? Or is it too embarrassing?”
“I’ll let them figure it out on their own.” Lauro eyes me warily, but he reholsters his gun and pulls out a pen so he can sign. “Now release Nilo. This contract will be worth nothing if my son is harmed.”
Giulio shrugs, then pulls the knife away and pushes Nilo away from him. Nilo stumbles a few steps in his father’s direction.
I go to take the contract off Lauro’s hands. “It’s always a mistake to underestimate Giulio,” I tell him quietly. “But he takes care of his friends.”
Lauro snorts like he doesn’t believe me. “We’ll see.”
“Hey, I wasn’t kidding about the clubs,” Giulio says as he picks up his backpack. “Hit me up sometime, Nilo, I know a few girls that will teach you how to properly fuck.”
“I don’t need your help,” Nilo snarls, but he ducks behind his father like the proper little coward he is. “And I want nothing to do with you.”
Our men, all the ones who went running at the sight of the grenade, have come back, flanking us. It’s too little too late, but the gesture is a nice one of solidarity, I suppose.
Giulio pokes Luigi’s corpse with his sandaled foot. “Man, Damien, you’re so impulsive. Did you have to murder him?”
It’s only long years of experience with Giulio that keeps me from glaring at him. “Yes.”
Lauro sighs. “I’m going to have to find a replacement. Luigi was solid. Dependable.”
“But you don’t sound too upset,” Giulio comments. He walks over to me and takes the contract from me, stuffing it into his backpack. “You need help cleaning him up? Or are you gonna want to give him a real funeral?”
“Yes. His family deserves to be able to bury him. And I’d be more upset if I hadn’t already been in the process of trying to get rid of him.” Lauro’s eyes narrow suspiciously. “Which you already knew, I suspect.”
“Yep. You know how info travels around this city.” Giulio pats my shoulder. “Thanks, Damien. I can always count on you to take out the trash.” Then he waves at Lauro and Nilo. “Ciao, then! It was nice doing business with you!”
He whistles as he walks out of the warehouse, far too pleased with himself. I share a look with Lauro before I jog after Giulio.
I wish Giulio had filled me in on his plans.
But, I have to admit, it was effective. He got the deal he wanted, and Lauro Romano is firmly impressed. The rest of Emilio’s allies will be much easier to convince.
“Damn, that was fun,” Giulio comments once we’re outside. “I’m starving though. You want to pick up some takeout, then head to Ntimacy? We deserve to relax after all this.”
“Yes,” I answer. “But don’t—”
“Let me call Slayer. He helped out a bunch too. Plus, didn’t he have something he wanted to talk about? Yeah. Vanessa’s going to be so excited to see all three of us.”
Giulio’s already on his phone, ignoring my protest. I get out my own phone to make an order for food, since I know there’s no way to dissuade Giulio from anything he wants.
12
VANESSA
When the door clicks open, I brace myself.
Nothing good ever comes of it, and I don’t know what’s going to happen or who’s going to be standing there. But at the same time, I’ve been going out of my mind with boredom. The only thing I can do in this small room is stare at the wall, shower, and relive all the horrible things that have happened to me up until now.
I tried to think about college and my classes instead, but even reciting accounting definitions and making up math problems wasn’t distracting enough. Instead, it just reminded me that my studies have been completely derailed, and my plans to get a degree and disappear to the other side of the country are nothing but a dream.
I’m a little surprised to see Donny enter the room, and he beckons to me. “Come on,” he tells me.
Dread pools in my stomach. Is he going to put me on the floor with the other girls? I don’t know what I’d do. I’ve already proven that I don’t know how to dance or seduce men. I might just end up like Stef, crying and driving away customers. Then what?
I get up anyway, meekly going to the doorway and following Donny down the hall. He leads me downstairs, and for a moment, I’m sure he’s just going to push me out on the floor and tell me not to embarrass Giulio.
