AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So you say but hate and love both spring from the same part of the mind. Your mother loved and hated me. Your brother loves and hates you. Your wife, apparently, feels the same way. She is more part of this family than you realize. How do you feel about me right now?”
“That I wish you’d have told me this sooner.”
“I would never have told you about your mother if I had a choice, but I’m dying, and, like I say, time is running out to resolve this. I need you to know why Brody will never let this drop. It is not just about his crush on Sofia. He wants revenge for his father’s death, a death that I am not too proud to say I arranged.”
“Thought you weren’t a murderer.”
“I wanted revenge for what that man did to my wife, and I got it, but it was bitter. That is revenge. It is good but a knife with a blade hidden in the handle. You cannot cut your opponent without hurting yourself. I am responsible for Brody’s vendetta against you. Now you must bring him down because of my failings as a father. Do you understand?”
“I understand this whole thing is a fucking mess.”
He takes a long drag on his cigar. “You got that right. Now, officially, you are a criminal on the run, so you need to stay out of sight while you sort this. Don’t go back to your house. It will be watched. Toby’s house too. They’ll probably have eyes on Bex’s apartment as well. Keep things quiet until this is organized.”
“So I’m on the run forever, is that it?”
“Once you have the proof with Hall, she will call off the attack dogs, and we go to the commission to get you sworn in as the new Don.” He reaches into his pocket, pulling out a cell phone. “Burner phone,” he says as I take it from him. “Toby is waiting for you at the cafe across the street. Back table, out of sight of the street. Before you go, change into this.”
He kicks a bag that is hidden in the darkness. He holds his free hand out toward me. “Good luck, my son. Perhaps one day we will meet in Rome and drink a cappuccino together.”
I shake and feel how weak his grip has become. “I’d like that,” I tell him. “Thank you, father.”
He’s already gone. I rummage in the bag. He’s got a sense of humor, my father. There’s a pair of mustard cords, an I Heart Chicago tee shirt, and a Cubs baseball cap. Underneath is a hideous pair of white sneakers that must have cost ten bucks.
They remind me of Bex’s sneakers when I met her in Rome. I get a sharp pain in my chest at the thought. I ignore it. She made her feelings clear. Despite what my father said, there’s no way I can make this marriage work. She hates me, and with good reason.
I know the truth anyway, no matter how he might like to try to hide it. There is no such thing as love.
Look what happens when I try to give it a shot. I end up in this mess. I should never have let my guard down. Now I’m getting pains in my chest when I think of her. I’m allowing myself to get arrested, not even noticing when the cops surround me until the cuffs are on me. I’m not paying attention to the important things, getting the job done.
What matters is inheriting. Once I’m the Don, families will fall over themselves to hand their daughters to me. I can take my pick of all the mafia princesses in the city, hell, maybe even the country.
I don’t need Bex. I don’t want her.
There’s also the fact that she deserves better than me. She deserves someone who doesn’t treat her like an employee and doesn’t force her to flash her pussy just to prove they’re in charge. She deserves someone who can love her, and I can’t do it. I’ve already established that.
49
Hunter
* * *
Once I’m changed, I cram my clothes into the bag and walk across the street to the cafe. Toby is waiting for me. He makes the bag disappear into a server’s hand, and it’s gone like it never existed.
“What is this place? Why are there giant credit cards on the wall?”
“Bank cafe,” he replies. “Reaching out as a brand, I guess.”
“What’s the interest rate on a cup of coffee?”
“Want some lunch?” he asks, nodding toward the clock. “Gone one.”
“Not hungry.”
“Just coffee, then?”
Once it’s poured and I’ve downed half the scalding cup, he digs out his notebook. “Bex’s gone back to her apartment,” he says. “Alicia is at my house being looked after by Cynthia.”
“I see.”
