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I glared at him, my hackles raised. “Hold on. When?” When he didn’t answer right away, I took another step closer. “When did this happen, Dom?”
“Three years ago. Yeah, cause she told me she’s twenty-one.” He lifted his head. “Wait a minute. You don’t honestly think it’s Chrissy.”
“Did you see her?” My heart was in my throat, my nerves on the very edge. “Did you?”
“Briefly when I tried to stop her. She was beautiful, large eyes and deep burnished red hair.”
It felt as if a sledgehammer had been driven into my forehead. “Not my Chrissy.”
“There is such a thing as hair color. Why am I telling you that? I’m not trying to get your hopes up.”
“As I told you before, I won’t get a second chance.” I pounded back more of my drink, unable to come down from the precipice. If there was a slight chance the girl was Chrissy, I had to know. But how, given she’d likely never return to his church? Goddamn it.
“Damn, my friend. You are as hardheaded as they come.”
“Right. And you’re a hopeless romantic, my friend,” I told him. “Another reason I was shocked you entered seminary school.” Almost immediately his face clouded. “You never really told me the truth as to why.”
He took a deep breath, and I could swear he aged right in front of my eyes.
“Do you remember the girl I fell in love with?” he asked seconds later.
“Which one?”
I had a sense he was ready to give me the finger, but his haughty look was the man’s only reaction. “Danni.”
“Ah, yes. The beautiful blonde. If I remember correctly, her parents refused to allow you see her again.”
He nodded. “Yeah, well, they had a good reason.”
We hadn’t talked about women since he’d made his choice to become a priest right after college. I hadn’t realized he’d been thinking about it since we were boys, his faith coming at a time when his father had been pushing him to become his second in command. To this day, not a single member of his family had spoken to him since he set foot in seminary school. I could tell whatever he was keeping locked away in the dark recesses of his mind was one of the reasons he’d made the difficult decision to enter into a life of celibacy.
“Do you want to tell me about it?”
I’d known Dominick long enough to realize when pushing wasn’t in my best interest.
“Was anyone hurt in the attack at the restaurant?” he asked, ignoring the sudden impulse to reminisce over the past.
“Two of my men lost their lives. Ralph was shot but he’ll be okay, thank God.”
As expected, he immediately made the sign of the cross, lowering his head and saying a silent prayer. He was probably the only person alive that reminded me I was Catholic, although given the nature of my family and my business, I certainly didn’t believe in a higher being. Yet I found myself lowering my head, whispering amen when he was finished.
“May God protect their souls,” he said quietly. We’d gotten into conversations over the years, debates on how he could still believe that someone like me could go to heaven. He could argue until he was blue in the face, reminding me that I was a good man. Perhaps he ignored what I did for a living.
He took another gulp of his drink then placed the glass on the table next to mine, ready to concentrate on the game. As he placed the cue in his fingers, leaning over, my thoughts drifted to the girl I’d spent an evening with years before. I’d all but managed to shove the passion from my mind until recently. Now I couldn’t seem to drive images of her lovely face away.
Tonight, the reason was obvious, the fact she’d been slapped hard still pulling at my rage even today. The sound of his break echoed in my ears and I glanced at the table, studying the way two balls went into the pockets. The man was a shark even if he didn’t want to admit it.
“What are we playing for tonight?” he asked as he grabbed the chalk, his grin devious in my mind.
“Dinner at Delmonico’s.”
“Wow, I can’t remember the last time I had a decent steak.”
“Well, if you got out more, you could fix that,” I told him.
“Four in the corner pocket,” he said, flashing me another grin before taking the shot. As expected, the ball rolled in without hesitation. Why did I have a feeling he’d been practicing, which was something he knew I didn’t have time to do. “You know my work is important to me.”
“Just like mine is to me.” I vaguely paid attention as he called out another move, the reality of what our regime was facing something I couldn’t ignore or push aside but for so long. I’d need to track down Dante’s biggest weakness. Tomorrow night, I would go hunting, scouring the streets, clubs, and even the casinos to try to determine a course of action.
