AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fury nods to Karma, who again flips his computer open, then turns on the huge television that takes up the entire wall. As he fiddles with his electronics, no one says a word. I look around, when I get to Chains he’s looking between Shadow and me then back again. My cousin must have felt his stares because all of the sudden, she blows.
“Jesus Christ, Chains, you act like you’ve never seen two women who look alike. For fuck’s sake, get a grip, will ya? We got more important things to worry about besides your weird obsession. Motherfucker, don’t make me put a call out to Winnie on your ass.”
All you hear is everyone either gasping or taking in a breath as they watch the disaster who is my cousin and her mouth. I’ve learned this quite quickly. Avalanche is snickering, just as Panther elbows him hard in the chest. Avalanche looks so brokenhearted that I can’t help but giggle. That gets every pair of eyes on me. I look down, hoping they’ll just move on.
“Karma, brother, ya bout ready with that shit?”
“Ya, Prez, here we go. So I’ve been keeping track of the area around here since we had that issue of the drive-by. In town, our hangarounds, Timmy and Ralph, have been keeping an eye out for cars or SUVs from out of town. Just the other day, they saw a couple of vehicles from New York drive through, stop for gas, and then head out toward Eastwood. Ralph jumped in his truck and followed, which I didn’t tell him to do, but thank God he did. Remember that old area right in Eastwood where the strip mall was, by the school that closed down? Well, there’s a bunch of assholes hanging around there. He couldn’t get a count but he said a lot. Now I take that with a grain of salt ’cause we all know both Timmy and Ralph love their weed and are always high.
So during the night, I ran my drone out that way and took some pictures, though they ain’t the best. Take a look at the television.”
As everyone turns that way, I’m squinting my eyes to try and make out what I’m looking at. As Karma starts flipping through the pictures, my heart suddenly stops. Blinking my eyes, I try to see if I can open them and unsee what I just saw, but Karma has moved on to the next one.
“Wait!!!! Karma, go back. No, go to the one before this one. Oh my GOD, it can’t be…how the hell did he survive?”
Everyone is looking at me but when Frank’s arms come around me, pulling me into him, I grab on tight.
“Celee, what’s wrong? Come on, sweetheart, take a deep breath. In and out.”
“Move the fuck outa the way, Dingo. Give her to me, for Christ’s sake.”
I hear both Shadow and Frank going at it, and I’ve just had it.
“Fucking shut up, both of you. My goddamn life is on the line and you two are arguing like a bunch of punk asses. You want to know what’s bothering me? That guy standing by the car is my brother. Yeah, Zeona, guess he’s alive. And next to him is the old dick I was supposed to marry to make my dad’s organization stronger. He’s someone big in the mob. If I remember correctly, my father called him a Consigliere, like that would impress me. He’s old enough to be my father. The thought of even being close to him has me puking in my throat. Damn, if he’s here then they know more than any of us thought. I only took some money from those three accounts like I told you, Frank, and I didn’t empty them. I explained all that to you after my surgery.”
“What money, Celestina? You touched the accounts when? Why? What the hell were you thinking?”
I look at Zeona to see she’s in full Shadow mode. Well, I can get a bit pyscho too.
“Well,Shadow,I was trying to right a wrong, or many wrongs. You were on the receiving end of Dario De Luca so you, out of everyone, should know what I’ve been trying to do. I took money out of the accounts and made it my mission to find past employees of my father’s and tried to set them up. He treated people worse than he did you or me, so take that in. Maybe I didn’t think it through, but what’s done is done. Brick, Fury, I’m sorry, can we get back to what’s going to happen next?”
Fury looks again to Karma, who nods, then jumps right in.
“Celestina is correct, that’s one of her brothers. From what I could find out, they managed to stop the bleeding and save his miserable life, though he’s one ball short. Now, let me share this with you. As I was taking pictures with my drone, look what I caught. See that, about a quarter mile away in that barn? See that tall, thin hunched-over bastard? That’s Elijah, one of the elders of the Thunder Cloud Knuckle Brotherhood. And the rest of those dicks are also part of that group. Seems like the Italians and the racist assholes ain’t playing well in the sandbox. If we can figure out some way to get them pissed off and then just kill each other off, that would solve part of our problem. Maybe have Celestina call each group, promising to give up the accounts if they let her live. I’m not you, Brick, or you, Fury, just a thought.”
I watch as both Brick and Fury look at each other. Since I don’t know them at all I can’t read what their faces are saying, but everyone seems to relax a bit.
“Karma, brother, good to see you’re thinking outside the box. And that might work, so thanks. Anything else we need to know before we get to the bones of everything?”
Karma shakes his head and sits back. I hear Bullet say something, can’t make it out, but it was directed at Karma. Then I hear the growl.
“Motherfuckin’ kid, knock it off. Now’s not the time. Grow the fuck up, Bullet. It’s gettin’ old.”
Chains glares at the poor kid as Bullet’s face gets red as an apple. No one says a word then Brick starts going over some of the options we have. Fury, Stitch, Panther, surprisingly, and even my cousin they all throw out different options. I see Karma taking notes on his tablet while the rest of the prospects are sitting, just listening, like they’re afraid to say a single word. I’ve been on the receiving side of that growing up, so I clear my throat.
“Brick, can I ask the prospects if they have any ideas on how to handle my predicament or are they not allowed to talk or give any insight?”
Dingo is still holding me and after I’m done, his hands are squeezing me like no tomorrow. I peek at the prospects and no one will meet my eyes except Bullet, who winks at me with that cute grin of his. Good, he knows why I said what I said. I hate how Chains berated him in front of everyone.
“Yeah, Celestina, every brother can put in their two cents. Though we are under the gun to get this done before all hell breaks out. Gotta remember, girl, we are also responsible for our little town, along with the folks who live here. We’ve had enough of our bullshit blow back on them in the past, and it took us forever to find a balance and gain their trust again. So let me open it up to you assholes, I mean, prospects, to give us your two cents whenever you want.”
I’m giving Brick the stink eye and when he looks my way he laughs out loud, then looks at Shadow.
“It ain’t no secret you two are related by the way you look alike. The other clue is she’s got balls just like you.”
Not sure why but it flies out of my mouth before I can stop it.
“Nope, Brick, you got it wrong, we have ovaries, which makes us stronger than you men and we have no fear showing our strength.”
