AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Fuck you,” Giddy shoots back, and then adds grumpily, “It was Pedretti, anyways.”
Max shakes his head. “You two were almost there. Sometimes you just need a fresh eye.”
“Nice work,” I tell Rook and Giddy. “And nice fresh eye, Pedretti.”
Max just nods at my acknowledgment.
When the pizzas arrive, the crew sits around the one table in the place we keep clean. We do our eating and our strategizing there, and I like the way it brings us together like one big noisy family. Honeybee makes sure Max gets the biggest slice of pie, slapping Nico’s fingers away from it, and I have to hide a smile as I head to wash the gun oil off my hands in the kitchen.
“Bricker.” Van’s voice snaps me out of my reverie. He stands close, watching the group, his expression tense. “You really think we can trust this guy?”
I shrug, keeping my voice low. “I don’t know yet. But he’s got skills, that’s for sure. And Anna-Vittoria seems to think he’ll be an asset.”
“Anna-Vittoria.” Van scoffs, rolling his eyes. “She just wants to keep an eye on us. Or maybe…” He trails off, glancing over at Max with a mixture of jealousy and suspicion.
“Maybe what?”
“Maybe she sent him here to distractyou, Cap,” Van finishes, his voice barely more than a whisper.
Van is getting pretty damn close to crossing a line. “You think my dick’s that desperate?” I snap.
He holds his hands up, palms out. “Nah, man. I’m just saying, don’t get too close to him. He’s an outsider. Maybe A-V’s testing you.”
“It’d take more than a pretty face to make me trust a Castellani.”
Van glares mutinously over at Pedretti again. “He’s not so pretty. And we’ve got enough trouble without adding another wildcard to the mix.”
“Go get some fucking food before Tank eats it all,” I tell him, dismissing his concerns with a wave of my hand. “And let me handle Pedretti.” Van doesn’t move. “That’s an order, soldier,” I tell him, letting the steel into my voice, and he walks away.
When I was made Capo, I was worried that Van wouldn’t take it well. But he was just as proud and excited as if he got made Capo himself, and he always has my back. Today is the first time in a year that I felt like he’s shown anything close to disrespect, and that’s down to Max fucking Pedretti, apparently.
Pedretti’s calm demeanor, his competence, his undeniable attractiveness…even his age.
Yeah. He’s just my type.
CouldAnna-Vittoria have sent him in here as a honeytrap, as Van suggested?
Or maybe my first suspicions were right, and she just wants an inside man to report back on how I run my operations.
I sigh, scratching the tickle at the back of my neck, the one that always tells me that something’s wrong. If the Maestra wanted someone to keep an eye on me, she has a lot of men and women within the Family who’d do it gladly.
So why send in a motherfucking Castellani?
It suggests some hidden agenda I can’t see yet. And I don’t like being kept in the dark.
CHAPTER9
MAX
By the timeBricker calls the day done, I have a crick in my neck and my eyes are bleary from staring at tiny wiring and parts. I clean the grit and grease off my hands with a touch of nostalgia; it’s been a long time since I worked so hands-on. Maybe there’s a part of me that misses it.
Rook and Giddy pack up the electronics as I wipe down the workbench, and I cast my eye over Bricker’s crew again. They’re a tight bunch, only a few sharp edges among them, but every crew has that. There’s eight of them, including Bricker, and it took a minute to get them all straight in my head. I’ve spent most time with the younger ones today: Rook was eager and interested, tall and skinny with a look in his eyes that suggest he hasn’t yet seen much of the darkness that this job can bring. Giddy was also happy to learn, once he got out of his own way and cut the attitude. Tank is his big brother, and I can see a faint resemblance in the face. But where Giddy is sandy haired, a jokester, loose-limbed, Tank is shaved bald, serious, and built like his namesake.
Nico and Honeybee spent most of their time focused on each other, which I think annoys Giddy and Rook. They’d obviously like a little attention from the tiny, electric-blue-haired girl with the bright smile. But Nico’s been monopolizing her today, drawing her eyes back to him with a charming, lopsided grin and easy jokes whenever Giddy or Rook called over to her.
As for the older crew members, they’re all more hardened. Van Delligatti, with his intense glare, seems to like me the least. His collar-length, shaggy hair makes him look like a seventies reject to me, but the way the younger crew all seem to think he’s amazing tells me that whatever look he’s sporting, it’s currently “cool.” He and Bricker have an easy camaraderie, the ability to converse in a glance. And Van keeps the kids in line, giving out instructions when needed. He makes a good second, even if he hasn’t taken much of a shine to me.
Dark-haired Pony is skinny and shorter than most of us, except Honeybee, and all he’s talked about today is cars. He also spent a lot of time getting sent outside to smoke, after trying to light up in the house. Bricker’s exasperation suggested it’s a common occurrence. Only when Jazz snarled at him did he quit trying to push his luck.
