AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterOne
Gabriele
“What the fuck? This is some fucking bullshit.”
I don’t flinch when I slam my fist down on the wood conference table, even though it smarts. I’m tempted to throw the papers across the room, but my outburst is enough. Throwing them just looks like a temper tantrum. Though the idea of stomping my feet while screaming is appealing. That’s not a very Mafioso thing to do.
And that’s the motherfucking problem. I’m fuckingCosa Nostra.
“Gabriele.”
I know that tone from Uncle Salvatore. It’s the only warning I’ll get to get my temper under control. He’s right, of course. But why the fuck should that matter? He’s not the one looking at prison time. At least, his whole damned future isn’t on the line this time. Who the fuck is the woman? She hasn’t said a fucking word since we arrived, but neither Uncle Salvatore nor Uncle Massimo are keeping anything from her. She’s fucking hot as hell. Like I’m only not having a tantrum because I don’t want to humiliate myself in front of the hottest woman I’ve ever seen. She’s my kind of hot. Pretty, but doesn’t realize just how pretty. She’s not a Barbie doll. Her clothes are understated, but professional. My guess is high-end for women’s suits. I wouldn’t know. My tailor only does men’s clothes.
Fuck me. Stop staring. Uncle Salvatore expects me to respond. I can’t if my tongue is longing to be in her pussy.
“I’m sorry, Uncle Sal. But this is bullshit.”
Salvatore Mancinelli isn’t my biological uncle or even one by marriage, and for most of my life, he’s wished he didn’t even know me. His actual nephew, Carmine, is my best friend and has been for twenty years. We’re like self-selected fraternal twins. We’re both only children, so he became a member of my family as much as I became a member of his. But that friendship has tested my loyalty beyond anything I could have imagined when I was ten and moved here from Sicily. That said, as many times as I’ve considered strangling Carmine, there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. Which means there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for his family. Especially Uncle Salvatore. He’s our don.
It's Uncle Salvatore’s younger brother who speaks next. It’s like having two fathers disappointed in you at the same time. I can’t wait to call my own father. At least my parents are back in Palermo. I brace myself for whatever Uncle Massimo has to say.
“It may be bullshit. But it is what it is for now. They’ve released you on bail, so we move forward.”
“Yeah, a five-million-dollar bail, and I’ve had to hand over my passports.”
So much for dual citizenship.
Uncle Massimo, with his scowling perpetual optimism, keeps going.
“It could be worse. You’ve been through the arraignment, and we know the charges. The prosecution hasn’t released this in discovery, so I shouldn’t be showing you this privileged information but I am. I shouldn’t even have it yet.”
I’m charged with two felonies: First, detonation of a destructive device of explosives with intent or that causes death, mayhem, or great bodily injury to another, and second, extortion or criminal threats done for the benefit of a street gang.
A motherfucking street gang? Motherfucking please.
“Gabe, you might as well be screaming your thoughts. We can hear them. Like I said, you know I shouldn’t have shown these reports to you. There’s witness information that I could get disbarred for disclosing.”
Uncle Massimo is ourconsigliere, which means he’s Uncle Salvatore’s chief advisor. He’s also ourCosa Nostrabranch’s lawyer for our— more unsavory —endeavors. Uncle Salvatore’s wife, Sylvia, is our attorney for our aboveboard business. I’m somewhere in the middle. One look at me, and it’s obvious I’m not some yuppie attorney. Even if I do have an Ivy League education for undergrad and law school. No one believes I’m Aunt Sylvia’s second chair, so I help her behind the scenes. When I need to make an appearance as a fully admitted-to-the-bar attorney, it’s often beside Uncle Massimo.
“And that’s why, for now at least, no one but the four of us needs to know what they’re charging me with. I have no intention of being my own counsel, but I can help with my own defense. Uncle Massi, you already know the case and what’s involved.”
Who the fuck is the woman? We don’t do outsiders. All will be revealed in time. I know my uncles, but it makes me want to twitch. Uncle Salvatore shakes his head.
“That’s not possible. That’s exactly what they expect. That’s why we’ve brought in outside counsel.”
Uncle Salvatore turns to the woman at the end of the table. I already figured she was an attorney and one who will handle this case. She’s hot, and I’d fuck her given half a chance. But when it comes to my life and a stint in prison, I trust no one I don’t know. I’ve never seen her before in my life. I’d remember.
“Gabriele Scotto, this is Sinead O’Malley. She will represent you.”
I can tell Uncle Salvatore and Uncle Massimo are bracing themselves. I place my palms flat on the arms of my chair when all I want to do is curl them into fists until my knuckles are white. That’s too much of a tell.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. O’Malley.”
It was until I heard her last name. My gaze darts to Uncle Salvatore. My face shows none of my thoughts now. They’re locked up tighter than a virgin in a whorehouse.
“Mr. Scotto, I understand your frustration and your wish to assist in your own defense. I advise against that. I have no interest in this going to mistrial or you being remanded back into custody. Neither helps my reputation, and neither gets you closer to being free.”
Her fucking reputation? That was a jab if ever there was one. Like she’s doing me some fucking favor. How many zeros are at the end of the check she’ll be getting?
