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Vitto
I'm a failure in my father's eyes.
I don't care that he doesn't think me worthy, all I care about is the fact that I can't say he's wrong. After a year of not being able to find Stella, I'd all but given up the search. The bounty stayed open and the family who was looking for her in the first place stopped putting money into the pot. It was widely known that she ran with a lot of unsavory people. Deep in the drug world. Everyone assumed that she'd died on her own.
It was the only option. How was it possible for a woman to just disappear overnight unless someone had killed her and didn't come for the bounty? Such is the life of a junkie.
The ticking of the small wall clock grates on my nerves. I have a small two-bedroom apartment I rent on the lower east side. No one bothers me and I can live my life in something like peace. I should be on the forum right now trying to figure out who the next mark is going to be. Instead, all I can think about is the way my father looked down on me. How he thinks I'm a failure. Usually, I don't care what anyone thinks but Babbo is the one man that can really get under my skin and he knows it.
I have to find that woman and either confirm that she's dead or kill her myself. She's the only thing that my father can use against me. The only mistake that he can still hold over my head.
With a plan in place, I'm itching to get started. I'm going to find my girl again.
* * *
Hours turn into days and days turn into weeks. I have to go back to the very last time I saw her, backtrack everything. Even with pulling all the favors I had in the assassin community I couldn't find any new information on her. I'm not going to give up though. There was no way that I was going to give my father the ammunition to continue to make me feel like I was less than a man.
No way in hell.
I toss the paperwork that I've been working on back on the desk in front of me. My frustration at an all-time high. Nothing is worse than the regret I feel since I let her go that night. If I hadn't made that promise to her I would've killed her right then and there. Of course, if I killed her that meant that I would never have been able to know what it felt like to be balls deep inside her. It was a catch-22. Damned if I did and damned if I didn't.
My phone rings, breaking the silence in the room and jerking me out of my daydream.
I don't bother to look at the name on the caller id, I just place the phone to my ear. "What?" I ask gruffly, my eyes already scanning the papers in front of me trying to find another way to look at the information that I've just decided was useless.
"Fucking hell brother, you're going to have a heart attack one day if you don't find a way to get rid of some of your stress." Giancarlo laughs at me through the line and I have to clench the muscles in my arm to keep myself from hanging up on him. I've never been the one in the family anyone calls just to shoot the shit. I'm no one's favorite.
"I'm not stressed. What do you need?" I switch the phone to the other ear as I lean forward and rearrange the papers again.
"I want to speak to you about something Babbo is trying to do, give you a heads up." Giancarlo's voice became somber.
Sucking in a huge breath, I think of the million and one things that Babbo could want from me. None of which Giancarlo would need to give me a heads up about. If he was calling me then I'm sure it's going to be bad.
"Fine, will you be home this evening?" I push away from the desk and focus my attention on the call.
"Yeah, Rosie and I will be home. I'm sure she'll want to make you something to eat."
My grip tightens on the phone and I look away, not like he can see me, still I feel disgusted even just listening to his voice. I hate when my family tries to play nice with me. "Giancarlo, I'm not there to have dinner, I'm coming over to get the information and that's all."
There was a heavy silence on the phone before my brother responds. "I don't give a damn if you're not coming over to have dinner, if my woman wants to entertain you as my younger brother you will be entertained. Stop being such a fucking jerk and get your head out of your ass. You wonder why no one wants to be around you."
Those were the last words he said to me before he hung up the phone. No parts of me want to argue back. I'm just all the more grateful to be off the phone with him. Now that I don't have to worry about being respectful or saying the right thing I can go back to trying to find Stella.
I'll worry about whatever it is Giancarlo has to warn me about when I meet up with him later. Right now I want to focus on the one who got away.
Seven
Vitto
"Is everything okay?" Rosie smiled brightly and knelt down slightly to look me in the eyes. I'd already eaten three courses and I'm sure if I said I needed anything else she would've gone out of her way to make sure I had it.
"Yes, everything was wonderful. Thank you for such a great dinner." I smiled at her and she put her hand on my shoulder and squeezed.
Rosie is such a warm person. I don't know what she's doing with my brother. People like her aren't meant to be involved with people like us. The bad guys that make the decent folks scream and hide for cover.
"Babe, I need to talk to my brother for a while, why don't you head up to bed. I'll be up in a bit." Giancarlo said, his voice with no edge or bite to it. He truly did love this woman. I didn't understand the sentiment.
"Okay, Gian, put the food away, please. I'll wash dishes in the morning." Rosie leaned over and kissed my brother lovingly on the way out of the room.
