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“Iano, she’s not your Nonna. Why are you doing this?” I ask Iano, using Mariano’s endearment for his grandmother.
“Because she’s the only person who ever gave a shit about me. My parents are useless pieces of crap. Most of the time, they don’t even remember they have a kid. Nonna fed me, gave me a place to sleep, made sure I had had food in my belly. She treated me like her own. We had to do something. When Crusher gave us the option to join, he promised Nonna Vincenza would be off-limits. I owed that to her,” he grits out angrily, then says, “I couldn’t even get that right.” The guy’s pissed at himself.
“I need a huddle,” Guard announces. “Wildcard, Orion, and War,” he calls out, then moves to the corner of the room. Once we’re together, he lowers his voice and says, “We’re not taking them on. We’ve got enough in finding Paul, keeping Charlotte and Noah safe, and our regular work. We got a couple of options.La Famigliawill take the boys, but they’re going to have to pay the dues of a soldier. Reno has talked to Marco Moretti and he’s on board.Il Destinomight do the same. We can ask Reno to see if it’s possible. Then they”—he points to the two men—“become their responsibility and their problem.” He rubs his chin. “We got one more option. Razor’s club might take them on as prospects. They’d be far enough away to stay out of our hair, and they’d be around good men who would guide them. Razor owes us for keeping his daughter safe for the last three months. No small feat, according to Hammer.”
“What about this Nonna Vincenza?” Orion asks.
“We relocate her too. She can be close by and keep the boys grounded by being a good woman in their lives,” Guard replies.
“Personally, I hopeLa Famigliamassacres the fuckwad who would have his gang go after the elderly,” War spits out. “Is nothing sacred anymore?”
“Guess not, brother.” I let out a heavy sigh. “My main concern is Charlotte and Noah. How you handle those two, I don’t care, but let’s make sure we get what we can about Paul. That will help Orion and me track him.”
“I’ll check with Razor first to see if he’s up for the challenge of taking on new prospects,” Guard decides.
Once Guard confirms that Razor’s good with taking on Mariano and Iano, the rest of the night moves along easily. The guys are so relieved to be away from Crusher and to take their beloved Nonna with them that they tell us every detail of the conversations they overheard between Paul and Crusher.
“He goes by Paulie V. His game is poker, and he sucks at it. Last buy-in was ten large, and he lost five grand that night. Not a huge amount compared to some of the other times, but enough to make Crusher call in the entire debt,” Iano says. “When Paul couldn’t pay, it was going to mean a couple of broken legs, and that’s when he offered up his girl.”
“In her picture, she seems like a good kid. A nice girl, you know,” Mariano says. “But Paul said she spreads her legs and is a freaky bitch. Couldn’t believe it, but what do I know?” He shakes his head. “I can’t believe he’d do that shit to his own kid.”
“He’ll offer up his son next. Crusher roped us in with the promise to stay away from Nonna. He’ll do the same to this kid,” Iano adds.
In the early hours of the morning, Demon makes an appearance along with Priest. We let them sleep, knowing we’ll have to switch it up so that the rest of us can get some rest. Once we had the two guys call their Nonna, letting the old woman know that they’re safe and that they have a plan to have someone pick her up, they were on their way to Razor. A couple of Razor’s men are going to take care of the grandmother and get her settled into a safe place nearby.
You never can tell how a day is going to go. But after today’s series of unwanted events and unnecessary guests, now we’ve got more to go on to find the son of a bitch who’s threatening to take my Charli.
SEVEN
I Hate Him
CHARLOTTE
Last night was the soundest sleep I’ve had in ages. With Noah on the couch, and with everything out in the open, I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. It wasn’t fun, and I hated that Noah had to hear about his father that way, but Wildcard was right. He has the right to know, and he needs to be aware of the kind of man his father really is, in case he approaches him.
Noah is still sleeping as I tiptoe past and into the small kitchenette. It’s not often he stays, and when he does, I like to make him a big breakfast. I’m off today, and we’re supposed to be moving into the furnished cottage we rented. I’ve only got my clothes and some personal knickknacks that I’ve already packed. It’s sad to say that my life fits into ten cardboard boxes and two suitcases. At my age, I thought I’d be much further along in my life and career.
I used to get down on myself when I thought of the grand dreams I had of becoming a fashion designer to the stars. I thought I would be living in New York or maybe Paris or Milan, with all these models begging to wear my clothes on the hottest runway show. Life has a way of making us see what’s really important. I’d give up anything now to have my mom with us for one more day. To hear her telling me that it’s all going to work out and to believe.
I stopped believing in miracles the day she died. The day we buried her, I found out the mess that Noah was in, and without having time to truly grieve her loss, I had to find a way for him to get out of that gang. It was a battle I was losing, until the Pride came along.
Wildcard was in the driver’s seat of the car when Roscoe and Saint came for me, whisking me out the back entrance of the shop. He smiled at me in the rearview mirror, and my heart dared to dream once more. I dreamed that he would kiss me, touch me, make me his. I lay awake at night making up all kinds of scenarios where he would show up at my door and declare his love for me.
In all my dreams, it never unfolded the way that it did in real life. It was better! It was real. Even though Wildcard hasn’t declared his undying love for me, what he did say was honest.
I mix pancake batter, throwing chocolate chips into half the batter and blueberries in the other half. Noah has always had a sweet tooth, and I’ve always loved blueberries. Mom would make sure we each had our favorites, and I’ve just carried on the tradition. It comes to mind that I don’t know if Wildcard likes pancakes. I make a note to ask him.
A knock at the door jolts Noah awake, and he races to the door, stopping me from opening it. “Don’t open that door,” he barks. “You gotta be careful, Lollie. You don’t know who’s on the other side.” He then calls out, “Who is it?”
“It’s us, kid. Thunder and Hammer,” Thunder’s voice replies. When the door swings open, Thunder is leaning on the doorframe with a grin. “Good work, kid. Can’t be too careful.”
I return to the task at hand and begin dropping spoonfuls of batter in the pan. “What to join us for breakfast? I’m making pancakes.”
Hammer breezes past Thunder and takes a seat on a chair by the counter. “I’m in.” He smiles huge and inhales the sweet scent of the chocolatey gooey goodness.
“Get the plates and forks, Noah. Syrup’s in the refrigerator,” I tell him as I flip the pancakes over.
“Wildcard is getting a couple of hours in before coming to help move you over to the new place. After breakfast, we’re going to start loading the truck,” Thunder informs me.
