Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2) (12 page)

           
“Yeah, I think so.” It was a risk, but Gio was like
Marco, motivated by money and power. If Philly had to lower its share of the
heroin trade to gain Gio as an ally, it would be worth it.

           
“Let’s go negotiate,” Grant said and started to walk back
to the office. I put my hand on his chest, stopping him. “What?”

           
“We have to be careful and we can’t reveal all of our
cards. Everything is hypothetical.”

           
“I got it,” Grant said. I lowered my arm and we walked
into Gio’s office a united front.

He was back behind his
desk and looked up expectantly when we entered. We sat down in the chairs
across from him.

           
“Mr. Bianchi,” I began. “Say a leadership change did take
place, would a 5% increase in your share of the heroin trade interest you?”

He regarded us, his
dark gaze passing between me and Grant. Victor and the other soldier still
stood at attention next to his desk, but I noticed they exchanged a glance over
the top of their boss’ head.

Gio leaned back, his
fingers forming a triangle in front of his mouth again, tapping the tips of his
fingers against his lips, which turned up in a smug smile. “This gesture
wouldn’t be out of goodwill or righting a wrong though, am I correct?”

           
“You’re correct. This would be in exchange for the
protection of a certain girl until the threat against her life has been
cancelled.”

           
‘That’s it?” Gio’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “All this
just for a girl?”

           
“She’s family,” Grant said.

           
“She’s my life,” I responded and instantly regretted my
choice of words when I saw Gio’s eyes flash and the smug grin return.

           
“Careful who you reveal that to, Dominic. This girl is
your weakness. Maybe that’s why Marco wants her dead?”

Shit, I hadn’t thought
about it that way. Was this an attempt for Uncle Marco to assert more control
over me? If it was, his plan was about ready to backfire.

           
“So do we have an agreement?” I asked.

           
“Yes. I’ll know when the leadership change happens and
I’ll be expecting my 5% increase to go into effect immediately.”

Gio controlled the
ports in Riverside and we controlled the ports in Philadelphia. New York owned
a 25 percent share of the trade and Chicago, which had control of Lake Michigan
and routes into Canada, controlled 20 percent. Miami and Seattle each had a 10
percent share. Since Marco was the one who initiated the deal and secured a strong
source out of Afghanistan, he managed to convince the other Dons to keep L.A.’s
share at 15 percent even though Gio had another source to import from in
Mexico, which is why he initially demanded a larger cut.

           
“Of course, it will be immediate.”

“Consider
the girl under my protection,” Gio said.

           
“Her name is Natalie.”

           
“Fine,” Gio rolled his eyes. “
Natalie
is under my protection.”

           
“Speaking of, can we each borrow a piece for while we’re
in town?” Grant asked.

           
“Of course, can’t have you guys walking around naked.
“Jimmy,” Gio gestured to his soldier with the scar, “Get these guys each a
piece.”

Jimmy walked to a
closet, which had a keypad lock. He typed in the code and pulled open the door
to reveal a walk-in seemingly stuffed with office supplies. It was a façade
that slid to the side, exposing the closet’s true contents: a small arsenal.
Jimmy grabbed two handguns and loaded them each with a magazine before closing
the door. He held two solid black Ruger MK3s up for Gio’s inspection, Once Gio
approved, Jimmy handed us the weapons. The ribbed grip felt familiar in my hand
and I made sure the safety was on before shoving the piece in the waistband of
my jeans. The metal was cool against my back.

           
“Thanks, Mr. Bianchi,” I said and crossed the room to
shake his hand. Grant was right behind me.

           
“We’re doing business together now, call me Gio.”

We all shook hands,
sealing the deal. Fortunately my uncle’s shady dealings provided this opening
for us and I knew we couldn’t fail. Natalie’s life depended on it.

NATALIE

After the taillights
disappeared from sight, I stood in the driveway, not ready to go back inside.
Jason was in there and I owed him an apology, but he also had to know my
intentions.

When I turned to go in,
Chelsea was standing in the doorway; arms crossed and scowl in place. “You need
to talk to Jason. I don’t know what you’re doing Nat, but that guy would do
anything for you.”

           
“I know. I was just getting ready to find him. Do you
know where he is?”

Chelsea moved aside and
I squeezed past her. “He’s upstairs in his room.”

I climbed up the stairs
and walked down the hall to Jason’s room. The door was cracked, so I pushed it
open. Jason was standing by a window, looking out at the beach below. He just
had board shorts on and his blond hair had dried in clumps after his early
morning surfing expedition. I imagined the clumps were crusty with salt and
sand. Jason always smelled like ocean and sunscreen, so different from the
woodsy cologne Dominic wore. Jason’s back was facing me; his shoulders were
broad, his skin smooth and tan.

           
“Hey,” I said, breaking the silence.

Jason turned and
regarded me with cool eyes and a guarded expression. “Hey.”

I started to walk over
to him, but stopped, feeling suddenly awkward. He had just seen me kissing
another man in his house, where he had been kind enough to let us stay. “I’m
such an asshole,” I said and sunk down on the edge of his bed instead.

           
“Not an asshole, exactly,” he said with a tight smile.

           
“No, I am. I’m sorry about all of this and Dominic. It’s
just,” I trailed off and looked away from his intense gaze.

           
“I know you still love him. It’s difficult to see it on
display though.”

           
“I’m really going to end it with him, Jase.
 
I’m staying here and he’s going back to his
life in Philadelphia. I need to make it a clean break, but I want these last
few moments with him. It’s like pigging out on the last unhealthy meal before
going on a diet. Does that make any sense?”

Jason sighed and
uncrossed his arms. He sat next to me on the bed and I felt the heat from his
body as his leg brushed against mine.

           
“It makes sense. So you’re really going to do this?”

           
“I have to – I need closure in order to move on. Thank
you for being so generous with everything and I’m sorry about earlier with
Dom…and um, the kiss.” I tucked a stray hair behind my ear and glanced up at
Jason to find him staring at my lips. Without warning, he swept me up against
him and his mouth was slanted over mine with sheer possession. I tried to push
him away, my hands flat against his bare chest. After a few attempts, he got
the hint and stopped. He sat back on the bed and I was too stunned to move. His
lips had left a trace of salt behind on mine that I tasted when I licked them.

           
“Shit, now I’m the asshole,” Jason said, breaking the
awkward silence.

           
“It’s not like we haven’t kissed before, Jase. I’m not
ready. My head and especially my heart, needs time.”

He nodded in understanding.
“How long are they here for?”

           
“I don’t know. A few days?
 
You’ve helped me a lot these past couple of
months and I know it’s a lot to ask, but will you still be there for me? I’ll
totally understand if you tell me to fuck off.”

           
“That’s not going to happen. I’m here for you Nat. Like I
said last night, we’re friends.”

           
“Thanks.” Leaning over, I kissed his cheek. “You’re a
good guy, Jason.”

           
“Yeah, yeah,” he said, waving his hand as if to brush me
off.

           
“So, are we okay?” I stood up and headed for the door.

           
“We’re good,” he said with his usual smile, not the tense
one he wore earlier.

I made my way back
downstairs to find Chelsea and found her outside on the deck, sprawled out on a
chaise with her face stretched towards the sun like a plant seeking the light.
She wore baggy jeans with the pant legs rolled up to just below her calf and
she had tucked the sleeves of her green t-shirt under her bra strap, exposing
her upper arms to the sun.

Pulling up the other
chaise next to Chelsea, I sprawled out too. While it was December and
considered cold by the locals, it was heaven for me. A light chill carried in
on the wind off the ocean caused my skin to prickle, but the warmth of the sun
quickly smoothed the bumps over. Chelsea was sleeping, and under different
circumstances I would have been dozing along with her. Usually the combination
of sunshine, salt air and the sound of waves gently crashing against the shore
would knock me out, but my mind was going a hundred miles an hour with a
multitude of thoughts: how was the meeting going, were Grant and Dominic okay,
how was I going to say goodbye to Dominic, was I making the right decision? The
more I thought about everything, my heart began to race and my breathing
evolved into sharp pants, which woke Chelsea up.

           
“Hey, whoa, calm down Nat. Take a deep breath,” Chelsea
inhaled and exhaled deeply and I matched my breathing to hers. Eventually my
heart rate slowed and the shaky, sweaty feeling that encompassed my entire body
faded as quickly as it had appeared.

           
“Better?” she asked. She was facing me and had a hand on
my knee.

           
“Yes, thanks. I’ll be glad when these are a thing of my
past.”

           
“Me too. I’m glad you’re not going back with them. I
don’t think you’re healed enough.”

           
“No, I’m not.” I took another deep breath and exhaled
slowly. “It’s been good living with you, like old times. Normal.”

           
“Stay with me as long as you need,” she squeezed my knee
once before releasing it so she could recline back on the chaise. “Did you talk
to Jason?” she asked.

           
“Yeah, that’s complicated too.” I told her about how
Jason kissed me and how possessive it was. Chelsea rolled her eyes and laughed.
“We’re good, I mean he agreed to remain friends, but seriously, I don’t know if
it’s possible to stay just friends since we’ve already slept together. God,
life was so much easier when I either had one night stands or didn’t have sex
at all.”

           
“What’s this about sex?” Dominic asked. I didn’t even
hear the deck door open and jumped at the sound of his voice. Dominic walked towards
me with Grant behind him. I noticed Jason in the background as he closed the
door and disappeared into the house.
 

           
“You’re back!” I held my hand out and Dom grabbed it
before taking a seat next to me. I noticed the gun tucked into his jeans. “How
did it go?”

           
“Good. Gio is going to look out for you.”

           
“Just like that?’ I asked, looking over at Grant who had
taken a seat at the table where we ate breakfast.

           
“There have been some developments,” he paused and ran a
hand through his hair. The sound of the door opening distracted me and I turned
away. Jason was walking out with a six pack of beer in his hand. He passed a
bottle out to all of us before taking a seat at the table across from Grant.

           
“What developments?” I prodded.

           
“Uncle Marco is the one who has the hit out on you,” Dom
said.

           
“What?” I whipped my head around and met Dom’s steady
gaze.

           
“Yeah, I was just a surprised.”

           
“Because I left? What about…” I turned my attention back
to Grant. “Is there a hit out on you too?”

           
“No, just you and we’re not sure why. Listen, Nat, before
we even knew where you were, Dom, Miranda, Dante and I decided that a change
needed to be made and we’ve been making plans. Now, knowing that Marco put a
hit out on you and has been lying to us only solidified these plans.”

           
“What are you talking about?”

Looking sideways at
Jason, Grant hesitated, but Dominic answered my question. “We’re taking Marco
out.”

           
“God damn it, Grabano!” Grant slammed his beer bottle
down on the table so hard that suds erupted from the top, spilling down the
side. Standing up, he stormed down onto the beach. This time it was my turn to
follow him.

I could see the tension
in his shoulders from ten feet away. He paced a short length of the beach with
his hands clenched into fists.

           
“Grant!” I called to him as I jogged up. He didn’t stop
his pacing, but I noticed his shoulders drop and he relaxed his hands. The sun
had lowered in the sky casting long shadows and his stretched out to greet me.

           
“What was that all about?” I asked once I was pacing
alongside him.

           
“How much do you trust this Jason guy?”

           
“I trust him. He’s been good to me. That’s not what I’m
asking though. Are you seriously thinking about killing Marco?”

           
“Yes. It’s time for new leadership.”

           
‘And Dom’s okay with this? He always talked about how
important family is to him.”

           
“You don’t get it, Nat. You’re part of his family as much
as you’re part of mine. He’s taking it personally that Marco put a hit out on
you. I’m fucking pissed about it too. It only shows how crazy Marco has become.
I’m not happy that Dom just revealed our intention to a virtual stranger who
could easily rat on us.”

           
“Jason wouldn’t do that.” I was quick to defend him, but
he was the least of my concerns. Dominic was going to kill his own uncle,
basically for me, and here I was preparing to break things off with him for
good. On top of that, Dominic and Grant were going to declare war on Marco.
Just a few months ago, the Grabano crime family was engaged in a violent
exchange with the Nucci family, who was attempting a hostile takeover of the
Philadelphia territory. Body counts rose as drive-by shootings, bombings and
other violent acts shook the city. The media loved it, but I didn’t since Grant
and Dominic were usually involved when it came time to settle the score.

Complicated just got
more complicated. With a groan, I sunk down into the sand, which was warm
against the back of my thighs from the late afternoon sun. Grant sat down next
to me, propping his elbows on top of his knees.

           
“Miranda’s on board with this? Marco is her dad.” Not
that he would have won any father of the year awards.

           
“She’s been losing respect for him over the years. It
started when she found out he was cheating on her mom. When Miranda confronted
him about it, Marco just laughed in her face. He’s never seen women as equals,
even his own daughter and Miranda is one hell of a business manager.” Grant’s
voice cracked and his eyes shone with admiration for his fiancée. “After what
Marco allowed to happen with you and Brittany, well, she realized her dad needs
to be stopped. She knows that he won’t go quietly or retire. Killing him is the
only way.”

It was decided and a
more moral person would try to change their minds, but the thought of a
Marco-free world was too appealing. Besides, my morals were compromised the
moment I put a bullet in that man’s head. I just hoped that killing Marco went
smoothly and didn’t trigger an all-out war between the old and new mafia.