Clean Slate (New Mafia Trilogy #2) (22 page)

“You
can try to make it, Marco, but guaranteed you’ll be dead before you reach your
gun.” He stopped moving and looked at me, nervously licking his lips.

“You
don’t have the fucking balls.”

           
“Balls? That’s a good place to start.” I lowered my aim
to his shrinking dick and pulled the trigger.

With a howl, Marco
dropped to his knees, holding his crotch. Blood ran down his hands and started
to pool on the floor. I walked up to him and placed the gun against his forehead
that was now shiny with a layer of sweat. His howling quieted to whimpers as he
stared up at me. “Why Dom? After all I’ve done for you.”

           
“For me? You haven’t done shit for me except try to
control my every move. You hurt your wife, your kids and everyone around you
with your selfishness.
 
Plus, you’ve been
making bad decisions, which are getting people killed. How does it feel knowing
your own son and daughter want you dead?”

           
“You’re lying!”

“No,
I’m not.”
 

           
“You’re doing this for that cunt, aren’t you?” he said,
wincing when I ground the barrel of my gun into his skin.

           
“Do you mean Natalie?”

           
“Yes,” he answered and groaned, holding onto the shredded
remains of his manhood.

           
“The reasons why are numerous, but the fact that your
death cancels the hit you put out on Natalie is reason enough for me to kill
you.’

“Wait,
Dom, we can work something out.” He held up a blood soaked hand as he pleaded.

“Fuck
you, Marco.”

 
I pulled the trigger.

***

Allegra was in the
hallway with Grant when I left the room. “Is it done?” Grant asked.

           
“Yeah, let’s go.”

Our gunshots weren’t
heard over the people partying in the bar and Sam stood as stony faced as ever
by the front door when we walked down the stairs. I paused in front of Sam
before we left The Speak. “Remember you saw me and Grant. It will be important
later.”

“Huh?”
Sam’s face wrinkled up in confusion as he watched us leave.

Allegra was shivering
by the time we reached the street corner, so I handed her my jacket. She
wrapped herself up in the warmth and sighed. “I’m glad you guys showed up when
you did. I don’t know how long I could have stalled,” she said once we started
walking again.

           
“I’m sorry you had to go as far as you did, but it’s
definitely appreciated.”

           
“After what he let happen to Brittany and Nat, I don’t
mind.” She hugged my jacket closer to her body as we hurried to Grant’s car.
“What happens now?” she asked.

           
“We’ll drop you off at home and then we’ll deal with the
shit storm we just created.”

Minutes later we pulled
up in front of Allegra’s row home and she climbed out, taking my jacket off and
handing it to me. “Thanks, you guys be safe.”

 
Once she was inside, Grant pulled out onto the
narrow street. “Call Gio and let him know it’s done,” he said. “The sooner he
knows the better.”

           
“Right.” I dialed Gio’s mobile number, but it went right
to voicemail, forcing me to leave a message. “Hey it’s Philly; our business
deal went through tonight.” I disconnected the call and leaned my head back
against the headrest, letting out a deep breath of relief. It was done. Once
news of Marco’s death spread, the mark on Natalie would end, but we still had
damage control to deal with.

Even though it was New
Year’s Eve, the streets were empty except for a few cabs and the occasional
drunk who didn’t care that it was cold enough to snow. Grant navigated down a
narrow side street around the corner from my parent’s house and parked. We
waited a few minutes for Dante and Miranda to arrive. Since my dad was
underboss to Marco, basically like the Vice President to the President, he was
next in line to be Don. That wasn’t going to happen. He’d either be joining his
brother in death tonight or retiring peacefully. I hoped for the latter.
              
                                               

Usually my parents were
in bed by two in the morning on New Year’s Eve and always have been for as long
as I can remember. When we walked up and saw lights on in all the windows on
the first floor, I had a hunch that news of Marco’s demise had been delivered. Eva’s
bedroom was dark, but I knew she was spending the night at her friend Cynthia’s
house.

Paulie, Johnny and
Anthony were walking down the sidewalk and we waited until they joined us
outside the front door. Anthony handed me his house key and I opened the door.

My dad was in the
hallway shrugging on his black wool dress coat. My mom stood behind him,
hugging her pink satin robe closed. Her hair was scrunched up on one side from
sleeping and her face was pale with all of the make-up washed off.

They both jumped and
turned when they heard the front door open. I saw my dad reach for his gun,
momentarily relaxing when he saw me in the doorway, but then a combination of
anger and grief rippled across his face.

“What
have you done, Dom?” he yelled, charging forward and grabbing me by the
shoulders, shaking me. “Is it true – did you kill Marco?” It was like he was
pleading with me to deny it.

“Yeah,
I killed him.”

“Why?”

“Oh it’s obvious,
Rico,” my mom said, stepping forward. “He found out about the hit on Natalie.

She turned to me, “Am I
right?”

           
“That’s not the only reason, but a big factor, yeah,” I
paused. “Wait a minute, you knew about that?”

           
“Yes. I overheard your dad and Uncle Marco talking about
it…” She started to say something else, but I cut her off.

           
“You fucking knew? Both of you?” I turned back to my dad.
“Why didn’t you say anything, or try to stop Marco?”

           
“Of course I fucking tried to talk him out of it, but he
didn’t listen. Do you think I wanted Natalie dead? She saved your life.”

We were in each other’s
faces now, but I towered over my dad by a good three inches and made sure to
use every inch to an intimidating advantage.

           
“Dominic, stop it!” My mom tried to wedge herself between
us. “Natalie told me she wanted out. She already had it all planned. Knowing
about the hit, I thought it best to help her leave.”

           
“Jesus Christ, is there anything fucking else I need to
know? Any other secrets you’re keeping from me?” I paced across the living
room, rage and betrayal boiling in my blood, demanding release. With a roar, I
punched a wall, cracking the plaster and sending a flurry of paint chips to the
hardwood floor. My knuckles were scraped and bleeding when I pulled my hand
away. They’d probably be swollen and hurt like hell later, but I savored the
little bit of pain I was feeling at that moment.

           
“Dom, calm down, bro. We need to focus on what we came
here to do.” Grant had appeared at my side and talked low in my ear.

           
“Right, thanks.” I took some calming breaths, harnessing
the rage, and faced my dad again.

He was silent and
watching my every move. My mom hovered behind him peering out past his
shoulder. When my gaze settled on her she shrunk back.

           
“Are you here to kill me too, son?”

           
“If it comes to that, I’m prepared to. We’ve already
discussed it,” I gestured to Miranda and the others. “Miranda’s in agreement
too.”

           
“What about you, Anthony?” My dad asked, but Anthony
couldn’t meet his eyes. He shrugged and looked away, but not before I saw the
anguish on his face.

           
“Dad, you know Marco wasn’t running things right. He was
greedy, selfish and paranoid, a bad combination for leading our organization.
Do you agree?”

           
“He was ruthless and made the tough decisions, though,
Dom and we never wanted for nothin’.”

           
“We can still have money without the side of crazy, but
you need to step down. I’m going to be in charge.”

           
“That’s bullshit!” My dad drew his weapon and pointed it
at me the same time I drew on him.

 
          
“No!”
my mom shrieked and tried to move in the middle between us, but Grant held her back
with one arm while she kicked and screamed, struggling to break free. “Don’t do
this, we’re family!” she cried.

           
“Can you be ruthless, Dom?” my dad asked.

           
“Why don’t you ask Uncle Marco that, he’ll give me a
great recommendation.” I moved my finger over the trigger, very aware of my mom
and brother watching. Anthony hadn’t tried to interfere and my mom’s struggling
had slowed. She hung limp, defeated; practically folded over Grant’s arm.

My dad and I stared at
each other, our guns unwavering. Minutes passed by in a standoff I never
imagined possible. Finally, he closed his eyes and sighed, lowering his weapon.

           
“What do you want?” he asked. “I’ll do it.”

I nodded at Grant at he
released my mom, who collapsed onto the floor, sobbing. Anthony sat down next
to her and gave her a hug. She clung to him, his fleece pullover absorbing her
tears. “It’s over, Mom,” he said in a soothing voice, helping her stand. They
walked over to the black leather sofa in the living room.

           
“As of now, you’re retired. You’re going to step aside as
underboss and just run your construction business.”

           
“That’s it?”

           
“No. You’re coming with us when we go tell Uncle Al the
same thing. You will support us.”

           
“Okay.” He signaled his compliance by holstering his gun.

And just like that, I
became the boss of the Philly Mob.

LOS
ANGELES

NATALIE

Dirty was slammed and I
was so glad I’d long ago mastered the art of squeezing through groups of drunk
people without spilling a single drink otherwise I’d smell like a distillery. A
DJ was set-up on the stage usually occupied by local bands and dance music
blared through the sound system. It was almost midnight and the New Year’s Eve
party was in full swing. We were so busy that Callie was in the kitchen helping
to keep the buffet station of hors d’oeuvres replenished.

It was on a trip up to
the bar to get more drink orders filled when I saw Victor walk in. He easily
moved through the crowd and walked up to me.

           
“Hey, I thought you had the night off,” I shouted over
the music.

           
“I do, but wanted you to know…that Marco is done.”

           
“Wait, what?”

Victor pulled me closer
and whispered in my ear, “Marco is dead.”

I gasped and took a
step back, colliding into a woman walking past. She glared at me, but kept
going. “I hope you’re not joking,” I said.

           
“It’s done. I thought you’d want to know right away.” He
kissed me on the cheek. “Happy New Year, I’ll see you around.” Victor turned
and left. I stood there, stunned into temporary paralysis. Marco was dead. I
was safe. Relief hit with a sense of euphoria and I practically floated to the
bar. Jason looked up at me and smiled.

           
“What’s with the goofy grin, Nat? Suffering a psychotic
break?” he teased as he flipped a bottle of vodka in the air, caught it and
poured a hefty amount into a shaker.

           
“No, Victor was just here and he told me Marco is…” I
leaned across the bar and in a lower voice said, “Dead.” I could hardly contain
my excitement. This was definitely an example of how my recent life experiences
had changed me – a year ago I didn’t know about organized crime and now I was
celebrating someone’s murder.

           
“That’s great, Nat. So you’re safe?”

I nodded and could feel
my cheeks beginning to ache from my smile. I gave him my drink orders and
continued to grin like a fool, even moving my hips to the beat while I waited.

           
“We’ll celebrate later,” he said as he loaded up my tray.

The rest of the night
was a blur and once the crowd had cleared out and the doors were locked, I
collapsed on one of the bar stools to count out tips. Everyone else had
gathered around the bar while Jason, Collin and Rayne, the only female
bartender, finished closing out their registers. Rebecca, one of the other
waitresses, sat down next to me and yawned. Callie walked over to collect the
register trays and bank bags, her curly hair frizzy from being in the hot
kitchen all night. “Happy New Year guys, we made it!” she joked.

We laughed and wished
each other Happy New Year, raising our complimentary drinks in the air for a
toast. Callie surprised everyone; the two bouncers, the kitchen staff, Rebecca
and me as well as Collin, Jason and Rayne when she gave us each a one hundred
dollar bill.

           
“Thank you for working so hard. I know Frank would have
been thrilled to see how busy Dirty was tonight.” Her eyes glistened and her
voice cracked as she looked at all of us. “This was his dream and I wish he was
here to see it come true.”

My throat tightened
with emotion and I took a sip of my martini. I admired Callie. She was a strong
woman, an incredible mom and a smart business person. She was proof that when
bad things happen, one can move on and even grow from the pain.

Callie went to her
office to take care of the financials, but she let us stay and have our own New
Year’s celebration. David, the head cook, brought out all of the leftovers from
the buffet and we gorged on mozzarella sticks, Buffalo wings, stuffed mushrooms
and quesadillas. The bartenders took turns making drinks and I noticed whenever
Jason made me a martini, they were stronger and always had four blue cheese
stuffed olives on a toothpick. I was on my third martini when my face started
to go numb and this made me giggle. Jason was sitting next to me when I
snorted, setting me off even more.

           
“Okay, looks like somebody’s had enough,” he said,
sliding my glass towards him.

           
“Hey, you said we’re celebrating. I don’t have to feel my
face to do that,” I made a grab for my drink, but almost fell off the stool.
Fortunately Jason was there to stop me and I collided into his chest.

Everyone started
laughing and Rayne set a round of tequila shots on the bar for everyone. “Uh, I
think I’m taking a cab home,” I said, tipping another shot back. For the first
time in weeks I didn’t feel like a walking target and the euphoria on top of
the booze made for a heady experience.
 

Jason chuckled, shaking
his head before downing his shot. As the morning progressed and more shots were
poured, Jason pulled my stool closer to his, so I could lean against him. He
was definitely testing the boundaries of the friend zone, especially when his
fingers started to brush the inside of my thigh near the hem of my shorts. I
set my hand on top of his to prevent further exploration.

Callie had made all of
us promise to all take cabs home before she left. Mike, one of the bouncers,
set the alarm and locked the door behind us. By the time we exited Dirty, the
sky was beginning to lighten. A line of taxis waited for us in the parking lot.
Collin said goodbye and climbed into a cab with Rayne since they lived a few
streets away from each other. I started walking towards the next in line and
Jason followed.

           
“I’m going with. I want to make sure you get home okay,”
he said.

           
“But it’s out of your way. I’ll be fine.”

           
“I’ll sleep on the floor until I’m sober. Please, let me
do this?”

I stood there, one leg
in the cab and thought about it. The chances were pretty good I was going to
pass out at any moment, so having Jason there to make sure I made it home
without getting ripped off…or worse, seemed like a smart plan. “Okay, fine and
you get the futon; I’ve been sleeping in Chelsea’s bed.”

           
“Even better,” he said with a smile that made the fine
laugh lines around his eyes crinkle and slid into the cab beside me.

I did pass out and was
leaning against Jason when he woke me up. We were in front of the closed gate
for my apartment complex. I gave the driver the code to open the gate and
within minutes, Jason had paid him and helped me up the stairs.

The long night had
definitely caught up with me and I yawned when I unlocked the door. After
grabbing a pillow and blanket for Jason, I brushed my teeth and crawled into
bed.

When I woke, Chelsea’s
bedroom was dark and the faint sound of voices drifted down the hallway. I
rolled over to look at the alarm clock and was shocked to see it was after
five. I had slept for close to twelve hours straight and had slept right
through what would undoubtedly have been a hangover from hell.

Jason was sprawled out
on the futon watching TV. He didn’t have a shirt on and seeing his tan,
sculpted and smooth bare chest as the first sight of the day was not
unbearable.

           
“You stayed,” I said and took a seat on the end of the
futon.

           
“Yeah, you have to get your car too, so I figured we can
cab it back to Dirty together.”

           
“I need caffeine first.” I stood back up and grabbed a
Diet Coke out of the refrigerator since it was too late to make coffee. “Want
anything?”

           
“I’m good.”

I went back to join him
and mindlessly stared at the images on the screen. Jason was watching some
action movie where something was exploding every other scene. I left him after
a few minutes to go find my phone, realizing I could get on a regular plan now
that I was done hiding. I could go onto Facebook and Snapchat again. I could
call my friends. I did a happy dance in Chelsea’s bedroom. Then I checked my
phone.

Both Dominic and Grant
had called. Grant left me a cryptic voicemail basically saying Marco was dead,
but in some weird Mob code language, which I understood for some bizarre
reason. Dominic’s voicemail wasn’t cryptic at all. He came right out and said
he wanted me home, that he loved me, missed me and would protect me forever.
The sincerity behind his words packed an emotional punch and sent my heart
racing. Just hearing his voice made my body quiver with longing. I deleted the
message before I tortured myself by listening to it over and over again like a
bad love song.
 
I broke up with him for a
reason and it was hard to remember what that reason was when he said everything
I wanted to hear.

Jason came into the
bedroom to find me sitting on the edge of Chelsea’s bed, with tears streaming down
my cheeks. I had cried in such a free fall that the front of my tank top was
wet.

           
“Jesus, Nat, what’s going on?” He sat down and pulled me
against his chest. His body heat felt good against my chilled skin and the
comfort of being held helped slow my tears. His chin rested on top of my head
and I felt enveloped by him. We stayed like that for a few minutes and he
didn’t pry. Once I regained my composure, I sat up straighter and pulled away,
wiping the moisture from my cheeks.

           
“Thanks,” I said and sniffed, hoping I didn’t have snot
running out of my nose.

           
‘Want to talk about it?” He leaned back on his arms and
waited.

           
“I’m finally able to reconnect with my friends and get
back to living, but…” I scooted up on the bed so I was sitting cross legged
next to Jason. He turned to look at me, his blue eyes studying my face. “If I
go back to Philadelphia well, I’m afraid.”

           
“Of what? Marco’s threats died with him.”

           
“I know that.” I twisted the bottom of my shirt so it
pulled tight around my waist. I took a deep breath, stretching the fabric as my
lungs expanded. “I’m afraid of being weak and going back to Dom. He left me a
voicemail.” I trailed off and released my shirt, leaving behind a crinkled lump
that slowly unfurled, reminding me of a wadded up paper towel.

           
“Do I want more than a friendship with you? Fuck yeah,
but you’re not ready and I understand that. Give yourself time to heal. That’s
what you need, because you aren’t weak, Nat. You’re unbelievably strong and
you’re the only chick I know who’s been shot.” He smirked at me and I laughed.

           
“That is pretty bad ass.”

           
“You’re one bad ass biatch.”
 

I playfully smacked his
bare chest with the back of my hand. Who knew Jason could be so good to talk
to? Aside from his relationship comment, he gave advice like Chelsea.

           
“Come on. Let’s go get our cars. Plus, I’m starving and
you’re taking me out to dinner.”

           
“Oh, really?” He stood up in one swift movement, grabbing
my arm and dragging me along with him. “Is this a date?”

With my hands on my
hips I gave him a look that had him holding his hands up in surrender. “Too
soon?”

           
“Yes, too soon.” I smacked his chest again before kicking
him out of the bedroom so I could get dressed.

Once we got our cars, I
followed Jason to a nearby taco stand. We sat outside and ate carne asada soft
tacos with the best Pico de Gallo I’d ever had. The tomatoes were so fresh they
burst in my mouth. Afterwards, we said good bye and Jason gave me a hug before
getting in his car.

It was almost 9:00 when
I walked in the front door to the apartment and my phone started buzzing.
Apprehensive that it might be Dominic, I almost didn’t fish the cell out of my
bag, but eventually did to see it was Chelsea calling.

           
“Hey Chels - Happy New Year!”

           
“Oh my God, Nat, it’s all over the fucking news.”

           
“What is?”

           
“They found Marco’s body in a field by the airport
today.”

           
“No shit.”

           
“Yeah no shit and not only was he shot in the head, but
allegedly his peen was blown off.”

           
“What?” I stifled a laugh. Some guys say they love you
with flowers, but Dom says it by castrating assholes with a bullet. You had to
appreciate his style, and I hoped Brittany was up there somewhere
celebrating.
 

           
“I’ll probably be driving right past where his body was
dumped.”