Breaking Bones (Mariani Crime Family Series Book 2) (20 page)

“Yeah, yeah, fine. I’m out.” Before more stupid shit could tumble from my mouth, I tossed a fifty on the table and bounced.

Once I was back in the Jeep, I made two phone calls. The first was to Ma. She was so shocked at my random phone call she must have asked me what was wrong at least a half dozen times, making me feel even worse. By the time I got off the phone with her and called Angel, it was almost time to head to the restaurant. I told Angel Matt was dead, someone was after Ariana, and then I came clean about everything that happened between me and Ariana.

“Wow,” he said when I finished.

“Yeah.” Wow was pretty much all I could say, too. “I’m heading to meet up with Carlo right now and I don’t know how this is gonna go down. No matter what, I need you to promise me something, Angel.”

“Sure. What do you need?” He didn’t even hesitate, and he always kept his word. I knew he would now, too.

Feeling comfort in that, I started up the Jeep. “Whatever happens tonight, promise me you’ll get Ari to that restaurant tomorrow.”

“You got the scout to commit?”

“Yeah. Noah will be there. Just make sure Ari will be too, okay?”

“Of course, bro. You know I’ve got your back.”

Just like Ariana had my back, and look at how well that went for her.

“I don’t want you to go down for this, Angel. You stay clear. And do what you can to protect Ari, will ya?”

“You know I will. No idea who’s after her?”

“Not a goddamn clue.”

“Well, that makes it interesting. What about Uncle Carlo? Did you get a beat on him? Is he pissed?”

I thought back to our conversation. “Said he wants to talk about my future, whatever the hell that means.”

“Maybe he’s gonna let you off. Let you leave with us,” Angel said, forever the optimist.

“Maybe, but I’m covering my bases just in case.”

Neither of us had to voice what that meant.

“I get it. You should have told me what was going on sooner.” I heard the frustration in Angel’s voice. If he was a made man, no one would dare come after me, which was why I’d waited so long to have this conversation. No way I was going to let him agonize over that decision. Not to save my ass.

“I’m not sorry. Take care of Markie, okay? Take care of both of them.”

Before he could answer, I hung up and pulled out of the parking lot. I had a meeting to get to, and I sure as hell didn’t want to be late.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Bones

C
ARLO’S FAVORITE HAUNT was a classy, off-the-strip Italian restaurant with floor-to-ceiling windows, dark wood paneling, low-hanging chandeliers, and red-and-white tablecloths. The hostess led me to the Barolo Room, which seemed to be permanently reserved for the family. It had wine racks on both sides, a table for twelve running down the center, and a floor-to-ceiling window with dark drapes at the end. She passed me off to two of Carlo’s goons who asked for my weapons. I disarmed myself, placing everything into a box, which was promptly covered and set aside. I’d added Matt’s phone to his bag full of belongings, and I removed the bag from my pocket and handed it to the closest guard. He set it on the table beside Carlo and resumed his post by the door.

Carlo sat at the end of the table where he could see the rest of the restaurant out of the windows while staying hidden in the shadow of the drapes. Two more of his goons stood around him. Carlo sipped from a glass of red wine, occasionally picking at the plate of calamari in front of him. I approached slowly, waiting to be acknowledged. Some capos were power-tripping assholes who liked to make their people sweat it out for hours. But as the underboss, Carlo didn’t need to flex for anyone.

He greeted me and motioned for me to sit. “Bones, it’s good to see you. Can I get you a drink?” His tone was pleasant enough, but then again, I’d seen Carlo compliment a soldier with one breath and order his hit with the next.

Outside the window, people talked, glasses clinked, plates were served, all reminding me we were in a very public location. If Carlo had plans to off me here, he’d have to do something to keep the crumbs from noticing. Renzo had used a fire drill, but Carlo was much classier than that. I wondered how he’d do it. Poison? That was possible.

“No, thank you. I’m good.” I joined him at the table, my hands trembling. I wanted to hide them under the table but that was a good way to get killed. Better for him to see me nervous than to assume I was going for a weapon. Last year a soldier got iced for scratching his ankle. When he leaned down, his capo thought he was going for a knife and did him up good right there.

“How’s my nephew?” Carlo asked.

“Good, healthy.”

“But still determined to leave.”

I nodded. “Yes sir, as soon as Markie is cleared.”

“Soon. Her appointment is the day after tomorrow.”

It wasn’t a question, so I didn’t answer. He frowned and watched the restaurant for a few beats, taking another sip of wine. Carlo dismissed the guards standing nearest him. They joined the other two at the door, too far to eavesdrop, but close enough to rush in if they were needed.

“Relax, Bones,” Carlo said, lowering his glass of wine. “I’ve never been big on theatrics. If I was going to take you out, you’d never see it coming.”

It was a promise, both comforting and alarming.

“You should know me better than to think I’d do it here.” He sipped his wine, never taking his eyes off me. I wondered what he saw, what he was looking for. Did I measure up? Was I everything he’d hoped I’d become that fateful day when he stopped out in front of my school and offered me a job?

Carlo put on a pair of latex gloves and opened the bag his bodyguard had brought him, sifting through its contents as if the items would reveal their secrets. Finally he pulled out the phone and powered it on.

“Joey Durante, huh?” Carlo rubbed his chin, staring at the screen. “He’s gotta be out of his goddamn mind to start shit now. What could he possibly hope to accomplish with that handful of bastards of his?”

The question wasn’t directed at me, so I didn’t answer. We sat in silence as Carlo searched the phone, seeing the pictures, reading the texts, getting all the information I had.

“Who is this woman they’re talking about grabbing?” Carlo asked.

My stomach sank. I knew he’d see the texts and ask the questions, and all I could do was be honest and hope for the best. Anything less would be suicide, since Carlo probably already knew at least part of the truth.

“Markie has a sister by the name of Ariana. Matt used to date her and was seen today at her place of employment. The two were arguing. That’s how I got the lead on him.”

Carlo nodded. “Who wants the girl?”

Here’s where things got tricky. “Matt didn’t know. He said he was contacted by a woman.”

“Did he give you a description?” Carlo watched me. I knew from his teachings that he was monitoring things like my breathing, how many times I blinked, whether or not I looked him in the eye… all the tells of a liar.

Careful to show him my honesty, I stared right back at him. “Long dark hair. Dark eyes. Maybe five six? About a hundred and fifty pounds. Nice rack. Big ass,” I repeated word-for-word, just as Matt had said it.

Carlo’s brow furrowed. He put the phone back into the bag, took off his gloves, and pocketed them before announcing, “This has nothing to do with Angel.”

“You know who’s after Ari?” I blurted out. It was a stupid mistake, and I realized it the moment the words left my mouth. But they were already out there, drifting in the space between us. My tone, the nickname, the worry in my voice, had all revealed too much.

He steepled his hands and instead of answering me, he asked a question. “How long have you been working for me, Bones?”

I wanted to demand answers, not spend time telling him what he already knew. But because I valued my life, I did the math in my head and answered, “Thirteen years, sir.”

“And in all that time have you ever had any complaints with your compensation?”

My pay? What the hell does this have to do with Ari?

“No, sir. You’ve been very generous.”

“Have I been cruel? Have my tasks been too difficult? Have I not given you adequate training?”

As far as capos went, Carlo was probably the best one to work for. Sure, he was a hard son-of-a-bitch, but he was fair. “No. None of the above.”

He laid his hands on the table and straightened his back. “And yet you’re planning to leave with my nephew, aren’t you?”

It was a direct question, requiring an honest answer. Lying to my capo would most assuredly lead to my death. But telling him the truth could also be lethal. I took my chances with honesty and nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Why?”

I thought about my life, about the way Carlo had saved my family from starving, about the pride I’d felt in being able to help Ma provide, about how useful protecting Angel made me feel. I got paid well to have my best friend’s back, and I loved that part of my job. But then there were the other tasks. Matt’s face came to mind, two holes through his head. Blood. Pain. Threats. Shakedowns. Beatings. Murders. I used to hate the way the job made me feel. I hated it more now that I felt nothing; no remorse, no shame, nothing, and I hated myself for it. But since I couldn’t tell him any of that, I focused on the part of my job I loved.

“I remember the day I met you, sir. You showed up out of nowhere and you saved my family. We wouldn’t have made it through these years without you. Without the family. But that day, you gave me my first order… you told me to befriend Angel.”

My mind drifted forward about a year, to the day when Angel found out about the arrangement I’d made with his uncle. We’d gotten close. I liked Angel. He was a good kid—smart and funny. Most weekends I stayed at his house, playing video games, working with his trainer, or running through his father’s family safety drills. No one questioned my almost constant presence. Then one afternoon we were in the swimming pool recovering from an especially grueling workout when Angel started asking me about my family’s finances. He’d noticed we were doing better and couldn’t understand why.

“Did your mom get a raise?” he asked in that open, direct way he’s always spoken to me.

“Not exactly.” I didn’t know what to say… how much I should tell him. Would he be pissed? I didn’t want to lose my best friend, and my family couldn’t afford to lose my paycheck.

Angel watched me. “What changed then?”

I respected him too much to lie, so I came clean. We both treaded water as I recounted what had transpired between me and his uncle the day I got suspended for breaking a kid’s arm. Angel listened, his face a mask as I admitted I’d been paid to befriend him.

When I was finished, he asked, “So Uncle Carlo pays you to hang out with me?”

“Yes. But I’d be your friend even if he didn’t.” I’d grown to really like Angel. He wasn’t like the other rich kids at the school. Sure, he was some geeky whiz-kid, but he was also a genuinely nice guy. He brought me food and helped me with my homework. His family was the most powerful in the city, but Angel was never cruel nor condescending. “You’ve become like a brother to me. If my job ended today, I’d still want us to be tight.”

He nodded. “And your family needs the money, so it all works out.”

“Yeah.”

“You had to do what you did to survive. I get it.” I’d expected him to be angry or hurt, but he looked almost relieved. He stretched backwards, floating on top of the water. “Besides, it could be worse.”

I gaped at him, wondering what could possibly be worse than finding out your best friend was being paid to hang out with you.

He cracked a smile. “One of the other families could be paying you.”

Angel had never had a friend before. Not a real one, anyway. Everyone in his life wanted something from him, so he’d assumed I did too. My family could suddenly pay our bills, so he was worried I was a traitor, probably selling information about him. That was the first time I got a full look at how screwed up his life really was. My family was dirt poor, but at least I had friends. None of them were like Angel, though.

“I didn’t even know what friendship was, until I met Angel,” I told Carlo. “He’s more of a brother to me than any of my blood and he’s leaving the protection of the family and going God-only-knows-where to do God-only-knows-what.”