Complete Corruption (Corruption #1-3) (24 page)

“What are the rules?”

“Do not talk to the press or police. Not talk about our business with anyone. Not ask questions.” He held up his hand to my pending objections. “You can ask
me
. But no one else. I have all the information. My men only know some things, and if they talk, you get half the story. And I know what can hurt you.”

“You might have mentioned this before all the double kissing happened.”

“What am I asking? That you be loyal? That you come to me first? Only the saying of it makes you sit up and cross your arms.”

I huffed. Of course he was right. Of course I had no intention of ratting him out or investigating him further. It was indeed the list of rules that bristled me.

“This needs to be on a probationary basis,” I said.

“One minute probation,” he said then kissed me, his hand tight on my jaw, his tongue prying my mouth open. He stopped. “My minute’s up, Contessa. Are you still mine?”

“You are my Capo,” I whispered. “But I’m mad at you.”

“Get in the shower then before I fuck you again.”

***

Katrina had packed everything I needed. One set of work clothes, one set of regular clothes. Shoes, toiletries, and a note.

Tee – Thank you for everything. You are a shining star. I promise not to let you down. You’ll be proud of me one day.

Be safe, okay?

The Directrix

When I got out of the bathroom, Antonio held up my phone. “What are we going to do about this guy?”

There was a text from Daniel.

—need to speak with you in person by tomorrow—

“What are we going to do about you looking at my texts?”

“As long as you’re talking to him and the thing is face up on the table, I’ll look.”

“You don’t trust me?” I asked.

“I do.”

“I think you’re missing an opportunity to get some inside information, Capo.”

He crossed his arms and narrowed his gaze. “Contessa.”

“If I don’t see him, he’s going to get suspicious. He’s just opened a case against, I’m assuming, you? Knowing I might be with you? Let me see him and find out what he wants.”

“You’re going to spy for me? I don’t want that from you, ever.”

“To be honest, I just want to go home and have kind of a normal day. You know, one where I don’t see a gun or take part in some ritual I don’t understand.”

“And you need to see Daniel Brower to do that?”

“He’s not a loan shark or a baby capo looking for territory. He’s not going to hate you any more than he already does, and he’ll never touch me. What’s the harm in me putting on my work clothes and taking a lunch?” I put my hands on his forearms, and he dropped them. “We’ll be in public. I promise.” I slipped my hands around his waist and held him close.

He put his arms around me and kissed my head. “
Come vuoi tu
.”

nzo drove me home in a charcoal grey Ferrari and left me in the parking lot. I went right to my car and made it to work just in time.

Pam was business as usual, dozen red roses on her desk notwithstanding.

“Good morning,” I said.

“Morning.”

“What do I have today?”

Pam rattled off a list of meeting and conferences. I texted Daniel.

—What time today?—

—Stuff exploded. Tomorrow ok? Before lunch, 30 min?—

—No prob—

“Can you reserve the big conference room at eleven thirty tomorrow?” I asked Pam.

She tapped around. “It’s free. Who are you meeting?”

I looked over her shoulder. The blinking cursor required an answer to who would be in the room with me. “Daniel Brower.”

She tapped it in, her expression sour under her rhinestone-tipped horn rims. “You know, polling this morning shows he’s in the lead for mayor.”

I plucked the card from the roses. “I knew he didn’t need me to win.”

Tonight.

I smiled to myself. Tonight, indeed.

***

I tried to keep my mind on my meetings and rows of numbers. I smoothed things over between two accountants on my team while thinking about Antonio’s body. I didn’t know how much longer I could stay at WDE. I hadn’t been fully engaged in my job in months. After spending time with Antonio, the job felt like a blunter, dimmer version of life.

I kept Antonio’s phone in my pocket. When it rang during a meeting, I excused myself and answered in the hall. “Capo?”

“Paulie.”

I might have blushed, as if he’d walked in on my dirty thoughts. “Hi, Paulie.”

“I’m coming to pick you up from work. Is six okay?”

“Sure. I can leave my car in the lot.”

“See you then.”

***

Our valet was in the alley behind the building, and Paulie’s Ferrari fit right in. When I came out, he was leaning against it in the shade of a bougainvillea hedge, smoking a cigarette.

“Hey,” I said. “What happened to you?” I pointed to my lower lip, indicating the split on the bottom of his.

“Fell on a guy’s fist.”

“You should watch where you’re walking.”

“He’s taken care of. You can tell your friend the loan’s forgiven.”

“I’ll give him his money. I don’t want to steal it,” I said.

“Don’t worry about it.”

He opened the passenger door, and I got in. He obviously didn’t want to discuss the money. I’d wait, but I had every intention of making sure Katrina’s production was clean.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“San Pedro.”

“We going to the beach?” I asked facetiously. San Pedro did indeed have a beach. It was also home to the loading docks and a notorious organized crime stronghold.

“We have an office down there.”

“Of course you do.”

With that, he drove into the traffic of Wilshire Boulevard.

“Where are you from, Paulie? You sound American.”

“Here. Born and raised. Pure-blooded Angelino dego.”

“Have you always been, um, in the life?”

He flung his hand back, as if indicating everything behind him. “Few generations. I’m as in it as Spin.”

“And you guys partnered? I mean, were you here first? Did he just muscle in or what?”

“He told me you were full of questions.”

“Did he tell you how frustrating it is to not ask any?”

He swung south onto LaCienega. “Doesn’t occur to me. I stay inside the lines. Safer that way. No questions because everyone already knows the answers.”

I didn’t say anything all the way down to the 10 freeway. He went east, and the wind drowned us out.

Paulie started talking as if he’d been working on his answer the whole time. “Spin came here with a bloodline, which is important. Gives him credibility, you know? He came right to me and asked for my permission to do some business. Did it exactly right, too.”

“I can’t imagine him asking permission to do anything.”

“Wasn’t like I couldn’t tell right away he could run a crew. And I’ll tell you, it would have been stupid for me not to partner up.”

“Why?”

“Because I like money, that’s why,” he said.

“He knows how to get it, I presume?”

When he didn’t answer, I thought I’d said too much, pushed him past his comfort level. He rubbed his lip as he changed lanes.

“How did your family get their money?” he asked.

“Generations of stealing followed by a few generations of legalized thievery. Now it’s all compounded interest.”

He laughed. “You’re honest.”

“Sometimes.”

“I’m going to be honest with you then.”

“Oh, this is already so much better than that meeting I cancelled.”

“My partner, he likes you.”

I was going to joke about being relieved but decided against it. This seemed very serious to him, so I shut up.

“He introduced you. That doesn’t happen every day. He’s got girls who are in the life. Like family.” He turned to me briefly then looked back at the road. “Do you know what I mean by that?”

“I think so.”

“Okay, so none of them are anything. But you? He’s lost his shit. He’s pissing himself. After today, shit’s gonna change, and I don’t know if you can handle it.”

“Are you sure he’d want you telling me this?”

“I’m not telling you anything you can use. Reason is, and I’m being honest here, I don’t trust you.”

I watched the train stops in the center of the 110. The road was relatively clear. Paulie kept left, and everyone got out of the way.

“I guess I don’t blame you,” I said.

The paper bag-brown sky of San Pedro crept over the horizon. Giant chair-shaped cranes loomed over the portal to the sea.

“Thanks for helping with my sister that night,” I said.

“No problem.”

“You were very level-headed.”

“Thanks. You too.”

aulie pulled into the docking area with a wave. Yellow and black striped barriers went up everywhere, allowing a right, then a left, to an alcove inside a parking lot that housed two trailers and a couple of cars.

“You really know how to schmooze a girl, Paulie.”

He winked at me, and we got out. I followed him to two red shipping containers fifty feet from a sheer concrete drop to the fouled water of the harbor.

“Okay, kid, here’s the deal,” Paulie said. “You’re not going to care for this, but you’re going in there with me. I am not going to hurt you. I’m not going to hurt anyone you care about. I’m telling the truth when I say you need to see something.”

I hadn’t been nervous. I knew Antonio was at the end of this journey, so I’d felt safe. As Paulie spoke, I became unsure and my heart pounded. The container had no windows or doors. Once I went in, I could be easily trapped.

“Let’s go then,” I said.

He grabbed the silver pole and yanked it down with a clack. He swung the door open, and it creaked so loudly I was reminded of a horror movie. When the triangle of light cut the dark tunnel, I had second thoughts.

“I’ll leave the door open a crack,” Paulie said.

“You coming in with me?”

“Right behind you.”

I didn’t feel safe. I didn’t feel threatened, but I didn’t delude myself into thinking Paulie would jump a pack of wolves for me, double kiss or not. I stepped up to the entrance anyway. Maybe curiosity drove me. Maybe a quest for self-destruction. Maybe I wanted to grab a little badass cred and put it in my Prada bag or walk in riskier shoes.

Two steps in, I heard wet, arrhythmic breathing. Then the door closed, and the box went dark.

“You said you were leaving the door open,” I said.

“Oops.”

The light flicked on, drowning the tunnel in flat, industrial illumination. A man was curled against the wall, his ankle chained to a hook on the side of the container. I’d thought I was nervous and scared before. But when the door opened again, I understood what it felt like to jump out of my own skin.

Paulie laughed. He leaned on the wall casually tapping his phone.

Zo stuck his head in. “There you are.”

“Come on in,” Paulie said.

“Hi, Miss Drazen,” Zo said. “How you doing?”

“I’m fine.”

Zo glanced at Paulie then the guy.

“She’s cool,” Paulie said. “Let’s see him.”

Snapping the door shut, Zo crossed the length of the shipping container in about four steps. He kicked the guy to semi-consciousness. “Hey, asshole.”

He picked up the man by the back of his collar. His face was beaten bloody, but I still recognized Scott Mabat. Zo plucked a bottle of soda from his jacket pocket and shook it before tossing it to Paulie. Paulie nodded as he passed me, tapping the bottle cap to his forehead as if tipping his cap to me. It left a dot of condensation. The soda must be ice cold.

“Time to get up, Scotty.” Paulie opened the bottle into Mabat’s face.

“Fuck!” Scott yelped.

“Welcome back.”

“Fuck you!” He spat blood.

“I know it’s been a rough night. So I brought you something pretty to look at.” Paulie yanked Scott’s face around until I was in his line of sight.

Shit. I had to decide what to do quickly, and I decided to do what I always did. Show nothing. Give nothing. Own it.

“Where’s Antonio?” I asked.

“Taking care of business. He’s on his way.”

“Fucking frigid bitch,” Scott said.

“Same wonderful sense of humor, I see.” I said.