Kingpin (An Italian Mafia Romance) (28 page)

Big Sal and John walk behind me, making sure I don’t try to run as they escort me out of the hospital. We walk across the street where Sal’s car is waiting, and they make me sit up front for the ride, with John sitting behind me. None of us speak a word as Sal cruises down the highway towards the heart of the city. I can tell we’re headed for The Lodge, but what I don’t know is whether I’ll live to see the outside of it once they take me in. I don’t know if this is my last car ride, or if I’ll ever see Alannah again. If this means what I think it means, there’s a chance Alannah may never know what happened to me. They may never find my body at all, and she’ll be haunted for the rest of her life, wondering why I disappeared.

This is the life we live in Our Thing. Piss off the wrong guy, you get clipped. It’s something I’ve learned to accept, even though it’s fucked up. But that’s not the worst part of it. The worst part is knowing my life will end before I ever got the chance to live it with her.

Dominic

“A
lright, let’s go.”

Big Sal has to remind me that we’ve arrived and it’s time to get out of his car. I sit there in the passenger seat, my breathing heavy and my nerves on high alert, feeling frozen. I can’t move. I don’t want to move. I’m not ready for whatever is waiting for me behind those doors. John has to open my door for me from the outside, and even then, I’m not still not ready.

Again, they walk behind me like guards escorting a prisoner, and with each step, I ask myself what I’m going to do when we get in there and I see Frankie waiting for me. Am I supposed to just lay down and let him put a bullet in my head? Do I not fight back out of respect of La Cosa Nostra and his title as acting boss? How can I possibly continue respecting This Thing of Ours if Leo and The Commission gave the okay for me to be clipped over my feelings for a woman who hasn’t broken any of our rules? The questions are many and the answers are few, and my heart can barely take it all. But when we push through the doors, it’s not just Frankie I see.

Inside, The Lodge is filled with every made member of the Giordano family. Every made member of Big Sal’s crew is seated on one side of the long glass table, every member of John Salvatore’s crew on the other. I even recognize the two made guys from Frankie’s crew at the back of the table, and seated in the middle of them, is Frankie Leonetti himself. He has the meanest face out of every man in this room, and when he sees me, he doesn’t even acknowledge that I’ve arrived. He doesn’t do or say anything.

John takes a seat with his crew, while Sal leads me to a seat closer to the head of the table. His crew greets me with smiles and open arms as I go to take my seat, and I feel even more questions being born in my head and crying for attention. Why the hell is everyone here? Why didn’t Frankie acknowledge me? And if he sent for me, why isn’t he saying or doing anything? What. The. Fuck.

I sit down and look around the room at the made members of The Family. Some of these men are absolute killers who wouldn’t hesitate to put a knife in your throat if you rubbed them the wrong way, but I’ve known these guys since I was a kid.

Jim Costello is the top solider of Frankie’s crew, and I remember meeting him when I was just thirteen. He latched on to the Boy Wonder bandwagon after he watched me hold up an ice cream truck at gunpoint, and he always told me I was going to be a big deal in this family.

Then there’s Raphael Barissi, the youngest made guy in Big Sal’s crew. He was the first guy who was made after me, and we’ve been good friends a long time. We used to hang out a lot when Alannah left, getting into all kinds of trouble, putting our names on the map at the same time. We used to call him Raphy for short, because nearly everybody in The Family has some sort of nickname. Raphy’s only problem was that his father became a rat back when the FBI was all over The Family’s ass, and he got a lot of the old heads sent away for a long time. So, even though Raphy was a good kid and a decent earner, his father’s legacy always kind of stuck with him, like a ball and chain attached to his ankle.

These are guys I haven’t seen in a while, and it’s good to see all of them in the same room again, but it’s also rare. Usually, it’s only the captains who come together like this, and it’s because Leo only deals with the highest members of The Family, and it’s our job to pass down the information to our respective crews. That’s the way the hierarchy of Our Thing works. We don’t get to hang out much, because it’s safer for us if we’re apart, but I’d go to war for the guys in this room, and regardless of what went on between me and Frankie, I think they’d go to war for me. Which brings me back to my original question; why the hell is everyone here?

“Sal,” I lean over and whisper. “What the fuck is going on? Why is everybody here, and why isn’t Frankie saying anything to me if he sent for me?”

Sal scrunches his big forehead in confusion.

“It wasn’t Frankie who sent for you, Dominic,” he says. “It was Leo.” As soon as the words leave his mouth, our boss, Leo Capizzi, and our underboss, Jimmy Gravato, walk through the door.

He was pinched only a few days ago, but it looks like Leo’s been away for a year or two already. His hair looks grayer, and his eyes look baggier. His confidence is gone, and I understand. Charges like the ones he’s facing are enough to stress anybody out, even someone as strong as Leo. He’s still my boss, though. He’s my father’s boss, and my level for respect for him is through the roof. The same can be said about everybody in this room. Everybody loves Leo. He’s always done what he thought was best for The Family, and we’ve thrived because of it. When the Feds and St. Louis PD torched The Family a few years back, it was Leo who survived it and brought us back to life. Our loyalty to him is unbreakable.

Leo comes in and sits down in the head seat, and Jimmy stands behind him with his arms folded. He looks around the room at everyone, taking in all of our faces as the voices die down so we can hear what he has to say. Once again, I’m on the edge of my seat in anticipation, because so far, this isn’t going anything like I expected it to. I’m still alive.

“It’s good to see you all here,” he begins in his low, raspy, Godfather-style voice. “We don’t do this often, and I’m saddened by the fact that this will be the last time I see you all together like this. As you know, we’re only here because we’re out on bail, and it won’t last long because the trial is set to start in two weeks. They pushed for the trial to start faster than usual because they wanna see me go down, and they want to be able to put my former consigliere, Danny Ramano, on the stand before something bad happens to him and they lose their case. So, this is going to be the end of my era as boss of this family. However, with the end of one era, comes the beginning of a new one.”

There it is. The lightbulb in my head finally clicks on, and I realize why we’re here. Leo is about to push for Frankie to be the new boss, and we’re all here to show our support and pledge our allegiance to him. The Family is about to change forever.

“So, I won’t waste time or beat around the bush with this,” Leo continues. “I’ve spoken to The Commission, and they’ve given me their two cents on who they think has done enough for The Family and been a steady earner. They told me what they thought, and I informed them of who I thought was respected enough in this family to take control and start a new era. We all agreed, and we’re here now to make sure we won’t have any internal feuds or plays for power in the future. We’ve seen too many families in Our Thing destroyed because of that type of greed, so we want the support of all of you. Does everybody understand what I’m saying?”

We nod along, and I’m wondering why we’re dragging this out. We all know what’s coming next.

Leo clears his throat and continues.

“So, after a lot of thinking and phone calls to New York, I’ve come to a decision, and I want to put my weight behind who I think should be the new boss of the Giordano family . . . Dominic Collazo.”

The air rushes out of the room. My eyes bulge and stop blinking until they start to dry out. My stomach heats up and explodes into a butterfly-filled zoo, and I immediately feel nauseous.

Did he just say Dominic Collazo?

Everyone in the room turns to look at me, and I have no idea what I’m supposed to do now. I know Leo is getting up there in age, but did he forget Frankie’s name? Is the old man coming down with Alzheimer’s?

I look around the room and to my surprise, no one looks shocked. Big Sal and John nod along like this is a great idea, and even Frankie nods his head like the person who was nominated for an Oscar but didn’t win. It’s like I’m sitting in an alternate universe where everyone is insane, but totally fine with it.

“So, before anything else is said,” Leo continues, driving his point home, “I want you to know how we reached this decision. You all know Dominic has been around Our Thing his whole life. The Family is all he knows, and he’s been an earner for this family since he was eleven. His father, Donnie, God bless his soul, taught him everything, and you all know Donnie was one of our best guys. We chose Dominic because he’ll be around for the long haul, and he doesn’t rely on seniority. He relies only on the fact that he knows what he’s doing. I think Dominic’s era can last longer than mine did, and even though he’s young, I know he’s ready to lead this family.

“So, I want to know, right now, who agrees with this decision. I want to see a show of hands in support of Dominic as the new boss of The Family.”

I’m scared to look, because I know
someone
has to be against this. But I look around, and one by one, the hands start reaching for the ceiling. It starts with Big Sal, who raises his hand and smiles like a proud father, and it spreads down the table like a virus. Every single one of them raises their hand, and when the line reaches Frankie, he does something I never expected. He smiles at me, and nods his head as he raises his hand. There isn’t an ounce of anger or resentment in his eyes. Just like Sal, he looks proud of me. Once Frankie’s hand goes up, I know it’s official. I don’t know if it’s because everyone is so loyal to Leo that they’d go along with anything he suggests, or if this is a legit acknowledgement from the entire Family, but it’s happening.

I’m the boss of The Family.

“Alright then,” Leo says as he looks at me and smiles from ear to ear. He stands up, and everyone in the room stands with him. “It’s settled. Dominic, do you accept this responsibility?”

My smile in uncontrollable.

“Yes, Leo, I do accept it.”

“Do you pledge to think of The Family before anything else?”

My heart could explode.

“Yes, I do.”

“It’s your responsibility to keep this family on the path to prosperity,” Leo advises as he puts his hands on my shoulders. “Don’t let your age hold you back. Think big, and go with your gut in all things. We didn’t come to this decision lightly. We trust you, and we can’t wait to see how you carry the torch.”

My father would be so proud.

“Thank you, Leo. Thank you, Jimmy.” I hug both of them, and it has never felt this good to be me. I have everything I’ve ever wanted now.

“Now, as for the rest of you,” Leo says, addressing the rest of The Family. “Today is a new day. From now on, I am no longer the boss of this family, but I expect all of you to pledge your loyalty to your new boss. Let us all agree, any mutiny or disobedience will be punishable by death, as supported by The Commission and every made member of this family.
Salute
.”

Every member in the room repeats,
Salute
, and it becomes official.

I stand behind the head seat at the table as each member approaches, one by one, and gives me a hug and pat on the back. I hug them all, and I can feel the love and respect emanating off of them. When Frankie approaches, it’s no different.

“I’m proud of you, kid,” he says in my ear. “I really mean that. I’m sorry I gave you so much shit about the Russian. You did what you had to do, and you earned this. Your old man would be so fucking proud of you, too. The youngest boss in our history. Fucking Boy Wonder,” he says with a smile as he hugs me again.

The old nickname usually strikes a nerve and sends me on a tear, but the look in his eye when he says it makes it alright. He never mentions the beef we had in the hospital, and it looks like I was worried for nothing. We embrace and pat each other on the back, and in that moment, I know it’s real. He’s genuinely happy for me, and I’m thankful I have him around, because he’s the closest thing I have to my dad. So, I let go of the bullshit.

I have the whole family in my corner, and the woman of my dreams by my side. All the craziness I’ve been through all seems worth it now. I’ll never forget the day my dad was killed in the seat right next to me, but I know if he could see me now, his smile would be even wider than mine. I think even my mother would be proud of this moment. So, I pull out a Cuban cigar and light it up with a huge smile on my face.

It usually doesn’t happen for guys like me. It’s rare for anybody to actually get all the things in life they really want, but it has happened for me. I have everything now, and nothing can stand in my way. I’m on top of the world. I’m the fucking kingpin.