by Nova Rain
“If it was that easy to find us, why did it take you six months to make your move?” Joe asked, clenching his jaw.
“Because Raymond Barnett found out I was planning to retaliate,” Howard explained. “You wouldn’t know him. He owned three casino hotels in Las Vegas. He was against my plans from the get-go, because he thought war was bad for business. Barnett died three weeks ago, so, I was free to proceed. Enough talking,” he attempted a stiffer tone. “Where’s my money? I don’t see Mitchell, either.”
“You think we’re stupid?” I groaned, narrowing my eyes down at him. “Why the fuck would we bring that money all the way to Vegas? To show it around?”
“Mitchell’s in the van,” Joe declared. “Your money’s in New York. Have your men come with us, and we’ll give it to them.”
“Cute,” Howard’s smirk reappeared. “My men will follow you to the East Coast, so Maltese’s men can ambush them. Did you just think of that?”
I caught a flash out of the corner of my eye, just when I was ready for a comeback. In a moment, I saw a bright, yellow light, streaking through the dark, heading straight for Howard’s truck.
“Down!” I shouted, dropping to the ground. I felt my chin hitting the cold dirt as a tremendous bang ripped through the wilderness. With the truck jerking forward, the fabric of its roof rocketed up into the sky. Its aluminum sides bowed and were catapulted across the property. Chunks of it flew over Joe’s body and towards the main building. They hit the concrete walls with a thud, pieces of burning fabric and shards of glass falling to the ground. Lying on my chest, I snuck a peek through splayed fingers. Two of Howard’s men lay on their backs, more than twenty feet away from the mangled truck. Neither of them was moving. Two others had been blown towards my spot. One of them was just to the left of Joe, while the other was just a foot from me, his rifle on my right. Howard himself was moaning in pain, with a large chunk of aluminum lodged in his left thigh. Blood had already begun to soak his gray pants, reaching past his knee.
The same, agonizing whistle was torturing my ears as I rose to my knees and reached for the weapon. I recognized my enemy in a heartbeat. His blond hair and his stocky figure had been engraved in my memory since the night before. He was the one who shot Bryan’s cousin. His black jacket was covered in dirt. A large part of its right sleeve had been torn off, and the collar of his white shirt had been singed.
“For Jimmy…” I whispered, shoving the tip of the barrel into his mouth. A squeeze of the trigger splattered his blood over the dirt behind his head. I stuck the rifle down for support and got back up, turning my gaze to Joe. He was standing over his own opponent, with his gun in his grasp. One bullet to the head and one to his heart put him out of his misery.
Breathing in gasps, I was watching smoke ooze out of the barrel of Joe’s weapon, when I picked up the sound of hurried footsteps. I looked up, only to find Bryan hurtling past the burning truck. He didn’t even throw a glance our way. With the M4 strapped around his neck, he barreled towards the fallen gangster. At ten feet away, he shoved his hand into his front pocket. Then, Bryan fell to the deck and skidded over to Howard, his knees leaving trails on the ground.
“That was my blood, you filthy fuck!” He growled, thrusting a picture of Jimmy forward. “You killed him! For what? Money? You’ve got billions, you piece of shit!” He went on, striding over our enemy’s stomach, facing his face.
“Kid…” Howard wheezed. “Collateral damage.”
Bryan didn’t speak. He gripped the barrel of his rifle and lifted it up and over his head. His eyes burning with rage, he tossed it away. Rolling his fingers into fists, he thrust his arm down. A powerful blow to Howard’s temple rocked his head back. A harder punch came. And another. And another. Combinations of rights and lefts shook the gangster’s head. Before long, the blood dribbling from his wounds was being splattered in sharp arcs across the soil and onto Bryan’s brown coat.
I couldn’t recognize him. A calm man of few words had somehow transformed into a wild animal that was out for blood. He was getting it. He was getting lots of it, but no amount seemed good enough for him. But that’s what grief does to people. It makes them do unbelievable things, things out of their character. Bryan had lost his family. He had the chance to punish the man responsible for his loss, and he was taking full advantage of it.
“He’s dead, man,” I raised my voice over the thumps of his punches. “He’s dead.”
I walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Come on,” I uttered in a soothing tone.
Bryan whipped his head and looked up at me. “Help me burn him.”
I huffed in exasperation, knowing that this was unnecessary. Yet, I kept my opinion to myself. I wasn’t going to argue with him, no matter what he said or did. He was in a world of pain. He didn’t need a fight with someone he considered a friend. So, I grabbed Howard by the arms, while Bryan lifted him by the legs. In moments, I satisfied his request, dumping the body in the cab of the truck.
In the shadow of the flames, my gaze met Joe’s, Mitchell striding towards him. There was no satisfaction in Joe’s eyes. They were reflecting the blaze behind me, filled with sadness. He stared at our creation in silence as I recalled the last time I had seen that grim expression on his face. It was his breakup with Michelle.
“I can’t thank you guys enough for this,” the cop stated, watching the fire consume the truck.
“Do me a favor and shut up,” I commanded, Bryan joining the rest of us.
I didn’t have anything against him, but his timing sucked. We had gotten rid of our enemy. We had beaten him on his own turf, but Jimmy’s loss was still weighing down on us. Nothing would have been possible without him. He was the tech wizard that had allowed us to rob that truck in Texas. Most of all, he was part of our crew. He had earned this title, although he had never held a gun in his life. That kid wasn’t just Bryan’s family. He was our family. And he was gone.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Donny
Home.
The Manhattan skyline. Fifth Avenue, with hundreds and hundreds of people on either side of it and rows of cars in between. I liked that sight, although the whole thing was sometimes too loud. There was something familiar about it.
This time though, it was like looking at an empty glass. It didn’t do anything for me. Why? Because my thoughts were still back in Las Vegas.
The sound of Ava’s sobs was playing in a loop in my mind. She didn’t know about this, but I didn’t leave that motel right away. I stayed outside her room, wondering if I had made a mistake. I only left when I heard her calling me names, like “bastard” and “asshole.” This told me that she hadn’t really regretted her mistake. She was blaming me for everything. I couldn’t discuss this with her again, because it wouldn’t make any difference.
Maltese’s mansion emerged from behind the uphill road, bringing me back to reality. Bryan and I were going to brief him on what had happened back in Vegas. I wished I could avoid that. It had been another endless drive, with plenty of mourning and pats on the back. Just being in the dead boy’s van for forty or so hours didn’t allow me to forget his fate. Even if I had, one of Bryan’s stories about him would make sure to remind me of his death.
With a heavy heart, Bryan and I parked the Transit in the driveway. Strutting past the fountain in the front yard, we headed to the entrance. The old man was not going to have his butler get the door. He was standing just past his doorstep, his expression puzzling me. Peter Maltese didn’t smile a lot, and yet, he was wearing a huge smile.
“Welcome back, boys,” he spoke, his next move fueling my surprise further. He offered his hand for a handshake. “Good job. I’ve been reading about it since this morning. I just can’t get enough of it.”
“Thanks, boss.” I nodded and shook his hand, before Bryan did, too. “Bryan should get the credit for this. He fired the RPG that took out Howard’s truck and two of his men. Joe and I took care of the other two.”
“Who ki
lled Howard?” Our boss’s question forced me to keep my mouth shut.
“That would be me,” Bryan uttered in a weak tone. “There was…” His voice thickened with emotion.
“I’ll tell him,” I interrupted my friend, putting my hand on his wrist. “There was a price during the whole operation, boss. We lost Bryan’s cousin Jimmy in a shootout outside our informant’s house.”
“Oh…” Maltese’s smile was wiped off his face. “I’m sorry, Genovese. I hope what I have to say to you will cheer you up.”
“I doubt it, sir,” he shook his head in denial.
“I fired the head of my security detail and one of my security guards yesterday,” Maltese announced, assuming a businesslike tone. “After the stunt you guys pulled in Vegas, I figured you two should do something more dignified than checking cargo at the docks and chasing gamblers. So? Are you up for the task?”
“Thanks a lot for the honor, boss, but…” Bryan faltered and pressed his lips together. “No. I don’t want to do this anymore. I want out.”
“Out?” Maltese’s brows popped up. “Son, did you hear what I just said? You’ll be part of my security detail. You won’t have to do any of the heavy lifting you used to do.”
“I still want out, boss,” Bryan insisted, his tone steady. “I’ll keep my mouth shut about everything. You have my word.”
“Take some time off to mourn your cousin,” Maltese ordered. “Then we’ll talk. How does that sound?”
“It sounds good,” Bryan nodded in agreement. “Can I go home?”
“Sure, go ahead,” Maltese accepted. “Falcone…” He shifted his attention to me. “Your girlfriend’s still here. She wanted to leave as soon as she learned the news about Vegas, but I insisted she stayed. I gave her some bullshit story about Howard’s people being in town.”
“Yeah, and I was stupid enough to buy it,” I heard Ava’s voice from inside the house. “Thanks for the hospitality, Don,” she said, striding out.
“Ava, wait!” I shouted, watching her pull away from me. Without wasting any time, I rushed off. “Wait!”
“What is it, Donny?” She spun around and faced me, feet from the fountain. “You want to gloat because you killed some bigshot gangster? Well, find someone else! Leave me alone!”
“I’m sorry about Vegas.” I made my voice sound sweeter. “I shouldn’t have come down so hard on you. Maybe I was too stressed about the mission; I don’t know.”
“Came down hard on me?!” She exclaimed, thrusting her face forward. “You broke up with me, for God’s sake!”
“Again, I’m sorry,” I spoke in a soft tone, looking down into her eyes. “I was…”
“Don’t give me that ‘too stressed’ crap again,” she groaned, tucking a few tendrils of her hair behind her ear. “You’re not a rookie. You’ve gone after all sorts of scum. Okay, I made a mistake, but you screwed up way more than I did.”
“That’s true,” I admitted, keeping my cool. “Look, I acted like a total jerk. What can I do to make it up to you?”
“Well, sweetening your voice isn’t going to cut it,” she continued, her tone a bit lower this time. “I’ll be waiting for you at the mansion tonight. Eight o’clock. You’d better impress the hell out of me.”
Finishing her sentence, she strode off and went to the curb. I saw her signaling at a taxi as I came to a realization. Any words that came out of my mouth were not going to win her back. Ava was just too upset to be convinced by a pretty speech. I wasn’t too good at those anyway. I needed something more meaningful, and I was glad to have a few hours until our date. I just hoped that whatever I came up with would be worth her while.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Ava
What did you just do?
This thought flashed into my mind when I finally calmed down. Donny had just come back from a two-thousand-mile road trip where he lost someone close to him, and I treated him like dirt? My God… I wanted to smack myself across the head. I wanted to go call him and say how sorry I was for being such an inconsiderate bitch.
But, every time I picked up my phone, I remembered what had led me to that outburst. It was my frustration, the nasty feeling I’d been swimming in since he broke up with me in that motel. Had we just stuck to an argument that night, none of this would have happened. He and I would have been together this entire time.
Much to my disappointment, that feeling prevented me from expressing myself when I saw him in Maltese’s front yard. I was up in my bedroom, looking out my window. I ran down the stairs and was desperate to get out and hug him, but, at the last minute, I had a change of heart. By then, the Don was commending Donny and Bryan for the outcome of their mission. Interrupting that moment just didn’t feel right.
For a while, after my return to Maltese’s mansion, I kept wondering how he would treat my demand. Would he take it seriously? Or would he disregard it as part of a rant of an angry woman? And if he chose the former, what would he do to impress me? To be honest, my mind went blank when I tried to answer that question. I didn’t have a clue why. Perhaps it was the built-up tension that was still broiling within me. In spite of its youth, my relationship with Donny had been quite rocky. It wasn’t like the first period of most relationships, where everything just seems ideal.
Sex. Talk. Repeat.
His past caught up with him, and this turn of events distracted him from what we had.
Maybe this situation had just tired me too much. My brain might have decided to shut down, because it had spent hours and hours reminiscing about our moments together. The thought that prevailed was none other than Donny’s gesture to hear me out. Of course, I had a lot steamier moments to choose from, but this was where everything had started. Also, it was what lured me to him in the first place.
The sound of the doorbell echoed back through the walls of the mansion, sending my heart into a flurry of wild beats. As I pulled the front door open, my gaze landed on a bouquet of azaleas in his grasp. Donny was dressed in a dark-brown suit and a red tie, wearing his charming smile.
Not a bad start.
“Hi,” I croaked, swallowing a smile.
“I’ve never bought you flowers, but I hope you like these,” he said, offering me the bouquet.
“Thank you. I do like azaleas,” I confessed, taking the flowers to the kitchen on my left.
“Thank God…” he hummed, sauntering into the living room.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that,” I lied. I wasn’t more than five feet from him, and my hearing worked very well. The only reason why I pretended not to hear him, was my desire to make him be more upfront with me.
“I’m just relieved,” he admitted. “Listen, um…” He paused and put his hands together. “This isn’t the only thing I brought you.”
“Donny, wait…” I requested, striding back into the living room. “I realize I was a little harsh on you this afternoon. I should have kept my cool. But…” I took a deep breath. “Think about what we’ve been through so far. We started off as two people who didn’t like each other very much. Then, you give me a shoulder to cry on, you pay off my debt, you protect me and…” I ceased talking, tears welling up in my eyes as I bit my lower lip. “You’re so sure our relationship will work that you sing it to me. Then, I make one mistake, and you forget all of that. You throw it away, like it meant nothing to you. Now do you understand why I got so mad at you?”
“You didn’t have to give me that speech,” he spoke in a calm voice, his slow footsteps leading him to my spot. “I’ve been thinking about this stuff since we took care of you-know-who. He cost me Jimmy, Ava. And I hated to think he had cost me you, too.”
“I’m sorry about that, by the way.” I softened my tone. “I know you guys were close.”
“That’s true,” he agreed with a slow nod. “But hey, life goes on, right?” He whispered, dropping his gaze to the floor. “Anyway, um…” He heaved a deep sigh. “I’m sorry. I acted like a jerk because I was afraid I might lose you.”
“Donny…” I spoke out his name in a tender whisper, reaching up to his face. “When you’re afraid of something, you don’t push your girlfriend away. You talk to her. You communicate with her. You don’t let that fear defeat you. You don’t let it take away anything important to you.”
“Damn…” He clipped out, easing his head back, a tear toppling off the edge of his eye. “That’s exactly what I did. I’d found the best thing in my whole life, and I let it slip away because I got scared.”
“The best thing?” I gasped out, his words melting away any notion of doubt within me.
“Yeah,” he admitted, bringing his gaze back down to mine. “It doesn’t matter now, does it?”
“Yes, it does!” I disagreed, intensifying my stare. “Of course, it does!”
Holding his face in my hands, I leaned in. At the feel of his soft lips on my mouth, sparks of electricity roared through me. His beard stubble brushed against my cheek as he snaked his long arms around me. Easing me close, he moved his hands up my back, offering me the sense of safety I had missed so much. It might have been a little over a week since the last time he had held me in his arms, but to me, it had felt like months. He slid his fingers up and into my hair, the taste of his kiss growing stronger in my mouth. They caressed my scalp, just like his warm breath caressed my skin. He pecked a swift kiss to my cheek and leaned back, opening his reddened eyes.
“I love you, you little wild thing,” he confessed with another whisper, causing my heart to flutter in my chest.