“Now, if you don’t mind, Michael, I’m going to put on Jeopardy and get you ready for bed. Sasha and the others should be home soon…”
“There goes our peace and quiet!” Michael shouted, the fear quickly evaporating from his eyes.
“It’ll be nice to spend time with your kids,” Letty replied, with a smirk on her face.
The fact is, each and every one of the Capadonno kids has some sort of dysfunction. The funniest part is that Miles, the one who had just done seventeen years in Philly’s toughest correctional institute, was the most normal of all of them… even sweet little Landon.
“Whatever…” Michael said as he rolled his eyes. “I plan to confront Sasha to about that jar of sauce.”
Patting Michael on his leg three times, Letty replied, “Whatever will make you happy, Michael.”
Grabbing the remote control, Letty clicked the power button and put on Jeopardy. It was their nightly ritual. Letty would sit with Michael while he watched his shows and then she’d go home once he fell asleep. Alex Trebeck crossed the screen in his usual charming manner, and Michael seemed to relax again. His calm wouldn’t last long, though.
The heavy walnut front door crashed open as the quiet of the house was interrupted by discord.
“Oh, here we go,” Michael said to Letty as a stressed-out look grew across his face.
Letty’s hand gently covered Michael’s own as her index finger stroked his skin. Letty’s eyes lifted from Michael’s face to the source of the noise coming from the foyer. The familiar sound of shouting voices caused Letty to roll her eyes. Raine was always the drama queen of the bunch. She was Michael and Andie’s youngest daughter, and by all accounts, Michael’s baby girl. She might be an adult but she sure didn’t act like one.
“Fuck you, Anthony! We’re done! DONE!” Raine’s high-pitched voice screamed out, her voice raw from their screaming match.
“Raine, what the fuck is your problem?!” Anthony Spinelli called out to her. “It’s always fuckin’ something!”
Spinelli’s Jersey accent was as thick as the morning fog coming in off the bay.
A sigh released from Letty’s mouth as she turned back around to face Michael. “Raine’s home,” she said to him, sounding unimpressed. Michael looked just as dissatisfied at the turn of events as Letty did, but instead of looking at Letty, Michael cast a deeply irritated glare towards the foyer.
“Get off of me, Ant’ny!” Raine spat out as she continued to argue with her longtime, on again off again boyfriend Anthony.
“Rainey?” Michael called out with a sound of deep disgust in his voice. Setting off a chain of events that Letty certainly didn’t see coming, Michael quickly ripped his blankets off of his legs and proceeded to rise up from his bed. Michael, who had barely been out of bed at all in six months with the exception of toilet breaks and bath time, had risen to his feet.
“Michael, please let them worry about their own problems,” Letty pleaded as Michael’s bare feet slapped against the cool marble floor.
Letty watched nervously as Michael’s legs steadied themselves. With purpose, he walked in his bed clothes from the parlor into the dark hallway beyond. Letty’s heart raced in her chest as she watched him. He shouldn’t have been out of bed, and he most definitely shouldn’t be getting involved in his daughter’s relationship problems, but as time had proven before, Michael Capadonno does whatever he damn well pleases.
“Please, Mr. Capadonno! You’re not well enough. Please get back in bed…” Letty asked, but clearly Michael wasn’t paying her any attention whatsoever.
This time, Michael waved Letty off as he crossed into the dim hallway. Under the faint lights of the crystal chandelier that was anchored from the ceiling, Michael Capadonno approached an antique cherry wood console table. Atop the table sat a crystal vase with a beautiful but elaborate arrangement of red roses and casa blanca lillies. On the table, an old photograph of Andrea Cormack, Michael’s only true love, sat nestled in an oval, porcelain frame, surrounded by old photographs of each of the Capadonno children. Hanging on the wall above the table was a massive antique mirror with French Baroque accents. Gazing at himself in the mirror, Michael looked up at his reflection as a deep scowl glared from his face. A chill ripped through Letty’s body as she watched Michael stare callously at his likeness in the mirror. He grimaced at the man he had become. His eyes were still the same as they had always been—dark and mysterious, cool and calculating—but everything else about his appearance had changed. Michael had dark circles under his eyes. His hairline had receded and his black hair had lightened to an unwelcoming shade of grey. Michael’s cheeks were sunken in, his cheekbones and nose becoming more prominent with age. The man looked emaciated. As his nurse, Letty knew with certainty that Michael was well-nourished. Michael had a hearty appetitite, his body had simply stopped absorbing the nutrients in the food he ate. The disease had run its course. Michael’s once stout, muscular frame had atrophied into that of a sickly old man. At sixty-six years old, Michael’s life had reached the end of its rope.
Letty watched as Michael stared coldly at his own reflection in the mirror. He seemed to be getting more agitated by the second. Raine and Anthony’s screaming match had reached a feverish pitch. But Michael didn’t turn to the foyer. He continued to stare himself down in the mirror as his calculating gaze summed up his likeness. There was a flash of recognition in his eyes. Something was very off about him. Michael Capadonno’s mind had snapped. In that instant, the man that Letty had grown to respect and care for was gone, and he was replaced with the man that sent larger men cowering in fear. A monster stared back at Letty from the mirror. She had never been more terrified in her life. With a swift backhand, Michael sent the crystal vase flying from the table to the marble floor where it shattered into a million tiny fragments. The red roses lost their petals and rained down upon the floor like droplets of blood.
I want to go forth. I want to stop him. I want to prevent Michael from causing anyone harm, but in that moment I am frozen solid. It isn’t my tremendous fear that is stopping me in my tracks. I’m not a dumb girl, you know. When Michael Capadonno has a hissy fit, you do not want to get in the way. When a mind snaps, it is deaf to reasoning. In Carrion, New Jersey, the color of money isn’t green. It’s red. Crimson red, to be exact. Crime scene red, if you will. Don’t believe me? Take a look around. The rich and the powerful, didn’t get there through hard work. They earned their riches by the edge of a blade and the cock of a gun. Look at my boss, for instance. Michael Capadonno. Retired hitman for the Capadonno crime family, Underboss and one of Carrion’s most feared men. Don’t let his sly smile fool you. The man is a cold-blooded killer.
Michael stood quite calmly in the hallway despite his obvious rage. His hands lay gently on the cherry wood, his fingers carressing the smooth surface of the table. Dropping his hands to the top drawer of the console table, his thin fingers gripped the ornate bronze handle and jerked forcefully, pulling the drawer open with a bang.
Fuck. I know what’s in that drawer. Fuck Fuck Fuck. Don’t do it, Michael. Don’t fucking do it! Don’t make me lose my shit!
But despite the mental messages that Letty was sending to Michael, their connection was firewalled. Michael pulled a black handgun from the drawer. Giving himself one last glance in the mirror, all semblance of compassion had been stripped from his face.
“Michael!” Letty cried out, hoping that he would listen. Something in Letty’s heart told her he wouldn’t, but then he did something that she did not expect. Holding the gun at his side, he turned around and gave Letty a look of deep sorrow.
“Please stay here,” Michael said in a voice as smooth as silk. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Gulp.
Letty watched as Michael vanished from the doorway. A moment later the arguing ceased, and instead of cursing at Anthony, Rainey began pleading with her father. As Michael held his gun to Anthony’s head, Raine tugged on her father’s shirt sleeve, begging him to spare Anthony’s
life.
“You got rocks for brains, son?” Michael screamed as he cocked his gun.
“No, Daddy, no! Please, Daddy!” Raine screamed, the sound of her desperate voice tugging hard on Letty’s heart strings.
“You come into my house! You come into my house and disrespect my daughter… disrespect ME!” Michael spat, the gun lodged in Anthony’s left eye.
“Mr. Capadonno… Uh…” Anthony stammered in a shaky voice.
“You shoulda asked your daddy about me, kid. I ain’t the one to fuck with!” Michael screamed.
Letty could see their shadows on the wall. It was a dangerous dance. A wicked waltz. Michael had a gun held to Anthony’s head as Raine circled around them, trying to talk some reason into her father.
“Please, Daddy, I love him!” Raine pleaded as she grabbed onto her father’s shirt.
“Rainey! Go upstairs! Not another god damn word!” Michael demanded as he cast a lethal glare at his youngest daughter.
Goosebumps rose on Letty’s flesh as she listened to a sob rip from Raine’s throat.
“Daddy, please!”
“Renata Andrea Maria Capadonno! NOW!”
Letty’s chest heaved as panic set in. Air wouldn’t circulate through her lungs. Her heart thrummed in her chest, threatening to kick out at any second.
“Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Oh, my God…” Letty muttered under her breath.
Raine’s heels clicked loudly against the marble floor, beating a staccato tempo through the house. She brushed through the parlor not even giving Letty a glance. Tears blinded her sight as she rushed through, hysteria ripping from her as she left her father alone with Anthony. Raine rushed to the winding staircase that led to the second floor with her hands covering her ears and wails ripping from her chest.
Her hands are covering her ears.
Michael’s voice belted out over all the calamity.
“Lemme give you a history lesson, son!”
Pop! Pop! Crash!
Two gun shots ripped through the massive house bouncing off of every surface and threatening to shatter Letty’s ear drums. It took a moment for Letty to register what was happening. As she heard Anthony Spinelli’s body crash to the floor, it had hit her. She had just witnessed a murder. As the cruel realiziation hit her, and her own blood ran cold, Michael Capadonno’s raw voice rang out, “Nobody fucks with a Capadonno!”
Letty stood completely still as the gun shots still rang out in her ears. Her breath was shallow. Her terrified heart pained with panic.
Michael grumbled to himself, “Asshole.”
Letty flinched as Michael re-emerged from the foyer. He walked casually to the console table in the hallway and tucked away his weapon. Picking up his cell phone off of the console table, Michael pressed a series of numbers. Bringing his black iPhone to his ear, Michael had an impatient look on his face.
“C’mon pick up the fuckin’ phone!” Michael said as he rapped his knuckles against the hard wood of the table.
“Aye… It’s me. Clean up crew. Get your ass over here and bring a mop. Bring Dante and Fish wit’ ya, too. Forget it. Don’t worry who, just fucking have your asses here in twenty!”
As Michael Capadonno hung up the phone a feeling of dread flooded Letty’s body. In that moment, as she looked at Michael, her heart ached for Miles.
CHAPTER SIX
BACHMAN TURNER Overdrive’s song “Let It Ride” cranked from Corina’s speakers as Miles jetted up a boring stretch of the Black Horse Pike. Landon sat quietly next to Miles, appearing to be content, as he gazed out his window at the passing scenery. Occasionally, Landon glanced over at Miles and asked a random question.
I figure it’s all a lot to take in, and who the fuck knows what kind of garbage my lunatic relatives fed into his brain for the last seventeen years. He’s a cocky little shit, but the kid seems to be genuine. I need people like that in my life. I know as soon as I walk into Castle fuckin’ Capadonno that I’ll be hit with a wall of bullshit.
Tapping his hands on the steering wheel along with the beat, Miles hummed along to the song. Landon started to sing along.
I sound terrible. Seriously, dying cats have better vocal skills than I do, but the kid don’t sound half bad. No surprise there. My mother had a beautiful song voice.
When the song ended¸ Landon blurted out, “What the hell, man! You’re goin’ the wrong way!”
Rolling his eyes, Miles gave the kid a sideways look.
“I may have been locked in a fucking sardine can for the majority of your years, but trust me, I know exactly where I am. I know Jersey like the back of my goddamn hand. Nothing but jug handles, big hair, malls and picket fuckin’ fences.”
“Well, ex-cuuuse me!” Landon said throwing his hands up in the air. “Mr. Big Shot needs no help at all!”
Clearing his throat, Miles saw that the opportunity for a conversation he wanted to have with the kid fell right into his lap.
“Actually, kid… I wouldn’t go that far…” Miles said cryptically. Miles could feel the weight of the kid’s stare on him. Miles had Landon’s full, undivided attention.
“Oh, no?” Landon asked. Miles could tell by Landon’s tone of voice that he knew that he had a favor to ask him.
“No. Walking into the lion’s den, I could use one person on my side…” Miles explained.
“I got your back…” Landon said a little too easily.
A grin grew from Miles’s lips as he peered over at the kid.
With Landon, what you see is what you get. Sometimes that’s not such a bad quality to have. True fucking blue.
“Here’s the thing, though…” Miles continued. “If it’s obvious that you have my back, they will turn on you.”
“Huh?” Landon asked, with a clearly confused look on his face.
“Exactly what I said. If they know you have my back, they will eat you alive. Just keep your eyes open for me. If you hear that someone is trying to take me out, give me a heads up.”
“I can do that…” Landon said again in a sincere voice.
“I have another favor to ask,” Miles said, hoping he wasn’t pressing his luck with this kid’s loyalty.
“What’s that?”
“Prep me. What the fuck am I walking into?”
“I don’t think I know what you mean?”
“Don’t play dumb, Landon…Uncle Sonny was Boss when I went in on the inside. His brain is fucking wracked. Dementia and shit. Who is acting boss?”
Landon let out a heavy sigh.
“I’m not supposed to talk about this shit. I don’t get involved, and they are already on my ass about that.”
“Kid, you’re gonna have to learn to trust me.”
“I do, but—”
“But what?”
“I’m not a cugine! I’m not associated. I, for lack of a better term, opted out.”
Miles snarled at the word cugine. It was a tongue in cheek reference to the stereotypical wise guy. Track suit wearing, gold chains, shit slinging tough guy with mob ties. Landon most certainly was not a cugine.
“The old man let you opt out?”
“Surprisingly, yes.”
Miles gave Landon a look of speculation. There was something that he was missing. He was never given such a reprieve. It was serve or die. Uphold the Capadonno family name and honor, or accept your fate.
Had the old man gotten soft? Or is he hiding something?
Landon, seeing the look of pain in Miles’s eyes, continued, “I know you were set up. I know Uncle Sonny had a hit out on you… but I don’t know why. Knox always played you up to be a weasel, but I know better.”
Miles’s hands clenched the wheel, his knuckles turning white at the sound of the name Knox. Bringing Corina screeching into the elbow, Miles turned his sights towards Landon.
“Knox is the motherfuckin’ weasel!” Miles screamed, putting his fingers in the kid’s face.
Landon stared up at Miles with big, wide eyes and a look of innocence that Miles himsel
f had never possessed in his life.
“Shit. Sorry,” Miles said sheepishly, feeling bad for snapping on the kid.
“You got anger problems, dude,” Landon said as the shocked look faded from his face.
“My bad. I’ve been in the fucking can for something I didn’t do. Crucify me for being a little fucking pissed off.”
“Try again. Be calm… I deal with enough crazy shit at home.”
Jesus Christ, this kid is like a friggin’ psychiatrist.
“You know I got arrested right after Mom died, right?” Miles asked, not giving him any hints.
I wanted him to figure out this shit on his own.
“So wait… are you saying that Mom’s death had something to do with this?”
“All I’m saying is… When it comes to real family… blood… and the Capadonno family at large, the crime family always wins. I chose Mom. Knox chose them. Now who’s the fucking weasel?”
“Knox didn’t go to Mom’s side?”
“No. Neither did Dad. Sasha was too busy getting high with her douche nozzle boyfriend behind St. Laurentius’s church. Rainey, Dustin and you were only kids then. Our mother was a fucking saint and there was no way I was leaving her side to run favors for Uncle Sonny…”
“Who set you up?”
Miles laughed darkly as the faces of the men flashed in his mind.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
Finally feeling calm enough to drive again, Miles hit the gas pedal and worked Corina up to eighty miles per hour down the Turnpike.
“So kid, you never answered my question…” Miles pushed.
“I know I didn’t.”
“I’m not going to reveal you. I’m no rat.”
“Well, obviously Uncle Sonny is unfit to lead, so there’s an acting boss.”
“Is it Knox?”
“No.”
“Uncle Frenchie?”
“God, no, that dude weighs like six hundred pounds now.”
“Damn!”
“Real roly poly motherfucker…”
“That’s fucked up, dude,” Miles said with a laugh. “Fat shaming your uncle.”
Miles Away (Carrion #1) Page 6