“You seriously didn’t see this coming?” Dustin spat. “Of course he wanted to fucking kill the bastard! He set him up twice, tried to have him executed countless times. I’d be gunning for the fucker, too!”
“This puts us in a tight fucking corner, though, Dustin! We have to take care of this shit before people start questioning our loyalties!”
Dustin fumed with rage as he looked out the passenger window at the bright lights of Manhattan.
“Son of a bitch!” Dustin barked as he slapped his hand against his leg. “What the fuck now?”
“There’s only one thing to do. We gotta take Miles out of the equation.”
Corina rumbled over the Brooklyn Bridge as Miles’s eyes targeted a sign for the La Fortuna Night Club. The establishment was a local gem, a mobster hot spot. La Fortuna was well steeped in history, allure and urban legend. Notorious for being the birthplace of the Coalition, the La Fortuna Night Club also happened to be home base for the Rigatti crime family.
Miles felt like he was being watched as he weaved through the streets of Brooklyn. Men huddled in groups on street corners looked his way with prying gazes as Corina rolled past. The closer they got to the nightclub, the more on edge everyone was becoming. Letty tapped her leg nervously as she clutched onto Landon’s hand for support. Squeezing Letty’s hand back, Landon was relying on her for support just as much as she needed him. The only one not showing anxiety was Miles. His face was emotionless, but his eyes kept a keen watch around them, alert and ready to strike. It quickly became apparent that the Rigattis were expecting Miles’s arrival.
Pulling up to the corner of Riverside and Grove Streets, Miles waited at the red light just a half block from the night club. As he waited at the light, he saw something move in his peripheral view. A mob of men walked down Crescent Avenue with Corina clear in their sights. Under the dim lighting of the street lamp, Miles could see that the men were well armed. Some carried guns, others came prepared with other weapons. It appeared they carried whatever they could to inflict damage. One man carried a Louisville slugger, another a crowbar.
“Stay down,” Miles said to Landon and Letty. They ducked their heads, but that wasn’t enough for Miles. “No. Get down on the floor. Now!”
Hitting the gas pedal, Miles catapulted the car forward as another mob moved eastbound on Grove Street, turning right onto Hemlock Street, Miles caught his breath. As he slowed the car down in front of the La Fortuna night club, he came to the realization that he was completely surrounded. The mobs converged in front of the nightclub, surrounding Corina and shouting angrily at Miles. Directly behind him, Knox’s car pulled up.
“Don’t you get out of this car, Miles!” Letty yelled, fear rattling in her voice. “Don’t you do it!”
Miles looked behind him and met his eyes with Letty’s own. Tears streaked her face as she looked up at Miles with a pleading gaze. Shaking her head, Letty pleaded again. “No, Miles. Please. There has to be another way.”
Reaching for her hand, Miles kissed her palm gently. Bringing her hand to his cheek, Letty’s hand brushed against Miles’s beard. After a breath, Miles let go. Giving Letty a nervous look, Miles asked, “Do you want your son back or not?”
Letty began to tremble under the weight of Miles’s intense stare. A sob was building, but it seemed to be trapped. Even in this moment, Letty was far too stubborn to break down completely.
When Letty didn’t answer him, Miles gave her a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Then let me get him for you. No matter what happens, Letty, remember,” Miles said as he reached his hand out to her. Placing his hand gently on her chest, Letty’s heart thumped under Miles’s touch. “I have always lived in here.”
Breaking from her gaze, Miles turned and exited the vehicle with a pair of twin Berettas in his hands. Only then did Letty finally break. Thrashing against Landon’s grip, Letty wailed.
“No, stop it! He’s going to get himself killed!”
“Letty… Letty… LETTY! You are not going anywhere! Miles is a big man, he can handle himself! Let him get your son and your father. Everything will work out. Everything will be fine. Just stay calm. Getting upset is not doing you any favors!”
“But, Landon, I just got him back. We just got him back,” Letty said as she sobbed into Landon’s shirt.
Stroking his hand over Letty’s hair, Landon comforted his brother’s longtime love as best as he knew how. “We’re all going to walk out of this a little crazier, a little more paranoid, but very much alive. You have to believe, Letty. If you don’t have hope, you don’t have anything.”
Letty gasped as she looked out the window in fear, as Miles came face to face with Dustin and Knox. With a gun in the air, Miles set off a blast.
“I’m here, fuckers! Send out the hostages. NOW!” Miles screamed.
Nunzio Rigatti smiled broadly as he navigated through the crowd.
“Miles Capadonno… we meet again.”
“Hey, shithead,” Miles said with a laugh. He pointed at Nunzio’s bruised face and hands. “Get in a fight with your sister?”
Nunzio didn’t appreciate Miles’s humor, but he didn’t bother responding with an insult.
“How nice of you to join us here at the House of Rigatti. La Fortuna, the birthplace of this thing of ours.”
Miles looked back at the night club, “Eh, I was expecting more. You really should spruce the place up the next time I come.”
Nunzio scoffed as Knox rolled his eyes.
“Do all of you Capadonnos have to be such assholes?” Nunzio asked.
“We inherited it from our father. Can’t help it,” Miles admitted. “Now if you want to see how much of an asshole I can be, keep me waiting a little fucking longer. Let’s go, old man.”
Giving Miles a hostile glare, Nunzio stood silent for a moment. Running his hand along the length of his jaw, Nunzio sized up the new Boss of the Capadonno crime family with a calculating stare.
“Capadonno…” Nunzio said as he approached Miles. Pushing a stubby finger into Miles’s chest, Nunzio said, “You’re not as bad as everybody claims you are. You have a weak heart. Your father would have killed me by now.”
A sly smirk broke onto Miles’s face. Secretly, he thought, That’s because my old man was the love child of Ted Bundy and Lizzie fucking Borden.
A tall man in a gray suit emerged from La Fortuna. Behind him, another man emerged with a black pillow case over his head. In his arms was a small child with a terrible gash across his forehead. Miles’s eyes tracked G from seventy feet away. As his eyes fell upon the nasty red gash across the toddler’s face, Miles drilled his eyes back to Nunzio’s face.
Seeing the twisted smile on Miles’s face, Nunzio snarled at him.
“Did I say something funny? What the fuck are you laughing at?”
Reaching into his back pocket, Miles pulled something out concealing it in his palm.
“You hard of hearing old man?” Miles asked with a dark smile growing on his face.
Nunzio stared at Miles pretending he didn’t remember the threats Miles had delivered from his jail cell.
Screwing his eyes to Nunzio’s face, Miles growled, “What did I say would happen if that child was injured?”
Nunzio stood silent as he watched Miles carefully.
“What did I say would happen if that child shed one fucking tear?” Miles shouted.
Nunzio dropped the façade as quick as a bad habit. Snarling, Nunzio’s puggish face turned a violent shade of red.
“What do you care? It’s not like it’s your kid!”
Miles glared at Nunzio as fury burned through his body. Dustin laughed behind his hand. “Ooooh, burn!”
Miles glared at his younger brother, giving him a sharp stare. “Grow the fuck up, Dust.”
Knox raised his eyebrows as he elbowed Nunzio. “Damn, old man. You’re gangster. Went right for the balls.”
Miles glared at all of them with a shrewd gaze.
“Make no mistake,” Miles said wit
h a self-assured look on his face. “Gabriel Alves is my son, my business and I’m the only father that child will ever know.”
Nunzio, Knox and Dustin stared at Miles coldly as he spoke.
“You made a mistake, old man,” Miles said with a smirk.
“Oh, yeah? And what might that be?”
Curling his lips up into a smile, Miles used a line right out of his father’s repertoire. “Never fuck with a Capadonno!”
Miles lit the Zippo lighter and held it under his face. The flicker of the flame illuminated Miles’s face in an eerie glow. Shadows danced across Miles’s face and a strange glint shone in his ebony eyes. The faintest of smiles tugged at Miles’s lips. Tossing the lit lighter to the ground, the dead leaves crackled as the flame spread. Like a disease, the fire grew. Spreading from leaf to leaf, grass, and the massive oak tree that stood outside of the La Fortuna night club.
“What have you done?” Nunzio screamed.
But before Miles could answer, an engulfed tree branch fell upon the kitchen roof of La Fortuna, setting the historic landmark aflame.
“What was it that I promised you, Nunz? What was it?” Miles screamed.
As Miles had the Rigattis distracted, Landon launched himself from the car. Under cover of darkness and flames, Landon rushed to Juan and Gabriel. Ripping the pillow case off of Juan’s head and slicing the rope binding his wrists with a Swiss army knife, Landon freed Juan’s limbs and did the same for Gabriel, who was wailing loudly, his face stained with dirt and the trails of his own tears. While their watcher was distracted, Landon lifted Gabriel and ran with him back to Corina with Juan hobbling behind him, nursing a bad knee. Ripping open the driver side door, Landon passed G to Letty as a terrible sob ripped from the child’s mouth. Letty’s hands gripped onto G and she held him tightly as if she was afraid he’d slip from her grasp again. G grabbed onto Letty’s face bringing his cheek to hers. Tears ravaged G’s eyes but he didn’t make a sound. Finally, as relief overcame him, G’s voice broke from his mouth, “Mama.”
Landon helped Juan into the car and as the fire intensified, Landon rushed to the driver side door. Quickly, he got in, giving a wary look out the windshield. The mob shouted ferociously as the La Fortuna night club burned out of control. Smoke filled the brisk autumn air. As Nunzio Rigatti drew his gun from his breast pocket, something unexpected happened. Turning on the old man, Dustin pressed a gun to Nunzio Rigatti’s temple.
“Best slow your roll, Rigatti. That bastard took my father’s life and now Miles will die by the Butcher’s gun not yours.”
“What the fuck are you doing? We had a business arrangement!” Rigatti barked at Dustin.
“Sorry, Pops. This isn’t business. It’s fucking personal!”
Dustin pulled the trigger as a bullet lodged in Nunzio Rigatti’s brain. As the old man fell to the ground, Dustin quickly turned his gun on Miles.
“Very fucking personal!” Dustin yelled as he pressed his gun into Miles’s chest.
As shots rang out from the mob, Knox and Dustin pushed Miles towards Knox’s car. With his gun pressed to the back of Miles’s head, Dustin edged his brother forward towards the car.
“Get the fuck in,” Dustin growled.
“Where are we going?” Miles asked, no hint of fear or nervousness in his voice.
“Disneyland. Where the fuck you think you’re going?” Dustin spat angrily.
Miles did what he was told but not before glancing back at his car. Letty’s hands were pressed up against the glass window and she appeared to be screaming. Giving Letty an apologetic look, Miles turned to face his fate. Getting into the back seat of Knox’s car, Miles was locked inside as Knox took the driver’s seat and Dustin rode shotgun. As Knox climbed in the car, he quickly turned in his seat. Raising his gun, Knox spat, “See you on the other side, brother.”
Pop! Pop! Pop!
Sparks emitted in the dark of the cab as three bullets flew from Knox’s gun. Letty watched in horror as she saw Miles’s silhouette slump over in the backseat of the car. Letty didn’t even have a chance to react. As the last shot rang out, Knox hit the gas and hauled ass turning right onto Merrimack Avenue, his wheels screeching as he disappeared from view. As smoke from the fire interrupted Letty’s view, a terrible cry howled from her lungs. Slamming on the gas pedal with a strained look in his eyes, Landon drove the car through the smoke, vanishing from view.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
One week later
LETTY ALVES SAT IN HER dark bedroom in total silence. Her red-rimmed eyes burned from all the tears that she had shed. Her limbs ached. Her mind swirled in toxic confusion. Letty’s heart was fractured into a million tiny fragments. Shattered memories of what used to be.
How did it come to this? Letty asked herself time and time again.
Miles was gone. Murdered by the man he had once considered his best friend. The only emotion stronger than the utter despair that roamed unchecked through Letty’s body was her tremendous rage. Anger plagued her days and nights. Every time she closed her eyes, Letty recounted the shots that had taken Miles’s life. She vividly recalled the look of malice on Knox’s face. Every night she re-experienced the horror that struck her the night of Miles’s murder. It would be a memory that Letty would never be able to discard.
The clock on the wall read 7:24 a.m. Letty was supposed to be dressed by now but she just couldn’t get herself moving. A knock on the door caught her attention. As the door swung open, Letty turned to see who it was.
“Letty,” Juan Alves said softly. “Baby, we need to go soon. The service begins at nine.”
“I’m coming, Dad,” Letty said as she lifted herself off of her bed.
“Okay,” Juan said somberly. “I’ll be downstairs with G.”
Letty nodded as she faced her reflection in the mirror. She could barely recognize herself with the bags under her eyes. She had barely slept a wink since Miles’s murder. Her body wouldn’t let her relax, and her mind most certainly would not stop. This was a day that Letty had dreaded since Miles was taken from her the first time. Though Miles’s incarceration was painful, the utter desolation Letty found herself in when facing Miles’s death was nearly intolerable. Fate had delivered a cruel and terrible blow. Losing Miles again had stretched Letty’s mind to the point of snapping.
If I see Knox Capadonno, I’ll kill the bastard myself, Letty thought.
Walking to her closet, Letty pulled out the black dress Miles had bought for her to wear one last time. Though she was not ready, Letty prepared herself to say her final goodbye to the man that owned her heart.
The bells of Saint Laurentius Cathedral chimed loudly as Letty Alves walked up the cobblestone pathway to the church. Walking through the doorway, Letty peered around her, searching the crowded church for Knox’s face. When she didn’t see him, Letty cut up the middle aisle.
Of course he wouldn’t show. He’s a coward, Letty thought.
A grey casket sat just before the altar with its lid shut. An arrangement of white lilies lay atop the casket. Letty had picked out the arrangement herself. Next to the coffin, an easel showcased a handsome photograph of Miles that Letty had taken herself. Although the Capadonnos paid for the funeral expenses, Letty wanted to make sure she put her own personal touches on Miles’s service. Though they had never officially said “I do,” in her heart, Miles Capadonno was her husband.
Kneeling at the coffin, Letty closed her eyes as she laid her hand upon its glossy surface. Praying silently, Letty could feel the weight of the congregation’s stares upon her. Rising up, Letty’s eyes met Landon’s as she took a seat next to him in the front pew. Letty thought that it was a beautiful service. Very fitting of the man she knew Miles to be. It was a side that not many people got to know.
After the ceremony, the congregation followed the pall bearers out to the cemetery where a burial plot was prepared. As Miles’s casket was lowered into the ground, Letty dropped a single red rose upon his casket as her emotions began to bubble over. She
breathed deeply, trying to keep her tears from falling. Before her first tear had time to escape from her eyes, someone had placed a firm hand on Letty’s shoulder. Startled, she turned around and came face to face with Dustin. Public enemy number two in her eyes. He had Miles at gunpoint that night. Letty held Dustin just as much responsible for Miles’s death as she did Knox. Even if Dustin didn’t pull the trigger, he had conspired with Knox to kill him. Giving Dustin a hostile glare, Letty bit her tongue, trying to refrain from speaking her mind. Around here a loose tongue can get you killed.
“Letty, I’m sorry. I know he meant a great deal to you,” Dustin said as he placed a comforting hand on Letty’s arms. Somehow, his touch didn’t comfort her at all.
“Yeah, you are sorry. A sorry piece of sh—”
“None of that,” Dustin said to Letty as Landon walked up beside them.
“Hey, Letty,” Landon said with a somber look upon his face.
“Hi, Landon,” Letty replied, unsure of what else to say.
“I’m going to need you to come with us,” Dustin said as he motioned to his car across the parking lot.
“Why would I go anywhere with you?” Letty asked with a bite.
“Miles had asked us to do this,” Landon said, not clueing Letty in to what was going on.
“Asked you to do what?” Letty asked skeptically.
“You’ll see,” Landon said as he hooked his arm around Letty’s shoulder.
“Where are you taking me?” Letty asked, sounding more than a little freaked out. She fought against Landon’s hold only to find her arm clenched tightly by Dustin.
“Don’t make a scene,” Dustin said coarsely as he led the way to his car.
Unsure as to what was going on, Letty reluctantly went with Dustin and Landon, leaving the St. Laurentius cemetery behind them. Dustin drove for a solid forty minutes. Letty was still unsure of where Dustin and Landon were taking her, but it was clear what city they were in. Letty could see the towering casinos of Atlantic City in the background. Dustin parked the car in a parking lot near the boardwalk. Dustin helped Letty out of the backseat and he led her towards the boardwalk.
Miles Away (Carrion #1) Page 28