Boss: A Mafia Romance

by Liliana Rhodes

  Still holding my hand, he brought me to the couch and we sat down. He sat on the edge of his seat and angled himself so he looked directly at me.

  "Gia, you know I'm a bad man. You know I do things most people think are horrific. But I'm an honest man."

  "I know all that. What's going on?" I asked.

  "Vic Capuzzo is dead. I've been set up to take the fall."

  "Oh no," I said, trying to take in everything.

  Not only was Dante telling me he was going to jail, but I was learning yet another person connected to me was dead. Dante had spent the past week in his office, I didn't know what I would do with him locked away. I didn't want to even think about how long he would be gone.

  "But you didn't do it," I said. "How can they do this?"

  "Things happen, my angel. Not everything in life is fair. I need to put some calls in to some friends and see what I can do. When the police come they're going to do a search. I have some pull so they'll probably only search here and not the whole house. I want you to take a few things for me."

  "Of course, anything," I said.

  Dante got up and went over to his desk. He started pulling some items from the drawers. I expected him to hand over some secret files to me, maybe on a thumb drive like I had seen in the movies, but when he turned back towards me he was holding a stack of paper.

  "This is all just in case things get really bad," he said as he sat next to me again. "Here's the deed to the house, the penthouse in Manhattan, and several other properties. They're all in your name. These are the bank statements to accounts I created in your name also. All of this is legit, but I don't want some cop getting the wrong idea. Last, I want you to take these."

  He handed me a frame with a photo I had never seen before. I recognized the block I grew up on and in the photo I was pulling my bags behind me. I remembered that day like it was yesterday. I was so angry at Terry for not meeting me at the subway and helping me out. Dante had told me he saw me come out of the subway, but I never put it together that it was that day.

  "So this is what you do when you see a lady in distress?" I asked with a grin. "I could've used some help you know."

  His face relaxed and he smiled. "It's my favorite photo of you. When I saw you step out of the subway, I knew you were sent to rescue me from the hell of my life. That's why I call you my angel."

  The intercom from the house buzzed and then Jayden's voice came over the speaker.

  "The cops are here," Jayden said.

  "If it's Eddie, bring him around back."

  "Got it."

  I followed Dante outside. Jayden led a tall man with red hair into the backyard. He was dressed in a suit, but nothing as nice as I had seen Dante and his family wear. He grinned as he approached.

  "Dante Gambino," he said. "I knew this time would come. I need to bring you in. You're wanted in the murder of Victor Capuzzo."

  "I'll go willingly, Detective," Dante said.

  "But you didn't do it," I said realizing he was leaving me.

  "Gia, call Toni. Tell her to come to the police station," Dante said.

  "Toni? Why not–"

  "No, Gia. Just Toni," he said, his voice stern.

  I nodded. I didn't understand why he wanted Toni and not Mitcham or one of his brothers, but I would do as he said.

  As I stood in shock, I watched Dante hand the detective his cell phone and wallet then leave with him. He didn't handcuff him or anything, Dante left with him as if it was just another day.

  Jayden stepped closer to me as Dante and Eddie went out of sight. He pulled my cell phone from my sweatshirt pocket and held it out to me.

  "Everything will be fine," he said. "Eddie is a friend of ours. Shit like this happens all the time in our business. He'll be back home soon. Call Toni, she's the only one who can help in case things get really bad."

  "Toni? Why her?"

  "Because no one suspects a woman."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Dante

  I hated Gia having to see me leave like that, but at least it was Eddie and not another cop. Eddie Clark was not only a friend of the Gambino family, but a real friend of mine.

  I sat in the back while Eddie drove and his partner, a detective I wasn't familiar with fiddled with the radio. We drove in silence. When we reached the police station, a small group of reporters rushed towards the car and I turned my head as I tried to avoid giving them a useable picture.

  Eddie drove the car into the underground lot and parked near the door. When they let me out of the car, Eddie instructed his partner to go ahead while he brought me into an interview room.

  In all the years I had been involved in the family business, this was the first time I had been arrested. It wasn't that odd, the higher up I went the greater chance was that someone would bring me in. It was all a matter of visibility. Everyone wanted the Boss, they didn't care about the soldiers or the capos as much.

  The interview room was bland and grey. It had a small rectangular metal table in the center with a few chairs. I expected to see a two sided mirror in the room, but it didn't have one. I pulled one of the silver metal chairs out from the table and sat down while Eddie left the room.

  When he returned, he sat in the chair across the table from me and dropped a folder on the table. He pointed up to a corner in the room where I saw a small camera, but the light was off. I didn't know if that was a trick or not.

  "I accidentally turned them off," he said quietly. "Listen Dante, we go back to when we were kids. I don't think I would've taken this route if I could have been a made man and you know that. But I didn't have a choice here, I had to bring you in."

  "Don't worry, Eddie. We're good. Tell me what you have."

  "Right now not much," he said as he picked up the thin manilla folder and waved it. "I have an unidentified body that matches Vic Capuzzo's description and was found in his Park Slope home. You and I know it could be anyone, but there's surveillance and a witness who says you were there around the time of death."

  "In other words, you've got nothing."

  "Exactly, but you know how things are. Especially in such a quiet community like Park Slope, I had to act fast or it would look bad. Right now we have forensics running labs so I'm sure once they're back, they'll show it's not Capuzzo, the body was killed elsewhere and moved, you know the routine."

  "Unfortunately I do," I said.

  "Do you want to call your lawyer? Or is he on his way already?"

  "I'm not guilty, I have no need for an attorney. I'll be out of here in a couple of hours."

  "Ok, if you change your mind let me know. I'm not putting you in a cell, you can stay here. If you need me press the button by the door."

  "Thanks," I said.

  Eddie picked up the folder and walked out, closing the door behind him. I glanced at the clock on the wall to check the time. Every minute I was in custody, was another minute the Palumbo family won. I didn't like losing and I was tired of this game.

  Between the drive and talking to Eddie, I had already been out of commission for forty-five minutes. I knew despite my warning that Gia was surprised to see me leave. I hoped she was able to pull herself together enough to call Toni right away. If she did then Toni would arrive at any minute.

  I looked up at the camera and saw the little red light was on. Waving, I wondered if anyone was watching at the other end. I didn't care. They could watch all they wanted. They wouldn't get anything from me. Even if I had ordered the hit on Capuzzo, I wouldn't give them what they needed.

  A knock at the door then the release of the lock told me that I had a visitor. I hoped it was either Eddie releasing me or my sister. Either way I would be out of here soon.

  The door opened and in the doorway was Eddie and Toni. Toni was dressed more conservatively than usual with a long skirt and a buttoned top. Her hair was pulled back into a bun and she wore her dark framed acetone frame glasses which I knew she never left the house in. I tried to act like nothing was usual.

&
nbsp; "Oh Dante!" she said sounding concerned. "What happened? The police wouldn't tell me anything."

  Eddie closed the door behind her. I knew he would wait on the other side of the door. The police had grown wise to family members giving tips or leads while locked up and began monitoring visits. Unless it was a woman.

  The mafia was old school. Women had their place and men were the ones who let their hands get dirty. My father saw Toni had more promise than any of us and she could get away with things none of us could as men. Had Sonny or Roman been there, Eddie would have to stay in the room. But not Toni.

  Looking up towards the camera again, I saw the light was off. I didn't trust it though. It wasn't that I didn't trust Eddie, but just as I found out the hard way, sometimes there are people right in front of you who you trust but shouldn't.

  "You look lovely. Thanks for coming to see me," I said as Toni sat across from me.

  I darted my eyes up towards the camera and she gave a brief nod back.

  "I came as soon as I heard," she said. "I was at work at the library putting books away when I heard you were here. I didn't find out why though."

  "It's Vic Capuzzo. A body was found in his home and they think I did it. There's video and a witness. Eddie said they're waiting on forensics."

  For the first time Toni looked surprised for a second as her eyebrows raised then went back into place. Toni prided herself in knowing everything, but I could tell she didn't know about this.

  "You know we've shifted everything at the library to electronic. It's all now on the computer," she said keeping her voice steady.

  She was speaking in code and I understood exactly what she was saying. This wasn't like the old days of paper police files. While Eddie showed me a physical file, it was likely he also had a digital version of the case too.

  "I'm sure it makes things easier," I said. "Do you have any problem finding the books you're looking for?"

  "No, not at all. It's a pretty simple database. I can usually find everything I need in a matter of minutes," she said then looked at her watch. "As a matter of fact, I have to get back to work. Do you need anything?"

  "No," I said. "I can be patient. I didn't do anything so I'm sure I'll be out of here soon."

  She stood and smiled, but I could see the darkness in her eyes. She really was ready to get to work. She rapped her knuckle twice on the door and Eddie opened it."It's been a long time since I've seen you, Eddie," she said sweetly.

  "Yes it has," he said.

  "I didn't know you were a detective now. Do you have your own office?"

  "Not many detectives do, but yes, I do have my own office. Would you like to see it?"

  "I would love that!" she gushed. "I bet you have your very own computer too. They really know how to treat someone with your brains with respect here, don't they?"

  "Yes they do," Eddie said with a smile. "I can show you right now."

  As she walked through the door, she brushed against him and Eddie watched as she walked past. Toni could read people better than anyone I ever met. And she used that to get what she wanted. With a few smiles and the promise of a date, she would wait out the time until Eddie was called away and get the information she needed from his computer. And what she couldn't find, she would create.

  ***

  Sighing, I checked the clock again. An hour had passed since Toni had arrived. The camera's light was on again. There was a quick knock at the door and Eddie entered.

  "I'm sorry to keep you all this time," he said. "But we got forensics back and the body's not Capuzzo. We don't know who it is yet. I examined the video footage we got from Capuzzo's place myself and you're not even in it. Not only that but the witness is gone. I mean erased from our system and we don't have any other records of him."

  "Do you know how that happened?" I asked even though I knew.

  "Our techs are looking into it, but it seems there was some kind of virus. I'll be honest, we're lucky we have what we do. At least we can use that to figure out who did this."

  "Good luck finding your man," I said as I rose from the chair.

  "Thanks, Dante. Once again, I'm sorry about the wait. And if you could do me a favor? Put in a good word for me with your sister? She left here in a bit of a huff. I think she was upset. I don't know what happened."

  "I'm sure she's fine," I said. "You know us Gambinos."

  He handed me my cell phone, watch, and wallet in a clear plastic bag. Eddie walked out of the room and I followed him down the hall as I put my watch on and slipped my wallet into my pocket. I turned my cell phone on to see if I missed any calls and saw Toni left a text.

  I'm out front in the Town Car.

  As far as I knew, Toni never drove the Town Car. She liked being driven. I thought about what Eddie said about her being upset when she left and wondered if it was true and not an act she used to get out of there.

  Walking down the front steps of the police station, I saw the Town Car double parked in an emergency zone. I couldn't help but laugh to myself with how gutsy she sometimes was. I got into the front seat and Toni jerked the car into traffic, cutting off several cars.

  "What happened?" I asked.

  "The witness," she said angrily. "I can't believe who the fucking witness was!"

  She weaved through the lanes of traffic until merging on the freeway. With how erratic she was driving, I didn't want to ask her anything more until she calmed down.

  "What did you find out? Do we know the witness?" I asked, but I didn't need to. I realized the witness who claimed to see me at Capuzzo's the day of the murder, was the same person who had been under my roof. "You put the pieces together, didn't you?"

  "That sonabitch killed our father! What are we going to do about it?"

  I wasn't planning on having my sister help me. I never really considered her as part of the family business, but I realized she was exactly the person I needed to pull off my plan. I needed someone smart, someone who could control their anger and not do something impulsive. Someone I could trust. Toni was that person.

  ***

  "You're home!" Gia rushed to the door and I caught her in my arms.

  I loved the feel of her soft body against me. The warmth that came from her and the love I had for her was enough to cement my decision about my plans with Toni. By the time Gia and I got married the Palumbos would be history and the other families would think twice about messing with us again.

  It would make the Gambinos the most powerful crime family, but that wasn't why I was doing it. The Palumbos forced my hand when they threatened my angel. I swore from the moment I met her that I would do anything to protect her and I meant it.

  "It's all taken care of," I said.

  "And what about Vic?"

  "I honestly don't know. They wanted him gone and he is. I don't know if it was his own doing or not."

  Vic Capuzzo was a good guy. Had he reached out to me to help him with his situation, I would've done what I could. He didn't and that proved to me the kind of man he was. I hoped that if they did take care of him that it was quick.

  I sat on the couch and pulled Gia onto my lap. This was where I wanted to be. It was as normal of a life as I could expect and it was better than I could ever imagine.

  I hugged her tight as she leaned against my chest. Her hair was soft against my cheek and I breathed in her scent deeply. Even living together I couldn't figure out why she always smelled of orange blossoms.

  "I promise that I'll never leave you, Gia. Even if they take me away I'll always be back. You can count on that."

  She hugged me tight. "What about your nights in your office?"

  "You're more important to me than that. You know that. I only did it for you, to protect you. I need to keep that separate to keep protecting you."

  "But what about the color?"

  I laughed. "What do you mean?"

  "I know you hate that sunny yellow color. You could have changed it, but you didn't."

  "It reminds me of you."
<
br />   "A color? How?"

  "Because no matter what I do, if I turn off the lights, sit in the dark, that yellow is always there looking cheerful and happy. You've been through a lot, not just with me, but in your life and no matter what you somehow keep looking at the positive in life. Look at how you asked about Vic. He drugged and kidnapped you, but you still saw the good in him."

  She shrugged. "Maybe it was all those years in the convent."

  "No," I said, "it's just you. You're special, and beautiful. And I was blessed that day I first laid eyes on you. Rescuing you that first night was the most natural thing I ever did, it was like breathing. You make my life worth living."

  She looked up at me and smiled. "I love you, Dante Gambino."

  "And I love you more, Gia Carlisi."

  "You're such a sap," she said as she giggled.

  "This is what you do to me," I said grinning.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Gia

  Time was moving too fast. Somehow a month to plan the wedding had turned into only two weeks and I still didn't have a dress. Toni was bringing Nonna and her mother over with the dress for me to try on. Everything else was set.

  I couldn't believe our luck in Dante coming home so quickly after being arrested. I thought for sure they would keep him as long as possible, but things worked out for the better. Still, I couldn't help but wonder if Vic really was dead. The Palumbos were a ruthless family and as much as it saddened me, I knew they wouldn't think twice about killing one of their own.

  Dante was completely focused on the wedding. I was beginning to think he wanted to get married even more than I did. While I thought it was great, I couldn't help the nagging feeling I had about the wedding. I didn't know what it was. I wanted to marry him more than anything, but something didn't feel right.