He limps forward towards the car and flips me off. Uh, excuse me? You’re the one who scared me within an inch of my life, asshole! I want to yell at him, but something doesn’t sit right with me. What’s he doing? Why is he here? Where is Antonio?
I faintly hear my name being called. I look all around me. My hands are clutching the steering wheel, and my foot is itching to know my next move. My phone is still on. I reach down for it, using a split second, not wanting to take my eyes off a stumbling Dino.
“Hello.”
“Holy shit, Meg! What is going on?!” Troy is shouting.
“Ummm...right now? Nothing I can’t handle. But that could change at any second.”
“Meg! Get out of there!”
“No! I’m not leaving Antonio,” I yell, my heart thumping and sweat starts to form above my lip.
“Meg, Antonio would want you to leave!” Troy pleads.
“No. Never leave a man behind.”
“What?! Are you in a fuckin’ Army recruiting commercial? Get the hell out of there!”
I put the phone down without turning it off. Dino stops advancing. We are staring each other down. The lights from the car give his appearance an eerie glow. Then a horrific thought occurs to me, not only horrific, but sick and immoral.
I could mow Dino down with this car, and call my father to take care of the mess. I have that kind of power. My dad could make Dino go away, and no one would know. My thoughts curdle my stomach.
The door to the bar flies open, and a body rolls out onto the sidewalk. I am momentarily stunned. The body pops up in a fluid motion and fires a shot at Dino. Oh, it’s Vito!
Excitement at seeing him surges through me. He scans the road. Dino is on the ground clutching his leg. He’s been hit with a car and shot. Wow, that’s gotta suck!
Vito sees me, and I wave like crazy. I pull the car forward to the door. Antonio is right behind Vito exiting the bar. I scramble to unlock the doors.
They jump in the backseat. Vito yells at me, “GO! GO!”
I slam my foot on the gas again. The tires screech, and I miss Dino lying in the road by mere inches.
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Antonio coughs out. “Are you okay?” He is hanging over the console from the backseat. “Megan?” He shakes me as I drive. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I think so. What happened?”
“It’s Prazzo! It’s the fuckin’ Prazzos!” Antonio yells through coughs and pants.
In the rearview mirror, I see Vito breathing heavy too, shaking his head. The elation at the fact that they’re okay overwhelms me. Tears start rolling down my cheeks, but I’m not upset, I’m happy. Antonio crawls over into the front seat.
“You did good, honey. You did good,” he repeats. He leans over and kisses my cheek. “Don’t cry.”
“I’m just so happy you’re okay,” I say between tears. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Don’t cry, we’re okay,” he reassures me.
“Antonio?”
“Yeah.”
Sniffling, I say, “I feel like we’re Bonnie and Clyde.”
“Nope, just Antonio and Megan.”
I hear a faint voice calling again, Antonio!’
It’s Troy. I gesture to the phone with a trembling hand. Antonio picks it up.
“Yeah.”
“What the hell was that all about?!” I can hear Troy yelling through the phone.
“Everything is fine. Vito’s here.”
“What happened?”
“There is an address programmed into Erin’s phone. Take her to that address.”
“You’ve got my fuckin’ car!”
“Then borrow one,” Antonio says.
“It’s 3:15 am! Where would you like me to get one?”
“You’re on a college campus. There must be a party going on or some geeks studying at this time of night.” Antonio shuts the phone off. “Shit, I need more aspirin.”
“What about our car?” Megan asks.
“If there is anything left to it, Vito and I will try to get it tomorrow. We’ll have to get a new rental anyway.”
“We’re going to have to check out this car in the morning. I hit something with it. I want to get it fixed for Troy if there’s a dent or a broken light,” I tell him.
“What did you hit?” Vito asks.
“Dino.”
“What?”
Antonio looks at me dumbfounded. “You hit Dino with the car?”
“Yes.”
“On purpose?” Vito asks, chuckling.
“Well, sort of.”
“Honey, what do you mean?” Antonio asks, as he plugs in a new address to the GPS on his phone.
“He scared me. He hit the car a few times and jumped on the windshield. I threw the car in drive and took off. I’m pretty sure I hit him, because he was limping. Then Vito shot him, so I definitely think he’s down for the count.”
Together, the two of them start laughing, hard. Vito could barely catch his breath.
“You better watch out for this one, Tonio! She’s got the devil in her,” Vito says, still laughing. “Mannegia! That’s some funny shit.”
I freeze. Vito’s words trigger my mother’s haughty expression anytime Antonio is mentioned. He’s got the devil in him! I shake it off. Dino was coming after me. I defended myself. I wasn’t doing anything, but waiting for Antonio.
We zig and zag through the streets to the highway. Antonio is definitely suffering with his fever.
“So are you going to tell me what happened in there?” I ask softly.
“Let’s just say, when Pop hears about this, Palmetto’s inhabitants list is going to be short by a whole family.”
Chapter 12
Stugatz (stu-got-s): got nothing
Antonio:
The last thing I wanted to tell Megan was that we barely made it out of there. Luigi Prazzo wants leverage over Pop. He hired some dumbasses here in Chicago to kidnap me. Well, they took the wrong guy.
I should have known that Allen was a set up. There is no way he had any money. Luigi’s goons must have kept the guy drugged up enough to be out of it and compliant. They used him. They knew the guy owed Pop a lot of money.
Luigi and Dino want to dethrone’ my Dad. And they planned to go through me.
The whole frittata with Sommersville last week was a set up too. They broke the truce. It all makes sense now. We were walking into a trap. A trap that backfired. Either Sommersville got yellow and ran, or the plan just failed, I’ll never know. That bullshit scene with Dino in a knife fight must have been part of the set up too.
The Prazzo’s must have promised Sommersville something my pop wouldn’t give them. Kidnapping me in Chicago was their new plan. I get it now. The Chicago underground is so large; it was probably easy to set this whole thing up.
They’re exposed now though. The mole is out. Now it’s kill or be killed.
“How much further?” Megan asks me.
“Another couple of miles to the hotel. Vito will check us in under a fake name, and then you and I will go in a back entrance. I don’t even want the concierge to see you,” I say.
We arrive and Vito goes in. A few minutes later he comes out with two room keys. The hotel is just a mid-class in which you get a coffee and muffin in the morning and they call it breakfast.
Megan drives around to the back, and Vito uses a key card to open the door. I call Troy.
“When you get here, drive to the back and call me, we’ll let you in,” I say and hang up.
The rooms are small and clean, with two double beds each. They are adjoined by a door in the middle like our suites. Vito and I check both rooms and the hallway.
My phone rings. It’s Troy. I go back to the entrance and let them in. My headache is getting worse.
“Thanks for bringing her,” I say, but my words are garbled because Erin throws herself at me. I hold her tight. I reassure her by telling her, “It’s okay.”
I take her hand and lead h
er to our rooms. Troy follows behind us.
Megan opens the door, and Erin extends to hug her. They embrace. Megan’s eyes are tearful, while Erin’s are streaming. I gently force us into the room, wanting to close the door.
Erin releases her sister, and sees Vito sitting on the bed. She runs to him and flings her arms around his neck.
“I was so scared!” she says. “I’m sorry!” she wails.
Vito gently shifts her on to his lap, and lets her hold him around the neck.
“Shhh, everyone is fine,”
“I’m sorry,” she says again.
“For what, babe? You didn’t do anything,” he asks perplexed, rubbing her back.
“Yes, I did. I was a brat to you. I’m sorry.”
Vito laughs, “No, I’ve been hard on you, I’m sorry.”
Erin snuggles into Vito’s arms and closes her eyes.
“Well, all I can say is that this evening aged me about five years,” Troy says. He wraps his arm around Megan. “I was so worried. I could hear stuff going on, but couldn’t do anything. It was so damn frustrating.”
The tiny hotel room is crowded with all of us in it. I sit on the desk in the corner.
“Troy, if you want to stay here for the rest of the night, you can. We’re all tired.”
Every time I blink my eyes, they burn. I definitely still have a fever. The adrenaline has faded. I am struggling again, I need to sleep.
Vito lifts Erin, and lays her down on one of the beds. He goes over and locks the outside door to the room.
“Come on, Troy,” Vito says. “I want the bed on the left,” he yawns.
Megan is quiet and pulls the covers down on the opposite bed from Erin. I lay next to her. My eyes close, they sting for a minute, and then I’m asleep.
*****
The next morning, I wake up first. Everyone else is sleeping. My mouth tastes bitter. Dwelling on the Prazzos betrayal is useless. They made their bed, and now they have to lie in it.
It’s time to plan our next move. We could go back to the campus and check things out. Maybe move to new suites. I question whether or not they know we’re at Notre Dame. Sommersville and the Prazzos kept leading me to Chicago. Or maybe we should check into a hotel near the campus.
I drift in and out of consciousness. Megan shifts on the bed, and I wake again. She rolls over and snuggles up to me. I wrap my arms around her.
“How are you feeling?” she asks drowsily.
“Okay. My head is still a little cloudy.”
“You feel cooler today. I think your fever broke.”
“Good. I don’t have time to be sick right now,” I say. “I gotta call Pop soon.”
“I’m sorry about this whole thing,” Megan says.
“Not as sorry as they’re gonna be.”
I reach for my phone and dial Pop. He answers on the first ring.
“Tonio! What the fuck!” my father yells.
“Hey, Pop,” I say calmly.
“What the hell is going on? Is everyone alright?”
“Yeah. I was set up. We got out of there.”
“The Prazzo’s are going to wish they never stepped foot in Palmetto. They touch one hair on your head and I’m gonna serve their asses for Thanksgiving dinner.” Pop sighs. “You gotta keep your head straight, Tonio.”
“Yeah, Pop.”
“Patrick is right here with me. He’s gonna take care of some things. I need you to stay low.”
“We will, Pop.”
“Patrick wants to talk to Megan.”
I hand Megan the phone. “It’s your dad,” I say.
Megan takes the phone. Her eyes are conflicted.
“Hello.” (pause) “No, we’re okay.” (pause) Her eyes fill with tears. “It was scary.” (pause) “Some hotel Vito found.” (pause) “Erin has been very upset.” Megan goes to the bathroom and shuts the door to talk to her dad.
I stand by the bathroom door waiting. A few minutes go by. I hear the door click and the see the knob turn. I can’t wait anymore, so I push the door a little.
I make my way into the bathroom. I shut the door, and pick Megan up and sit her on the counter. My phone is in her hand, when I grab her face and kiss her, hard. I push her legs apart and stand between them, getting closer. I reach over and lock the bathroom door, never breaking away from her. She tosses the phone on the counter and squeezes me to her. Her legs wrap around my waist, and we are molded to each other. The kisses are fierce and wanting.
I strip off her shirt and stand back an inch to look at her. She must have shed her bra in the middle of the night. Her skin is hot cinnamon candy. Her beautiful face is flushed, and her eyes dance with desire.
Megan’s fingers slid up my sides, taking my shirt with them. She lifts my shirt over my head and pulls me close. I take her mouth again. I run my fingers through her hair, over her shoulders and down her chest. Holy shit! This girl is going to kill me.
I reach over and turn on the shower. We strip each other out of our clothes. When the water is steaming, I put her under the spray. I use the complimentary soap and lather my hands. I rub my soapy hands all over her body, slowly. Megan moans, and her head falls back.
The water drenches her red hair making it a dark crin. I spin her around, so her back is to me, and continue my leisurely sudsy adventure.
If I had to pick perfect moments in my life, they would all be from the time when I took this incredible girl to the riverside and kissed her. Rubbing my hands all over her body, makes me want to profess my undying love, and slap a ring on her finger.
So I do what I can do. “I love you so much, Megan,” I whisper in her ear. She turns around, looks me in the eye, and says, “I love you too, Antonio.” And I kiss her again.
*****
I dress, and leave Megan in the bathroom to finish putting her clothes on. On the floor by her side of the bed, I find her bra. I grab it and take it to the bathroom for her.
Vito pokes his head in through the adjoining door. Looks immediately at Erin, and then finds me with his eyes by the bathroom.
“What’s next?” he asks. I shake my head at him in a give-me-a-few gesture.
Facing the hard reality of the Prazzo’s disloyalty to the family prickles at my skin, no matter how much I tell myself that this is their choice, it doesn’t make it sting any less. But I have to live by my father’s motto —Don’t think, just do. What I have to do, right now, is figure out a plan, keep everybody out of the line of fire, and wait it out.
I decide to slip out of the room to go have a cigarette outside. I need to clear my head. The murkiness of being sick and the cold truth need to puff out of me in smoky circles.
It’s chilly. The fall air is awesome though, crisp and clean. I’m not alone long. Troy comes out too.
We’re quiet, not looking at each other.
“You got something to say to me?” I ask him, a stream of smoke caressing my words.
“What have you gotten her into?” he asks.
“Dude, I am going to say this once. This isn’t all me. You don’t know everything,” I challenge.
“Then tell me.” Troy says irritated.
“You know everything you need to know.” I crush my cigarette with my fingers and toss it into the dewy grass. “Thanks for taking Erin last night. I’ve gotta move the girls. I’ll keep you informed.”
I move to go back into the hotel. Troy stops me with a hand on my arm. I look down at it. Why the fuck is he touching me? I could easily break his hand in about two seconds. But I don’t.
“Do you love her?” he asks.
I lower my head, and I give Troy the honor of my confession. “Yes... I think I always have.”
“Keep her safe,” he says, and drops his hand. We walk back to the rooms in silence.
“Everyone, get your stuff together, we’re leaving,” I command when I enter the room. Erin is sitting up on the bed. Vito is sprawled on the other bed watching T.V. Megan is on her phone.
“We need to get the SUV and
return it to the rental place. I want to find a new location to hold up. Vito, go downstairs and get another map.”
Vito leaves. “Troy we need to borrow your car for a little while longer. Better yet, let me have the car you borrowed. We will take it back to the campus later.”
Troy nods, and we switch keys. I notice that Megan is still on the phone. I walk over to her.
“Yeah,” she says into the phone. “Okay, bye.” She hangs up.
I don’t have to ask because she tells me.
“That was my dad. I called him back...” Her expression is sad. “I just... I just...wanted to know why he and my mother haven’t bothered to call.”
“I’m sure she wants to, honey, but your dad probably told her not to,” I say comfortingly.
“Dad said that, but I don’t think it’s true,” she says.
“Come on, let’s go. We have a lot to do today.”
I take her hand and lead her towards the door.
Chapter 13
Feekanaz (Fee-ca-na-zz): sneaky or nosy person
Megan:
Antonio appears to be better this morning. Thank God! I don’t like seeing him sick.
We go to pick up the Porsche from where Vito parked it a couple of blocks away from the bar. It appears fine. Antonio pulls up on the opposite side of the street from it. No one touched it. I find that very lucky considering the neighborhood.
Antonio is driving Troy’s borrowed car. Vito gets out with the rental keys in hand.
“We’ll meet you back at the campus,” Antonio says to Vito. “Then we’ll clean out the suites. I want to be at a new location before dinner.”
“Got it,” Vito says and gets out. He walks by the front of the car, and heads to the SUV. He gets the door open.
“I’m gonna go with him,” Erin says, quietly from the backseat, as she opens her door.
Antonio takes a breath to speak, when we hear a small squeak. Erin falls out of the car onto the pavement.
“Ouch!” she says.
“Erin you okay?!” I call out to her.
“Yeah. I missed the curb and twisted my leg,” she says, slumped on the sidewalk. Antonio opens his door to help her.
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