by K. J. Dahlen
“Damn!” Donnie said in awe. “I heard he would fuck his own mother if it would get him ahead.”
Franco laughed. “Don’t believe reputations. I know Camilla, and there is no way she would put up with that. Dante Ranetti is a man, not a legend. But he is clever and he will say or do anything to get free. Don’t let him get to you, any of you.” He looked right at Vito and Donnie.
“Yeah, well, I don’t think fucking me would work, so no worries Boss.”
Donnie’s comment made everyone in the room laugh, except Vito. Not sure, I’ve ever seen Vito laugh, or smile for that matter. But then again, there was something not right about him, but I guess there had to be to be the guy who broke people’s kneecaps or put their fingers in a vice until the bone crushed.
Franco stood ending the meeting. “Let’s have dinner gentlemen. Teresa and Annalisa have been making lasagna all afternoon. I can smell it from here.”
My mouth began to water at the thought.
“Oh and Lina is here too Marco, though you already knew that.”
I felt my face redden at what I knew was to come.
“The next time you feel like getting your dick wet, would you please use one of the guest rooms. Although I enjoyed the show, Annalisa or Teresa could have walked into that garden.”
“Yes Boss,” I responded. It was easier said than done. My girl was a nymphomaniac. She always wanted it, and it was hard to say no to a girl who offered to go down on you, even if you were standing in your boss’ wife’s rose garden. In retrospect, I probably didn’t have to fuck her on the bench though. I could have done as Franco asked and brought her into the house. The thing was, she loved having sex where people might see, and outside was her favorite place. I’d have to tell her we’d need to be more careful because Franco saw. Then again, when she learned that Franco watched us fuck, it would turn her on even more. She was quite a handful, but it was a problem I loved having.
Dinner was excellent as was the company. When Franco was with Teresa and Annalisa, he was almost a different man. He smiled and laughed. I could see him relax. It went to show you how important having a good relationship was for people. It seemed to center and ground him.
Just as we finished eating, he asked Teresa to prepare a plate for a guest.
Teresa winced at his comment. She knew what this meant, though she said nothing about it. She was an intelligent woman. She was married a crime lord. Though Franco never spoke about business with his wife, she had to know what was going on. Her father had been a made man, though he’d “retired” and moved to Boca Raton years earlier. “I’ll just go and prepare a plate,” she said, getting up from the table, bringing the tray of lasagna with her.
“Marco, take the food down to him when it’s ready.” No sooner had the words come out of his mouth when all of our phones started to go off. Apparently, Sal had found out about the lost shipment of guns down at the dock and what happened to Dante because he or some of his men had done a drive-by on one of Franco’s legitimate restaurants.
“There’s been an incident at Annalisa’s,” Franco said, stating what I already knew. “We need to go make sure everyone is okay and we need to let Sal know that we won’t be intimidated into hiding in our houses.”
I sent a few quick texts telling a handful of our men to meet us there. I felt sure the scene was quiet, as Sal’s guys wouldn’t have stuck around for the cops to show up, but there was always safety in numbers.
“Have Annalisa take our guest his dinner,” Franco added, putting his suit jacket on and walking toward the door.
I recalled Dante’s reputation with women. “Do you think that’s a good idea? I really don’t know if we should send her in with him.”
“This is Annalisa were talking about,” Franco said. “He isn’t going to seduce Annalisa.”
I thought about his words. Sure Annalisa was naive about sex, but she was hot. True, I only had eyes for my girl, Lina, but I wasn’t blind. I knew Annalisa was beautiful and had a great body. The only reason she didn’t have a boyfriend was because everyone in Chicago knew that Franco would shoot his dick off long before he got it anywhere near his only daughter. I was sure I hadn’t been the only guy he’d warned. I wanted to point this out, but telling him that his daughter was a hottie really wasn’t a wise move. We had other things to worry about anyway. I had something else to worry about too. Lina might not be my wife, but she was my girl, and anyone knew, the fastest way to get to a guy, was through his girl.
“Hey Boss, just until things calm down, is it alright if Lina stays here?” It wasn’t unusual for her to spend the night. I lived there and she was over all of the time. Besides, she and Annalisa had formed a friendship.
Franco nodded. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. Just keep it down tonight will you?”
I nodded. Maybe it was time to invest in a ball gag. I chuckled under my breath
I went into the kitchen to say goodbye to Lina and to tell her she should spend the night. She was washing dishes with her back to me. I came up behind her and snaked my arm around her waist pulling her tightly to me. “Baby, I’m going to go take care of some business with the Boss down at Annalisa’s. I want you to sleep here tonight.”
She turned towards me, wrapping her arms around my neck to kiss me goodbye.
I slid my hands down and grabbed her ass. “Make sure that pussy is shaved smooth for me when I get home. I’m planning on eating dessert.” I kissed her then went out.
Franco was waiting in the car. Vito was driving, Donnie was shotgun, while Franco and I rode in the back. When we arrived at Annalisa’s Restorante there were cops and paramedics everywhere.
Franco and I walked into the restaurant just as the paramedics were wheeling Gino out on a stretcher. He’d been shot in the chest judging from the blood on his shirt and apron. He was Annalisa’s head chef.
“Do you have any idea who shot you?” a police officer was asking him.
“No,” Gino answered looking at Franco. I wasn’t sure if Gino had no clue who did it or if he was just keeping his mouth closed to the cops. Franco knew who’d shot up his restaurant and hurt his employees. He didn’t want the person responsible to go to jail—he would want them dead.
Vito had parked the car. He and Donnie joined Franco and I inside. The four of us looked around the restaurant. There was glass everywhere, tables and chairs overturned, but no one seemed injured. In fact, the place was empty with the exception of a few employees over in the corner. I motioned for one of the waitresses to come over.
“Mr. Morelli,” a young blonde said, when she reached us. “Everything happened so fast.”
Franco nodded and put his hand on her shoulder above her name tag that said “Brandi.” He moved in a bit closer and leaned in, making things more intimate. “Brandi, I’m sure you responded the best you could.” She nodded. “Tell us what happened.”
“Well, it was really confusing. I was serving a customer his dinner and I heard this loud popping and then glass breaking. We all just hit the floor of the restaurant.”
“Were any customers hurt?” Franco asked.
Brandi shook her head. “No, I mean, a few had scrapes or cuts from the glass, but no one was shot.
I looked around the room. Ignoring all of the broken glass and furniture on the floor, I looked at the walls. The shots were all near the ceiling.
“Looks like they aimed high Boss,” Donnie whispered.
It wouldn’t matter. Not killing civilians was a nice gesture, but it wouldn’t save Sal Ranetti or his men. “Was Gino out in the restaurant?” I asked. “How was it he got shot?”
Brandi looked over at me, but then back to Franco. “I don’t know. I was on the floor when I heard more shots. They were coming from the kitchen. They didn’t last long, maybe only like ten seconds. I heard shouting though, and I crawled into the kitchen.” She stopped talking and put her hand over her mouth. Tears spilled down her face. “Gino, Nick and Marie were all on the floor...shot.”
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br /> “Shot?” Franco asked.
She nodded. “The ambulance took them away first. They—they weren’t so good.”
Franco pulled me aside. “Call who you know at the hospital to get info on Nick and Marie. I want to make sure they’re okay.”
“I’ll take care of it,” I said.
Franco walked over to the other employees and checked to make sure they were okay and then sent them home. I was already on my phone to the hospital when Franco walked into the kitchen with Vito and Donnie. “Hey Elena, got a minute?”
“Sure. Give me a second. I was going to call you in a few minutes.” Elena was our primary contact at the hospital. She was the daughter of one of Franco’s lower level men. Sharp as a tack, she’d wanted to be a doctor. Med school is expensive. Franco offered her a full ride. She’d taken it, and that put her in our debt. It wasn’t like was our slave, but she was loyal and a good doctor. More than once, we showed up at her house for emergency medical care. She was good at pulling a bullet and stitching a guy up without the cops finding out.
In this case, all I wanted was information. She came back on the phone. “Sorry Marco,” she said. “I was just checking in on Marie. She’s stable now.”
“And Nick?”
“He’s in surgery. He took three bullets. One to the chest, and two to the stomach. It’s the one to his chest that we’re worried about. It wasn’t his heart, but his lung has collapsed.”
“And Gino?” I asked.
“He was just brought in. I haven’t checked in on him yet. I can call or text you when I know.”
“Do the cops know anything?”
“I doubt it. Maria and Nick were in no condition to say anything.”
“Alright. Call me when Nick’s out of surgery please.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks Elena.” I hung up and went to find Franco in the kitchen.
“And you’re sure it was Sal’s guy Jimmy?” Franco was asking one of the bus boys.
“Yeah. I recognized him Mr. Moretti.” Franco nodded and turned to me. “Well, it appears Sal is aware we have Dante. I want revenge for what he did.”
I nodded.
“How are the others?” Franco asked.
“Elena says that Nick’s in surgery. Maria is stable and Gino just got there. She’ll call later when she knows more.”
Two officers in uniform walked into the kitchen. I recognized one of them, Antony. He was one on our payroll. He spoke, “We have a few questions for you. Can I have a minute?”
Franco nodded.
“Do you have any idea who would do this?”
Franco shook his head. “No, of course not. Who would shoot up a family restaurant? It must be a deranged person.”
Antony nodded. “Well, if you have anything further to add, you can call this number.” He handed Franco a card.
His partner looked at him, a bit of confusion on his face. “Don’t you have any more questions?” his partner asked.
Antony turned to him. “Mr. Moretti wasn’t even here. What more could I ask him? He’s the owner of a restaurant, a few restaurants. We’ll just have to ask the people who got shot.”
“I did ask them, well two of them,” Antony’s partner said. “Neither of them saw anything.”
Antony shook his head. “That’s a shame. I guess this one is just going to go unsolved.” He turned back to Franco. “I’m sorry about your restaurant. Please don’t hesitate to call if you need anything.” The officer walked from the kitchen with a confused partner in tow.
Sure, everyone knew it was bullshit, but everyone also knew that it was futile to investigate further. No one was talking, no one was ever gonna talk, and even if they flat out knew who did it, that person would never be alive to make it to court, not if Franco had anything to do with it. Jimmy was a dead man walking.
We had all of the employees leave and closed up the restaurant the best we could. I called a construction crew who said they’d start work on it right away. They’d board it up tonight, and then start fixing it up in the morning. Franco wanted it reopened as soon as possible. He didn’t give a shit about the money, but he wanted to show everyone that he couldn’t be shut down and that nothing Sal or the Ranetti family did would stop his business.
Franco and I stopped by the hospital to visit Gino, Nick and Maria. He had one of his money guys meet us there and bring him a few envelopes. It was a type of get well. A few thousand dollars always made a person feel better.
Gino and Maria were awake and in stable condition, though both were in a lot of pain. Franco told them to take as long as they needed to recover and that he’d pay their full salaries.
Maria looked relieved. I knew she was a single mother who lived with her sister. Franco told her that he’d have a little extra money sent over to help until she got back on her feet. I knew it would go a long way for her.
Gino’s wife was by his side. Franco hugged her and gave her an envelope. “Just a little something to help you while he’s recovering.” Gino’s wife said that she couldn’t take the money. Franco insisted. “Gino took care of me today. Now I’m taking care of him. It’s what family does.”
Nick was recovering from surgery, but hadn’t woken yet.
“Any word?” we asked Elena when we saw her in the hall.
“Yes, he’s doing well and can have visitors now. I’m going to tell his fiancée.”
I didn’t know Nick was engaged. I wasn’t sure if Franco knew. There were too many employees to know everything about all of them.
We followed Elena to the waiting room. His fiancé was pacing. When she saw Franco, she glared at him. There was fire in her green eyes. Clearly, she knew what he was, and she blamed him. She wasn’t wrong. It was Franco’s fault, well, technically my fault that the restaurant had been shot up. It’d been my plan to kidnap Dante. It was Sal who’d given the order, but I was the reason for the order. Ironically, I didn’t feel bad though. This was a war between families and there were always casualties in a war.
Her face softened when she saw Elena. “Dr. Celso,” she said, hurrying over to us. “How’s Nick?”
“He’s out of surgery and stable. You can go and see him in just a minute. They’re putting him in a room.”
Nick’s fiancé’s body visibly sagged in relief. “Thank you so much. I… I was so worried. I told him not to work there… I said that it was…” She stopped herself and looked over at Franco. “Dangerous.”
Wow. This chick had balls. Had I not been so in love with Lina, I might have had an interest in her. She also had a death wish. No one talked to Franco like that.
I could see everyone staring at him wondering what he’d do.
Franco didn’t bat an eye though. He held out his hand. “I’m so sorry to hear about Nick. I’m Franco Morelli. I own the restaurant where Nick works.”
“I know who you are,” the fireball said in a curt tone.
“And you must be Kaitlin. You’re even more beautiful than Nick described.”
His comment disarmed her, and the rest of us for that matter.
Franco took her moment of silence as a way to continue, “Nick’s a good man, on his way to becoming head chef. In fact, it’s about time I open a new restaurant. When he’s back on his feet, he can hire his own whole team.”
Kaitlin’s mouth hung open.
“He should focus on getting better first, and on your wedding. When is the date?”
Kaitlin had totally lost her thunder. “It’s uh… well, it was supposed to be this spring, May 18th, but now, I mean...I guess when Nick’s ready.”
Franco handed her an envelope. “Please use this to help take care of Nick when he gets out of the hospital.”
She took the envelope hesitantly.
“Think of it as an engagement gift. And when you’re ready to get married, you can have your reception at any of my restaurants. It’s on me.”
Again, her mouth fell open.
“That is, unless you think it’s too dange
rous.”
Her face flushed pink. “No….no I don’t think that Mr. Morelli. I…I’m sorry. I was very upset, worried about Nick.”
Franco nodded. “Apology accepted. Now, why don’t I let you go see your fiancé, so you’re there when he wakes up.” Kaitlin started to walk away, but Franco stopped her, putting his hand on her shoulder. “I know that Nick didn’t see anything and the cops won’t be able to help, but rest assured, what happened to him won’t go unpunished.”
Kaitlin nodded and walked off.
“Call me if anything changes,” he said to Elena. “And call me if Nick or Kaitlin remember anything.” I knew Franco. If either of them had anything to say to the cops, Nick would have an unfortunate complication or Kaitlin a tragic accident. It was just how it worked.
It was nearly midnight when we left the hospital. “Same plan?” I asked once we got in the car.
“As pissed as I am, and I’m pissed, putting a bullet between Dante’s eyes isn’t a good business decision. Sal will pay for what he did, but I want to take my time, make it painful. The plan stays in effect. I’ll call him tomorrow.”
We didn’t talk anymore the rest of the ride home.
Once there, Vito went to his apartment. Donnie stayed in case we needed a driver. Franco headed straight to bed. I needed to check on Dante.
I went down the basement stairs. The light was on in the hall, which concerned me. I punched in the code to the lock on the door and opened it slightly. The lights were off in the room and Dante was asleep on the bed.
I thought about going to question Dante, but I was afraid I was too emotional. Franco was right. Emotions were no way to run a business. I needed a clear head. After a day like today, there was only one thing that would calm me down, and that was my girl.