Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Joey
My stomach growls, and it hits me, I haven’t eaten much all day.
With dog food in one hand and various treats and toys hanging in a bag off my wrist, it’s a juggling act.
Jenny has Kingston and is walking free and unencumbered.
But when Kingston does his business and she is stuck carrying a poop bag for a block before she can throw it away, I realize she gave me the easier job.
“Are you getting hungry?” I ask, and for the love of God say yes.
“I could eat.” Yes! She starts turning down the street. “We need a place with outdoor dining.”
There’s a café not far from here. I think it’s a chain, because I saw one on the other side of town. I point down the street. “What about there?”
She sneers, “Oh hell no. That’s a vegan sugar-free bakery of sadness that makes super cute Instagram posts but awful munchies.” She motions across the street. “That’s a better spot, the food is a cure for depression, not a cause.”
I snicker under my breath. Walking down the street with her, talking, laughing, it feels right. Normal.
Normal has never been in my vocabulary. It always seems too far out of my grasp. One-night stands only… Nothing is meant to last long, so why bother getting attached.
I have a duty and birthright. Four generations of men have protected our family, our power and our secrets.
My father went clean, and see where that got him?
If I want to live, I need to fight and to protect.
Normal was never an option. I never regretted it or even desired it.
But now? It’s the first time I feel I might be missing out on something.
Jenny picks a Japanese fusion cafe sort of place with outdoor seating. She says she’s always wanted to try it but never got the chance. A weird sense of pride hits me because I get to give her an experience she’s wanted.
Kingston settles into the chair between us, curled in a little sleepy ball. He smells so much better and is extra fluffy too.
Our food comes fast, which I love. Jenny hums and dances a little as she chews, focusing mostly on her phone. Not in a rude way, but she’s catching up on office work and emails. That’s fine, it gives me a chance to do the same. It’s a safe silence. I like it.
“Were you going to tell me you own the building?” She asks between bites, and my stomach drops.
Son of a bitch! I don't know how long I thought I could hide it. But I definitely thought I had more than a few hours.
“I figured I would break the news when you moved in.”
“And why did you suddenly change your mind about pushing me out of my contract?”
“Free dog walking?” I shrug and try to play it cool, but it’s not working.
She frowns a little, and I don’t like it. “Silvio said there were other offers over my contracted price?”
“It doesn't matter. The condo was yours to begin with.”
Something catches her attention, and my eyes follow her gaze. She's watching the bakery across the street. There’s a father pushing a stroller out the door. He has a white bag in front of him.
She whispers, “Don't do it.”
His hand dips into the bag, and he brings out a cookie. I can't tell from back here what it is, but it has the rich brown edges of a well-baked dessert.
“No,” she whispers
He brings the cookie to his lips.
“I warned you.”
He bites into the cookie, and his face contorts as he chews, each movement of his jaw filled with more sadness and regret, and he drops the bag into the trash.
“Worst bakery in the city. They do have decent salads. But since you gave me the option, I figured I would pick a place with flavor.”
She pushes her gyoza around in the sauce. “How much have I cost you since you first pointed your gun at me? Honest number.”
I shake my head. “It's not a number that makes either one of us feel good.” She kicks me under the table, and the pain travels from my shin to my knee and up my thigh. “Three hundred thirty-six thousand.”
She drops her fork and it rattles on the plate. Grabbing her phone, she taps aways. “At ninety dollars a day for three walks every day for an entire year, it will take me ten years to make us even.”
“I sure as shit hope you didn't charge my grandma ninety bucks a day.”
“No, she got a nice lady discount. You will not be getting that.” Jenny tucks her blue hair behind her ear and smirks.
I shake my head. “Ten years? Shit that’s the longest non-family relationship I’ve ever had. Three times a day? At that point we might as well get married.”
She blinks at me a few times. “Well, if I put out, that would square us up faster.”
“Oh? And how much?”
“Ten grand.” She says it without any hesitation, like the number was locked and loaded before I even asked. “That’s thirty-three-point-six times. I could have us even in a month, and that’s not including the dog walks.”
“What is point-six times of sex?”
“Blow job. I know my worth. I’ve got a ten-k pussy.”
I shake my head. “Oh?”
“Yep.”
“Not to insult you, but the most I’m willing to pay is five-k.”
She taps her finger on her chin. “That’s two months… I guess I could give you half quality.” She leans in closer. “But once you have half quality, you’ll be begging for more.”
I laugh, and it hits me—I’ve laughed more today than I have in the last couple of years.
My family is in danger. I’m not supposed to laugh. And yet here I am. There’s a gnawing feeling in my brain that I’ve been missing something for years, and she might be literally sitting right in front of me.
“I might have to hold you to that.”
She huffs. “Only if you are lucky.”
My phone chimes.
Cam: You coming tonight?
My head lowers as my dread over crowds and social activities grows. I have zero desire to go but maybe it won’t be so bad if I don’t do it alone. And maybe I can make this day last a little longer.
“One of my friends is opening his club tonight, do you want to go?” The words fly out of my mouth, and I wonder if Jenny’s Uncontrollable Mouth Disease is contagious.
Jenny turns her head from side to side, then touches her chest. “Me?”
“Yes you. Cam is one of my lieutenants. I gave him some seed money to start his own club on the other side of town. It’s a soft opening.”
“What kind of club? With you, it needs to be clarified.”
“Music, high end bar. No sex, promise.”
She frowns, unimpressed again, and I really don’t like it. “You assume I have no other plans.”
“Do you?”
“No, but that’s not your business.” She lowers her head and reaches over to pet Kingston.
I flash her my most charming smile, the one I used to get extra dessert at family dinners. “Then come with me.”
She shifts and avoids eye contact. Is she nervous?
“I already wore my cute dress this week.” Jenny’s making excuses, but the way she taps her index finger to her thumb and turns away makes me think she might want to go.
“I can have a dress, shoes, everything… all sent to your place tonight. You can come hang out with me, go to an exclusive club, and when it’s over, I can drop you off at home and you can go back to reading your demon smut.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time.” She sucks on her lower lip. “Are you sure this isn’t your attempt to make me pay back all the money I’ve cost you?”
I shrug. “For the record, I didn’t mention anything about the money or a payment plan. But who knows where the night will lead us.” Am I making a joke? Yeah, I think I did.
She grins and pulls a piece of bread from her roll and lowers her hand. From under the table, Kingston’s harness jingles.
“You’re feeding him people food?”
“He’s had a rough day. But I’m a trained professional. Don’t you start getting wild ideas about feeding him something crazy.”
“Like twenty-six dog treats?”
“In one sitting? That must’ve been a mess to clean up.”
“It was.” I frown. It’s fine when I do it, but she frowns, and it makes my stomach boil. “But tonight, I get a new roommate. I can’t keep staying at my Nonna’s house. It’s degrading for a man of my stature.” It’s a valid excuse, but a stupid one. Because my ego isn’t the reason.
I just don’t want to be in Nonna’s empty house anymore. It’s lonely.
She laughs. “Oh what, you’re a mob boss or something?”
I don’t answer.
Her smile vanishes, and she leans forward. “Wait… Izzy mentioned it, but I thought it was a joke.”
“And the gun didn’t give it away?”
Kingston moves and hops off the chair, walks under the table, and puts his head on my knee. I can’t help but scratch his head, his fur has magnets and my fingers are made of metal.
“This is America… so not even a little bit.” She pushes her food around the plate. “It’s hard to imagine, though. You don’t seem like the mafia type.”
“And what would that be? Are you getting all your information from movies?”
“Joe Pesci from the documentary Home Alone.” She grins her little self-satisfied smile that she does whenever she’s making a joke for her own benefit.
“Yes, well that one is one hundred percent accurate, a very credible source.”
I shake my head. We’re out on the street, in the wide open. I should be concerned about security, but the likelihood of some rando overhearing something they shouldn't—something that will be a problem later—is pretty unlikely.
Leaning in closer to her, I keep my voice low.
“It’s a family business. I'm fourth generation. My great grandfather was hot shit in the forties, my grandfather ruled from the seventies to the nineties, until he died. My father was supposed to, but he never got past the legal business phase before he died. Uncle Gio has been running our operation for the last thirty years or so. But he wants to retire.”
She doesn’t react the way I expect. No horror or awe and fear. Her attention is one hundred percent locked in on me, a focus in her eyes I haven’t seen all day. So, I confess. “Then I take over.”
“You don’t sound too excited.”
“There’s no one else.”
I shove a cold gyoza in my mouth. It was better ten minutes ago, but it’s the best stalling option I have before I lay out the truth about me and the family who adopted her overnight.
“Gio knows it. The other uncles know it. It has to be me. I’m a mafia legacy baby, bridging two families—the Irish and the Italian.
Both Mom and Dad had ties to the family business.
Without me, the Irish mob is already dead in the water since Duncan would never dream of putting his daughter in that sort of risk.
Uncle Andrey has been trying to bring Uri in, but no one thinks that’s going to work.
Andrey’s already shown he isn’t loyal to his son.
The Cartel has Thiago, but he’s making way more money legally than he would running the family business. ”
I dip my head. I don’t want her to think we’re total monsters. “We always have legal, legit businesses. We have to. But when I turn thirty, Gio is planning on bringing me into the other side, training me for a few years, and then I step into power.”
“When do you turn thirty?”
“Six months ago. I’ve been strategically dodging him, and with Nonna’s passing, I’ll be able to buy myself a few more weeks. But the conversation is coming.”
“Sounds like you don’t want to be a mob boss.”
I shrug. “There’s no one else. Izzy is a mom and works for Alana.
And Donny, his heart isn’t in it. And if I don’t step up, it puts everyone else at risk.
No power makes us targets. And I can’t put Drew or any of the kids in danger.
At least I can fill the ranks with my men, start shifting the business.
I don’t know. It’s hard to know what the right thing is. ”
She puts her hand over mine, and her gaze draws me in. “I can’t begin to understand the pressure you're under.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“Especially since Kevin McAllister is an adult now… Shit, there’s no stopping that motherfucker.”
I laugh again. I can’t help it. And I’m okay with that.