6. Vinny
CHAPTER 6
Vinny
M y world has become a lot smaller. I’m shunned to the outskirts of a tiny town in New York surrounded by fish. The people are quiet and don’t bother to come my way. They don’t want to risk getting on the bad side of the Montoya. But I think I prefer it that way. Out here, I can pretend I’m not a street thug who kidnaps women for money. I’m just Vinny.
Being just Vinny is enough for Rosa. It’s insane to admit, but I think I’m falling for her. When she ran away, I was full of fear. Fear my Dad would take me out for messing up, yet again. The fear I’d be on the streets without protection. But most of all, fear something will happen to Rosa. I knew the streets well. As quiet as this seaside town is, there are tons of snakes that love to slither around at night. Rosa is too beautiful to wander alone at night and not get caught in their traps. I counted my blessings that I’d found her.
Rosa is no longer my victim. She’s the one person I want to spend time with every day and I can’t imagine getting tired of it. Still, there’s the possibility that my dad will barge in and ruin the fake world we have together, so I have to be careful.
“How about a real date?” Rosa suggests after breakfast. “I have all those new outfits with nowhere to go.” I snicker as I wash the dishes from the pancakes we had. The syrup slips off the plate and slides down the drain in a brown mush. I focus on it in the hope that my silence will make Rosa drop it. Rosa walks around the counter and places her head on my shoulder.
“Well?” she asks.
I clear my throat. “We may be comfortable together but being out there is much different. I can’t risk people seeing us together like we’re a…couple,” I explain. Rosa turns off the faucet.
“We’re not a couple, though,” she says. “We’re just two people who want to have a normal cup of coffee. I promise I won’t escape, it’s safer to be with you by the look of what happened that night.” Rosa is impossible to say no to. She looks adorable in the satin pajamas I found at a boutique in Manhattan. I know things get lonely for her, and a part of me doesn’t want to risk losing her trust again. Deep down inside, we both know who’s actually in power and it’s a sinking feeling.
“How about you give me some time to think about it?” I ask instead. Rosa sighs and plops back down in the kitchen chair.
“I suppose that’ll have to do,” she says.
How much time does the girl really have? It’s just coffee, I bargain with myself frantically.
“Have you ever had seaside coffee?” I ask Rosa.
“Is it extra salty?” she questions, her eyebrows raised.
I chuckle. “I used to come to this coffee shop as a kid when my dad did truck driving for a while. The coffee always tasted like the perfect blend between fresh and sweet.”
I dry the plates and set them out to dry. “If you wear a baseball cap and a huge sweatshirt, I think I could take you.”
Rosa jumps from her chair. “Really?” she squeals.
“Yeah, just hurry before it gets too late,” I say. The anxiety starts to build in my chest but I want to do everything I can to make Rosa feel happy. It’s the least I can do.
I forgot how beautiful Montauk is. The weather is cold enough to need a jacket, but not too cold to miss out on sitting outside. All I can remember about Montauk is that my dad bought out the town. It goes back to my great-grandparents in a nasty battle to secure their land out here, but my dad finally took it back. There was a lot of bloodshed. Nothing that locals knew too much about unless they were in on it. My dad prefers to keep it that way because Montauk is where all my siblings and I were raised. For a moment, I thought we were a normal, happy family like all the rest out here. After I witnessed my dad kill a butcher over missed payments, the illusion shattered.
Sailsman Coffee is the oldest coffee shop here with the same man I recognized all those years back. His black hair is now snow white and he has heavy bags under his eyes. Of all the people who worked in the town, Roger, the shop owner, always paid his dues to my dad. For that reason, I feel oddly safe going there.
Rosa lifts up her baseball cap. “This place smells amazing,” she whispers.
“You don’t have to whisper,” I chuckle.
“Oh, really? Okay, well, I’ll have a mocha latte with a chocolate chip muffin. Can I go outside ?” Rosa asks me before sitting down on the outdoor benches. I approach the counter and tap on the bell. Roger appears immediately and his eyes light up.
“My God, is that little Vinny? Well, not so little after all! My God!” he cries. He leans over to give me a hug. His warm personality always made me feel at ease. “Is your dad here?”
I shake my head. “No, no, no. Just me.”
Roger looks past me at Rosa. His smile fades slightly. “Well, what can I get you?”
I return to Rosa with our coffee and muffins. The air smells like the sea and Rosa seems relaxed. She takes a sip of the coffee and smiles.
“Shit, this really is good,” she says.
“Told you,” I reply. “Good memories here.”
Rosa sips her coffee and stares across the horizon. “Wish I’d known about this place.”
“Montauk? Everyone does,” I say.
“Not me. I only knew Chinatown and the poor parts of the city,” Rosa says. “It must be different for you.” I grew up well-off but that’s only because my dad is a criminal.
“There are pros and cons to everything,” I mutter.
Rosa sets her coffee down. “Well, what’s the con to this coffee outing?” I’d hoped we wouldn’t mention anything neither of us has control over.
“That question,” I joke.
Rosa sighs. “I could live here with you and be happy, Vinny. We’re already doing it.”
I hang my head. “Yeah, I see that.”
“So, what’s stopping you?” she presses. I can’t tell her. There’s so much at stake and the worst part is I want none of it. Unfortunately, there’s this selfish part of me that feels I deserve a seat at my dad’s murderous table. I feel I’ve earned it. But if Rosa knew that, our time together wouldn’t be enjoyable. This would be all for nothing.
I pull Rosa’s chair closer to me. “It’s a beautiful day and we’ve got the best coffee in town. Why not just enjoy that?”
“But—” Rosa starts to say before I rush in and kiss her. The kiss starts out as mechanical, as I just needed her to stop asking too many questions. However, the longer we’re there, the more passion picks up. The taste of her mocha latte is the cherry on top. I feel her wrap her arms around my waist and a light moan escapes my lips. Heat encases us until I hear kids laughing. I pull away. A few kids are by the dock and are getting closer to the coffee shop.
Rosa grins. “Too much?”
I look all around. The wind picks up and there are a lot more boats parked at the dock. My face feels hot. Not because I’m coy from kissing Rosa, but because I wasn’t supposed to do too much in public. Even if it’s just me out here, I never know who’s watching.
“Let’s finish the coffee in the car,” I murmur as I stand up.
The car ride back to the cabin is tense and quiet. Rosa doesn’t say a word but I already see her mind working on something else to ask as we walk inside. I finish off the rest of my coffee and she remains standing.
“I took it too far. I’m sorry,” she says.
“No, you didn’t. It’s a simple question to which I can’t give you an answer,” I admit without looking at her. “But, to be honest Rosa, why would you want a guy like me?”
She chuckles. “Well, you fit the description of every ex— crazy, avoidant, slightly dangerous.”
“You have your whole life ahead of you,” I blurt out before realizing what I’m saying. I glance over at her and see her eyes well with tears. No matter how much we enjoy each other’s company, there’s always something that brings us back to reality. I start to usher a quiet, “sorry,” when the front door camera buzzes. We both freeze.
“Who is that?” she asks. I reach under the cabinet and pull out a 9-millimeter.
“Go to your room, now!” I hiss. Rosa dashes into her room and shut the door. We’ve practiced this alert a thousand times now. In the event my dad pulls up to see how things are going, we need a plan. The plan, as of now, isn’t looking good. Rosa’s things are sprawled everywhere. She has new clothes, electronics, and makeup around every corner. My dad would know something was up and kill her on the spot. I can’t risk it. But I also can’t kill my dad. I grab everything I see and stuff it under the couch or throw it in the cabinet.
My mind is racing a mile a minute. There’s a knock on the door and I draw in a shaky breath as I make my way to the front. I look through the peephole and ease up a bit at the sight of the short, spiky hair and stubby body. Mikey.
“What’s up?” I say through the door.
“Open up,” he replies. Mikey isn’t an enemy but he’s also the kind to bend over backwards to keep Dad happy. He’s by the book. I could still be in hot water. I unlatch the door and swing it open.
Mikey greets me with his toothy grin and wraps me in a tight hug. “Long time, no see, little bro!” He chirps as he comes inside and gasps at the sight of the house. Admittedly, I’ve added more artwork and furniture to make it feel like less of a prison.
“Sheesh, look at this place. You’re like one of those Home Improvement dudes,” he exclaims as he runs his fingers along the walls. “Nice and clean.” He pauses and turns on his heel. “Seems like you’re doing alright around here.”
I nod. “I told you and Dad I had everything under control,” I say.
Mikey winces, taking a long pause. His eyes fall on the hallway that leads to Rosa’s room. I can’t let Mikey see Rosa. He’d know.
“So, what’s up? You’re just popping in to check up on me?” I continue.
“Pops said things were a little too quiet over here so I thought I’d check in,” Mikey says as he starts to walk in the direction of Rosa’s room.
“Well, Larry told me to take the reins and not look for direction,” I remind him. Mikey pauses and grits his teeth.
“So, you've been talking to Larry?” Back in the day, they were closer than all of us. The competition between them got worse the older they got and now they’re practically enemies. It doesn’t help that Larry and Mikey are both hotheads who don’t like to be wrong.
“Just to see how he is,” I mention.
Mikey stops as his eyes fall on a pink blanket with hearts draped on the couch. Shit.
“These jobs aren’t easy, little bro. It takes guts and loyalty,” Mikey says as he glances at me. “You gotta look at them as money bags, not chicks.”
I nod quickly. “Yeah, I know.”
He steps closer. Even if he’s shorter, Mikey intimidates the hell out of me. “Then visits to Sailsman Coffee shouldn’t be a thing, right?”
My throat feels dry. “Who told you?”
Mikey smirks. “Nobody told me, I saw you with my own eyes, little bro. See, I know Larry has all the confidence in the world that you’ll pull this off, but he’s also in prison because of you. I had to take matters into my own hands before Pops got involved.”
Mikey laughs manically. “You definitely don’t want that old fart seeing you hugged up with Newton’s kid after everything that twerp has done.”
“You gonna tell him?” I ask as my chest feels like an elephant is sitting on it.
“And make his blood pressure go up even more? Hell, no. You’re lucky he’s too bogged down with his court case to give a shit about this,” Mikey admits. “But I care because I don’t like folks getting one over on Pops.”
I frown and admit, “Isn’t this just Newton not paying him back?”
Mikey stares at me like I’m the dumbest person alive. “I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just ask me that question. But I can guarantee his shady daughter knows. Once you see those Newtons for who they really are, you won’t be so quick to make out with the daughter.” Mikey glares at me for another ten seconds before backing down.
“I’ll give you the chance to make things right. But if I come back here and it’s the same—” Mikey pulls his gun out of his pocket and points it at my head. He pulls the trigger.
I jump, relieved that it’s not loaded. Mikey laughs like it’s a joke and wraps me in a bear hug, drowning me in his cologne.
“Crazy if I kept the bullets in, right?” he teases.
I wiggle free, forcing a laugh. “Yeah, real crazy.”
He shrugs. “I always keep at least one.” Mikey’s face drops back to being serious. “I’ll be back soon, little bro.” I remain standing in the hallway as he walks out of the door and gets in his truck. I don’t move until the silence returns.
I don’t like people telling me what I can and can’t do.