Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
balthazar
Tapping my leg nervously, I listen to three rings before my sister answers. “Hello?”
“Hey. It’s me. I wanted to give you an update.”
“Okay.”
“I need a huge favor and I have to ask you to keep a pretty big secret.”
“I’m listening.”
I launch into the whole situation, explaining my involvement and the plan to get me out of this while she listens attentively.
“I didn’t want you to think I died the way our parents did. I needed you to know the truth.”
“Oh, Mike. This is huge. Are you sure it’s gonna work?”
“I’m confident I have the right people working on it.”
“Okay, what do you need from me?”
“There are a few things I’d like out of my apartment. Then we can sell it with everything in it. I’m more than happy to compensate you for the trouble. I was thinking I could make you the executor and you could appoint a trustee.”
“Isn’t this illegal?”
“Not really. There’s no insurance fraud. I don’t have a life insurance policy. I’m just liquidating my assets and assuming a new identity, which you won’t have a part in.”
“Uh, okay. I need a minute.”
I hear muffled voices in the background and really hope she knows she’s not to share this information with anyone else.
“I’m back,” she says. “Nick works with a guy who handles estate affairs. We can go through him.”
“Did you tell Nick what’s going on?”
“Vaguely.”
“I’m sorry, Lorelei. I know this is an inconvenience to you. I could get someone else to handle everything so you stay out of it altogether, but I at least wanted you to know that I’m okay.”
“This is just so weird.”
“I know. If there was a different way to handle it, I would take it. I’m doing this to make sure we’re both safe.”
“And then what? What happens next? How will you make a living with no background and no job history?”
“I have a plan. I’ll be working for a small family-owned winery. My partner owns it.”
“Partner? What kind of partner?”
“The romantic kind, and I guess, the business kind too.”
“What happens if the relationship sours?”
“It won’t. Not this time. He’s more than I ever thought possible.”
“You love him?”
“I do.” I pause as a warm feeling spreads through my chest. “Wow. Telling someone else feels amazing. I’ve only told him so far.”
“What’s his name?”
“Amadeo. Deo for short. He knows everything about me and loves me anyway. I don’t deserve him, but I’m gonna do everything I can to level up and be the man he deserves.”
“I’m happy for you. All I ever wanted was for you to live an honest, joyful life. We didn’t sign up for the decisions our parents made, and when I thought you did the same thing as Dad, I didn’t know how to handle that. I couldn’t understand it.”
“I wanted to keep you safe. I made a deal with the devil to do that. I was young and stupid, but I didn’t know what else to do. The last thing I ever wanted was to live Dad’s life.”
“I see that now. I’m sorry I’ve been distant. I didn’t know how to handle all the trauma.”
“You don’t owe me an apology. You did what you had to do, and that’s what you should’ve done.”
“You can count on me. I’ll get your things from your apartment and whatever else you need. Nick’s firm works with high profile people, so they’re experts at confidentiality. I guess I’ll wait to be notified?”
“Yeah. I’ll make sure you’re called. I won’t be available on this number anymore, just in case.”
“Balt, huh? That’ll take some getting used to.”
“It grows on you.”
“Hey, so listen, when the dust settles, do you think we could meet up somewhere? It’s been years since I’ve seen your face.”
My heart flutters in my chest. How many times have I wished I could hug my sister? “I’d love that.”
“Me too.”
“I’ll send you a letter with my keycode for my apartment and the items I need. I’ll give you a forwarding address later.”
“Sounds good. Be careful, huh?”
“I will. I love you, sis.”
“Love you too, Mi—um, Balt.” She laughs softly. “I’ll get it.”
“You will. Bye.”
By the time I end the call, I can hear voices coming from the living room. I walk out to find Nonna, Brogan, Deo, and two older men sitting on the couch. Everyone looks at me at the same time.
“The victim,” Nonna announces, smiling, as if killing off family members is a normal event for her. “The man formerly known as Mike Franco. My cousin, Lou, and his brother-in-law, Tony.”
I shake hands with both men. “Thanks for your help.”
“You bet,” Lou, a short, stout man with a bald head but a warm smile says. “Did you get the stuff together?”
“Yes.” I walk to the small kitchen table and pick up a manila envelope. “The gold watch, the papers, and Mike’s wallet.”
“Perfect.” Lou takes the folder and looks inside. “Ah, even better.”
“What?” Deo asks.
“You addressed the papers to Vin. That will make even more sense when the cops contact him.”
“They’ll suspect him,” Nonna says. “Everyone knows who Vin Galliano is. Certainly the cops do.”
“Eh, he’s probably got them all paid off,” Tony adds.
“Oh shit. I didn’t even think about that part. Of course he does. They’ll give him a courtesy call.” I drag my hand through my hair as true relief spreads through me. “This is gonna work.”
“Course it’s gonna work,” Lou says. “You think we don’t know what we’re doing?”
“No, I do. Vin is just very… Well, he’s not the capo for nothing.”
“No worries, son. We’ve got this handled. We’ve fried bigger fish than Vin Galliano.” Lou pulls open a canvas bag. “Here’s a burner phone. We’ll be taking the old one.”
“I have a work phone specifically for dealing with Vin.”
“Perfect, but I suggest you go no contact with your old life. Anything you gotta access, do it today. The rest will have to wait. The only way this works is if there’s no trace of you anywhere.”
“How will you get new IDs and stuff?” Brogan asks.
“I already have one. I’ll have to get a new social security number.”
“Need help?” Tony asks.
“No, I know how to do it. You pick up a few tricks working for criminals.”
“Yeah, you do.” Lou chuckles. “Don’t worry, son. We’ve got it all handled. It ain’t our first rodeo.”
Tony nods. “Nah, you’ll be the fifteenth person we got out.”
“Fifteen?” Deo asks. “So this is normal?”
“There’s only two ways out,” Lou says. “You die or you’re killed. Both end in a body bag.”
Brogan visibly shivers. “This is meta.”
“What does that mean?” Tony asks.
“Not important,” Nonna says, waving her hands. “Do you need anything else?”
“Nope,” Lou says, handing me my work phone. “We got the body lined up. It’ll all go down tonight. Right now, before we take the phone, you just gotta send the message to Vin that you’re on your way back.”
I nod, exhaling slowly. “Okay.” I turn the phone on and stare at the screen while it powers up. Unsurprisingly, there are many missed calls and texts, but I ignore them, focusing on my mission.
Vin. You win. I’m on my way back to the city and should be there by tomorrow night.
I’ve got everything you need to get your money.
I want to state again that I did not steal your investments.
They are safely in an account in your name.
All you have to do to access it is provide the passcode I’ll give you when I see you.
Please leave my sister out of this. She has nothing to do with any of it. Mike.
I press send and wait. He’s always glued to his phone, so I expect he’ll reply quickly. I see the notification that he’s read it and then the little dots at the bottom of the screen.
Vin: Money Man. Pleasure to hear from you. Glad to hear you’re coming to your senses. Call when you get in and I’ll send Gio to pick you up.
A shiver runs down my spine. I know exactly what that means. Gio shakes me down for the
info and I never get out of that car.
Vin: Don’t fuck this up, Money Man. My patience is wearing thin.
Me: I’ll be there.
Once I see the read notification again, I turn the phone off and hand it over to Lou and Tony.
“He’s definitely planning to kill me.”
“No,” Deo says, squeezing my arm.
“Yeah,” Lou says. “That’s the way it goes. We’ll handle it. I’ll let Coretta know when it’s all done. Two days from now, that old life is history.”
“I can’t thank you enough. I didn’t see a way out.”
“To outsmart a criminal, you gotta think like one.” Lou taps his temple. “Come on, Tony. We got work to do.”
The two men hug Nonna and leave. We watch them drive off just as the golf cart starts heading our way from the main house. Nantes is in it, glancing over his shoulder at the passing car.
“Who was that?” he asks as he comes to a stop in front of us.
“None of your concern,” Nonna says, sternly but with a smile. “What are you doing here in the middle of the day?”
“Came to see my brother and family. Is that a crime?”
Deo’s brow scrunches. “No, but why?”
Nantes shrugs, stepping out of the cart. “Just came to see how things are going on a rare day off. Haven’t seen you much since you’ve been back.”
Deo glances at Brogan, who shrugs, then at Nonna, who smiles.
“You know what would be good right now?” Nonna asks. “Some coffee cake. You boys catch up and I’ll bring some over to the office when it’s done.”
“Sounds great, Nonna,” Nantes says, then he turns to Deo. “Mind if I hang out?”
“No, of course not.” Deo glances at me. “We were just about to head over to the office.”
“I’ll drive,” Nantes says, hopping back into the golf cart while Brogan and Nonna take Brogan’s truck back to the main house.
“We’ll get our coats,” Deo says, pulling me inside. “Guess we’ll talk more later?”
“Yeah. Nothing to talk about yet anyway.”
“Are you okay though?”
“I am.” I pull him close and press a quick kiss to his lips. “Better than I’ve been in a long time. Freedom is close.”
“And the future is ours.”
“I can’t wait.”