Chapter 27—Tommy
I hold her hand tight to me, not because I’m afraid she’ll run, but to keep my own hands from shaking.
I’m bringing home a girl. To my mama. For Sunday lunch.
A few days ago, it was just an idea to shift the thought of matchmaking from me to another brother for Mama’s focus.
But after last night? Fuck, things have changed.
She’s inexperienced. Immensely so. But though she lacks technique, her enthusiasm makes everything even more memorable for me. I’ve had more experiences than I should probably admit, but only one has stayed in my mind longer than a few hours.
And we didn’t even have sex.
Sure, we could have, but just having that closeness with her last night, holding her in my arms all night long, went way beyond that.
I rub my free hand over my face. God, Danny would call me a fucking pansy. If my brothers could read minds, I’d be screwed. They’d never let me live this down. Hell, the fact that I have feelings at all would probably cause enough distress.
The door opens before we get to it, and there, standing in all his glory, is Bobby. He’s grinning at me, making it very clear that he’s seeing everything. To include that I’m holding hands with a girl. A girl who owes me a debt and who works at my club.
Complicated doesn’t even begin to describe what’s going on here. And I don’t give a fuck.
“You’re late,” he muses.
“Then get out of the fucking way.” I push past him, and he dramatically takes a step back as if falling, acting wounded even as he puts his hands on his chest as if I’d struck him.
“Did you see what he did? Seriously, Payton, I’d run while you still have the chance.”
I look back at my brother to see that he’s teasing, keeping it light either to make up for being a jackass to her the other day or just to keep the mood from souring. But it hits a little too close to home for me. Her running would ruin me.
“A little late for that,” I say with a wink her way to keep the moment playful and not let her get the idea that it’s a possibility. Because it’s not. Beyond the debt, I own her. But even without it, she’d still be mine.
“I don’t mind,” she says softly, and Bobby and I both turn to look at her.
Her, in all her splendor. Head held high and her cheeks pink to match her dress.
With a small squeeze of her hand, I gently pull her toward the dining room. I can hear voices and know they’re already seated, but they won’t start eating till everyone’s here. And I might have arrived just in time to avoid the pre-lunch conversations.
Not that it’ll stop my family from asking inappropriate questions while they shovel Mama’s pasta into their mouths.
The dining room, like everything else, is exactly the same as when I grew up here.
Nothing has changed since we were kids. The table is still long and embellished, though worn in places.
Mama has never been a fan of having something that went unused.
I swear I even caught her sitting in a different chair every day, just to make sure someone did.
As expected, the conversation stops when Payton and I make our entrance.
We’re followed by Bobby, but he goes to his seat with a drink already in his spot.
Danny must have seen us coming from the cameras, or the front gate could have alerted Vinny of our arrival.
Either would have made sense for why we were greeted at the door.
Not that we couldn’t get in on our own. Mama leaves the door unlocked when she’s here; she’s never one to close herself off to a possible new conversation from anyone willing to visit.
Of course, Dad made sure, even well after his death, that the best team guards her every second of her life. She might never lock the door to anything, but she’ll always have a wall of security at her back. Something I’ll make sure is in place for Payton once this becomes official.
Though, with me bringing her here, it’s already as official as it can get.
“Oh, Tommaso, it is so good to see you. And who is this?” Mama says as she rises from her seat at one end of the table. Vinny sits at the other. Bobby and Danny are on one side, and Dante is on the other, with a single chair beside him.
“This is Payton, Mama. Payton, this is my mama, Cynthia Leone,” I introduce them.
Payton smiles. “Hello, Mrs. Leone.”
“Please, call me Cynthia or Mama, dear. Everyone does.” She takes Payton’s hand and pulls her over to the empty seat. “Dante, dear, be useful and get another chair for Tommy, will you?”
“Of course, ma’am.” He moves quickly, and my brothers and I share a snicker, knowing something my cousin doesn’t.
When he comes back quickly with the extra chair, Mama is quick to shake her head at him putting it on the other side of Payton.
“No, dear, on the other side with the other boys. Payton will sit by Tommy.” And no one else.
If Mama sees Dante as competition, she’ll snuff it out quickly to guarantee herself a grandchild. Even if I’m not sure that’s in play for me and Payton, it’s what’s on my mama’s mind.
One of the many kitchen aides who work here comes out quickly and sets another place, moving all of Dante’s items to his new seat, far away from Payton, and getting me new items. Even the possibility of her touching something another man used isn’t acceptable for Mama.
“Sit, dear. Tell us a little about yourself,” Mama says as she nods to the staff to start bringing the meal out.
“Um, not much to tell.”
“She works for me, Mama,” I cut in. “She’s a dancer.”
Vinny coughs on his drink, and Bobby just smirks into his. Danny has a stoic face, as always, and Mama looks confused.
“What kind of dance?” Mama might know about the overall family business, but there’s a lot she doesn’t know.
We would tell her if she asked, but she doesn’t.
And with her being considered out of the family, or at the very least retired since Dad died and Vinny took over, she’s not aware of all the ins and outs of things.
I answer before Payton even opens her mouth. “She does aerial acrobatics. Before that she was training to be a prima ballerina.”
“Oh, the ballet? I love the ballet. Did you get my tickets that I left for you at roll call last night, dear?” she asks me with a twinkle in her eye.
She knows I did, but I oblige her anyway. “Yes, thank you, Mama. We found it extremely pleasurable.”
Now it’s Payton’s turn to choke on the water she was drinking, and while Mama ignores it, my brothers smirk. Well, not Danny, but I think I got an eye twitch out of him.
“Well, that’s lovely. Perhaps we can all go together soon. We can even have Milly come up with her family.”
“Pretty sure her man is scared of us,” I mutter.
Mama frowns. “Scared? Why on earth would he be scared?”
Bobby shrugs, as do I. Vinny answers, though; he was always the good one of the group.
“Death threats might have been made against him if something happened to our little sister.”
Mama sets her fork down with a clatter as Dante laughs. “You threatened him?”
Vinny shrugs as he dabs at his mouth with his napkin. “Strong talking-to.”
“‘All but promised’ is what you mean.” Dante chuckles with a shake of his head. “Once a Mafia king, always a Mafia king.”
Payton’s fork skids across her plate as if her hand jerked at the words.
Is she really that innocent to not know who we are?
I mean, we keep it out of most mouths, but even so, people talk.
They mention things. I figured she’d have at least googled me and my family.
Not that she’d find much. We make it a point to keep out of the newspapers and the police station.
Neither can help an empire succeed. It’s all about what happens under the table, not discussed outright but said with certain undertones.
“What do you have to fear from your sister finding happiness? Shame on you, Vinny. I expected more.” Mama looks at Vinny, then gives my girl a kind smile, letting her know that despite our title, there’s nothing to fear.
At least not now. We get jobs done, and while that might make us bad to some, we’re not evil or cruel.
“Oh, Mama, it’s not fear of what she finds. It’s the fear of her losing her happiness that had me speaking out.”
“Well, if that’s the case, I forgive you.”
“Typical,” Bobby says under his breath.
I agree with him, but I don’t speak up. It would be foolish to. We all know that Vinny gets away with a lot of shit with Mama. Him and Milly. The firstborn and the only girl. The rest of us were never neglected, but we all like to tease them both about it.
“Didn’t know you knew what fear was,” Dante says with a grin as he looks at Vinny, always one to push buttons.
Usually I do that, but now I’m just enjoying a meal with the family and my girl beside me, sitting in silence and watching it all play out.
For once I’m not having to defend myself.
I guess this is what Danny feels like all the time.
Since he rarely speaks up at these things, he can just sit back and enjoy the moment. I see the appeal now.
“I fear nothing.”
Bobby shakes his head and waves his fork around. “That’s not what you said. You get scared, just like everyone else. You might almost be human after all.”
Vinny rolls his eyes. “Oh please. You can’t be serious.”
“Very much so, big bro. Imagine the shock that will go through the famiglia at hearing such a thing. Vinny, the don of New York and the East Coast, scared. The headlines would be riveting.”
“Everyone gets scared. It’s not a headline. It’s a fact. It’s how you act on it that defines you.”
Bobby scoffs. “If you say so.”
“The only thing that scares you is marriage.” I smirk with a wink at Payton, who quirks her lips slightly in return.
Bobby lets out a full belly laugh as he puts his fork down. “That’s true. Scared like a kid told to eat his vegetables.”
“Not scared.” Vinny gives him a side glare. “Just particular.”
“You keep being that particular and you won’t get a choice. One will be made for you by the syndicate,” Mama says softly.
It’s not a threat, but it might as well be.
Vinny knows there’s an expectation with his position.
He’ll eventually need to choose a wife. If he doesn’t find one soon, there will be talk.
Talk isn’t a good thing; it gives room for doubt and concern about leadership.
It shouldn’t matter if a man is married or not, but the old ones who run certain families see it as a good thing. Family is the look a don should have.
And if a don doesn’t marry for love, which is rare but happens, then a marriage must be arranged for alliances. Vinny’s already older than some of those in the syndicate would like for him to still be single. Not too far gone, but enough that there’s been talk. I heard a bit at the famiglia event.
“I already have a few names being sent over for me to look at later this week, Mama,” Vinny replies.
“Really?” Bobby is as surprised as the rest of us.
“I do.” He takes a sip of his drink to finalize any doubts about what he might or might not fear. “Now tell me, dear brother, what scares you?” The glint in his eyes lets us all know that there will be repercussions. Nothing extreme, more in the vein of juvenile tricks when Mama isn’t present.
“Spiders,” Mama speaks up, pulling everyone’s attention. “Nasty things with too many legs for their own good.” She shudders to emphasize her point.
“Calling in sick,” Danny says next, and everyone pauses, waiting with bated breath for him to finish, but he doesn’t.
“Clingy women are it for me,” Dante says with a wink sent Mama’s way and thankfully not to Payton.
I think on it for a second. My first thought is losing Payton from my life, but I know not to say that out loud. Not to this group and not to her. Not yet. It’s too soon.
“Guns,” Payton whispers, staring down at her food. Her fork is on her plate, and her hands are in her lap. From this angle, I see them twisting about. Instinct has me moving my hand over both of hers to give her a sense of comfort.
“My parents were killed by them,” she continues. “Shot in the back of the head in our kitchen. I was upstairs in my bedroom when I heard the shots.”
I knew her parents died. I should have looked into it.
Never knew the details. Something I now regret.
I should have known before everyone in my family found out about it.
Not because they don’t need to know, but because I wish I could offer her more comfort than just a hand under the table.
If I had known, I might have spoken to her about it before this, easing the burden of holding it in and not talking about it.
I doubt she’s told many people. How can she?
Everyone she knew before abandoned her when she struggled, to the point that she turned to the Kings for help.
If she had anyone left, she and the Kings would never have been in the same room.
“And you were spared,” Mama says matter-of-factly.
“Yes,” Payton answers, looking up and sharing a look with her.
Spared? Or was she left? Forgotten? Whatever you want to call it, she’s been alone till now.
“Did they ever catch who did it?” Danny asks with narrowed eyes, forming a hundred different ideas at once, if I know him.
She shakes her head. “No. I saw him. I mean, I think it was a man. I heard the shots, and then the back door slammed shut. I looked out the window and saw a man in a long, dark trench coat, dark gloves, and a black fedora run away. When I went to the kitchen, I… I didn’t know what to do other than call for help.
I tried, but there was nothing for it. Cops said it was a robbery gone wrong.
That I must have made a noise and scared the guy off or something. ”
Or something. Nothing about what she said sounds like a robbery. A guy in nice clothes, a freaking fedora of all things, running off after killing someone. And the noise from another person in the house scared him off?
Danny’s eyes cut to mine, and I look at him, then Vinny. I’ll be pulling resources to look into this. But if I know Danny, he’ll already be ten steps ahead by the time Vinny gives me permission.
And yeah, I need permission. Because the amount of resources I’m about to pull into finding her parents’ murderer won’t be small.