CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Her face was smudged against the wall. Her already too-short skirt was lifted up.
Her panties down to her knees. And Vincent “Vinnie" Marino was holding her by the catch of her curly blonde hair and was pounding into her like she didn’t mean a thing to him. Because she didn’t.
Just a morning piece of ass to help him get his sea legs back.
But he couldn’t’ stand bitches like her with all of their oohs and aahs like he was doing them so good they couldn’t contain themselves. She couldn’t possibly feel it as good as her cries were claiming because he didn’t feel a damn thing. It was fucking a piece of rubber.
He gave up and pulled out.
She was still oohing and aahing even after he had pulled out. Which told him all he needed to know. When she realized he had pulled out, she looked back at him. “What’s wrong, baby?”
“I’m not your baby,” he said to her as he zipped back up. “Get lost.”
‘But what did I do wrong?”
“I said get lost!” he blared out so harshly that she jumped in fear, pulled up her panties, and hurried out of his office.
They were in his Baltimore strip club. It didn’t open until noon and it was only ten a.m., but he made every employee show up two hours early to clean up from the night before, and to make sure when the doors opened, they were in place.
Unlike many clubs, they had a big lunchtime crowd.
It couldn’t compare to the nighttime crowd, where his best dancers performed, but it was holding its own.
Vinnie wished he was holding his own, too, but lately he felt as if he was losing his grip on everything.
That was why he stood there, in his office, and composed himself before he went back up front.
He was forty-six years old. He was soon to be pushing fifty.
And he still felt as if he was pushing upstream.
He still felt as if he didn’t stand a snowball chance in hell of ever finding some happiness in his life.
Or the right woman. Or even just little peace.
But who was he kidding? Peace? In his line of work? Get real, Marino, he said to himself. Get real!
Then he exhaled and made his way back up front where he sat down behind the bar counter, next to Pauly Farentino, his underboss/bodyguard, and held up a finger for a drink.
The bartender was one of his made men too, and so were the group of guys playing cards at the table beside the bar.
They were all older than Vinnie, who came to power when he was in his early thirties after his uncle on his mother’s side was gunned down and he took over.
To this day, they still didn’t know who gunned him down.
Even though the crew wanted to put the blame on their nearest rival, Vinnie didn’t play ball like that.
He dealt in facts, not fiction, and no way was he putting his reputation for fairness on the line on a maybe.
Not when it came to life and death. No way.
The bartender slid a beer mug over to the boss. Then he leaned against the counter smiling. “Taylor came running out of your office like her ass was on fire. You lit it up, Boss?”
“He don’t lite up no blondes,” Pauly said, “unless they’re black chicks with blonde weave.” The guys at the table laughed.
“Very funny,” said Vinnie. “I lite up all types of women.”
“You fool around with all types of women,” Pauly said, “but you only lite up the black ones.”
“Bullshit.”
“Sure, Boss, say whatever you wanna say. But I pay attention. You favor the black chicks over all them other chicks you fool with period. Which is fine. I favor them Russian bitches. I can feast on that accent and that ass all day long.”
The men at the card table laughed again.
“It is what it is,” Pauly added. “Everybody’s got a type. And I know who your type is. I know what I’m talking about.”
The bell on the door clanged and everybody glanced over and saw Bearcat walk in. Bearcat was a general pain in the ass, but he was a good intel person. He kept his ears to the ground. And Vinnie was always first on his list to sell his intel to.
“We’re closed,” the bartender yelled out at him.
“I’m here to see the boss,” Bearcat yelled back and continued to make his way to Vinnie.
But Pauly stood up and put a hand to his chest. “What part of we’re closed didn’t your ass understand?”
“Vinnie, I need help. I’m in trouble over here.”
“Then go over there,” Pauly said, “but you getting’ out of here.”
Bearcat frowned. “What?”
“Let him through,” Vinnie said.
Pauly didn’t want to, but he stepped aside and sat back down.
Bearcat happily hurried over and sat down on the other side of the boss. “How you doing, Vinnie?”
“What you want?”
“I can’t come by and say hey?”
“You heard the boss,” Pauly said. “What your ass want?”
“I need twenty until I can get back on my feet.”
Pauly laughed. “Get a load of this guy? He ain’t even bringing no intel. Just a hand out.”
“Boss knows I’m good for it. I’ll have intel up my ass in a few days. I’ll pay it back with all kinds of good information.” Then he looked at Vinnie. “I need it bad, Boss. They’re gonna kill me if I don’t have that cash.”
Vinnie never asked who because he had his own problems.
“Boss, I need this favor.”
“What he look like giving you more money?” Pauly asked. “You haven’t made up for the cash you still owe him. I oughta bet Fat Eye to break both your legs right now.”
“It’s coming. Boss knows I’m good for it. I’m in all kinds of rooms. I hear all kinds of things.”
“Your ass haven’t heard anything lately.”
“It’s coming,” Bearcat said again. “Boss knows me. I’m good for every dime.” Then he begged. “Boss please. I’m in a tough spot. You all I got.”
“You ain’t got me so cut that sentimental bullshit out,” Vinnie said. Then he took a long gulp of his beer, slammed it down on the counter, and belched. Then he looked at Bearcat. “Not because of your ass,” he said, “but because of your old man, may he rest in peace.”
Bearcat grinned. “Thanks, Vinnie. You won’t regret it.”
“I’m regretting it already,” Vinnie said and then he looked at his bartender. “Shoot him ten,” he said.
“Sure thing, Boss,” the bartender said as he reached beneath the counter and began unlocking the safe.
“Ten?” Bearcat was upset. “But I told you I need twenty-thousand.”
“You ain’t getting twenty-thousand. You getting ten thousand.”
“But Boss--”
“Take it or leave it.”
The bartender grabbed two five-thousand-dollar piles of cash and dangled them in front of Bearcat. “What’s it gonna be?”
Bearcat snatched it from the bartender and took off. Everybody, except for Vinnie, laughed.
“You’re better than me, Boss,” said Pauly. “I wouldn’t have given him a dime.”
“You’re right,” said Vinnie. “I’m better than you.”
They all laughed again. But then Vinnie’s cellphone began ringing. He looked at the Caller ID. When he saw who was calling, he answered. “I got trouble,” the voice said on the other end.
“What kind?”
“Life and death kind.”
Vinnie’s heart sank. “Who?”
There was a pause. Then he spoke. “Eddie Hudgens.”
“Shit! Where?”
“I’m home.”
“Okay. I’ll make some inquiries. How’s security?”
“I have the usual.” Then a hard exhale. “I’m probably gonna need backup.”
“Got it,” Vinnie said and ended the call.
Then he took another gulp of his beer. He stood up and looked at his capos in the club. “You, you, and you come with me,” he said, and the men at the card table he singled out got up.
Pauly wasn’t asked, but he was always at Vinnie’s side. He got up too. And they hurried out of the club.
“You said Eddie Hudgens in there.”
Vinnie glanced at Pauly. “Yeah.”
“Is it about that thing we had to do for that other thing?”
Vinnie nodded. “Yeah.”
“Shit. Who for? Because I know it ain’t for him,” Pauly said as they made their way across the sideway to the waiting SUV.
“Not for him. Don’t be an idiot. For my brother. Who else?”
Pauly didn’t like it, but he was Vinnie’s ride or die.
They’d been best friends since childhood.
But he also saw how those Carringtons treated him, which left a bitter taste in Pauly’s mouth.
He didn’t like those Carringtons then, and he still didn’t like them now.
Their arrogant-asses gave them more trouble than they were worth, if you asked him.
But Vinnie loved his kid brother. He’d move mountains for that man.
But his kid brother was a Carrington, too, and that was all Pauly needed to know.
But for Vinnie’s sake, whom he looked up to and adored all his life, he dutifully got into that SUV beside him, like the bodyguard and protector he’d always been to him, and they took off.