Dario 11. #2
I blink in surprise when the front doors are thrown open and a large group of people exit the house en masse. Sophie is swallowed up by the tears, laughter, and yelling as she’s passed around from person to person. I stand to the side, giving her family time to reunite properly.
“Desidario?” A woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sophie approaches me hesitantly when she breaks away from the group. Tear tracks line her face, but while her eyes are watery, her expression is one of relief and unadulterated joy.
“Dario,” I correct with a smile. I extend my hand, but she pushes it away and brings me into a crushing hug. I stiffen at first but slowly begin to relax until I’m hugging her back.
“Thank you.” Her body trembles from the force of her crying. “You can never know…the fear…such a relief…God, I am so grateful…thank you for finding our girl and bringing her home.”
“Mrs. Schlay?” I pull back to look her in the eye.
She nods, wiping under her eyes futilely at the stream of tears that fall over her lashes.
“I do know.” I surprise both of us with the naked honesty of my tone.
“It was fortunate my men and I were able to assist. I am only sorry it took us so long to track her down.”
“You found her. That’s all that matters.” She hugs me once more, then disappears back into the crowd.
In a flurry of activity, Sophie is ushered into a vehicle with several women. The disappointment at her departure is confusing. I stare after the line of SUVs as they travel down the long driveway.
“Diaz.” My name is said once more, the voice deeper, absent of any of the warmth held in Mrs. Schlay’s greeting.
I turn toward the voice and find Moshe Holofcener staring at me from several feet away.
His expression blank, eyes hard. To many others, he probably comes across as intimidating and unapproachable.
I’ve seen the face of true evil; I stare at a facsimile of it every morning…
Moshe doesn’t stir even the slightest apprehension.
I greet him cordially, extending my hand and squeezing his slightly as we shake. “Moshe.”
“I am afraid we are on a schedule that cannot be delayed or we incur the wrath of my mother.” He shivers theatrically, his mafia boss persona slipping momentarily, causing me to chuckle. “Join us for the rehearsal and dinner to follow.”
“If you’d rather have someone escort me to my accommodations, I can remain here. I do not wish to impose on such an important family event.”
“Diaz!” The porn king is far less stoic than his cousin.
Jonah Schlay swings an arm over my shoulders and tugs me along to a waiting SUV.
“You’re family!” Several men laugh around us, but I look over my shoulder to gauge Moshe’s reaction.
He shakes his head fondly at Jonah and waves me on.
I sit in the back seat and wait while a few more occupants file in.
Jonah sits next to me…like right next to me and grins at me.
I do not remember reading anywhere in my reports that Sophie’s brother was mentally ill.
“Jonah, you’re gonna get stabbed. Chill the fuck out.” A dark-haired man with bronzed skin several shades lighter than mine, sits in front of us, turning in his seat to smack Jonah.
“Dario would never stab me.” I raise an eyebrow at Jonah, but he ignores me.
“I wasn’t talking about him.”
“Fuck off, Ez. My new bestie and I are bonding. Mind your business.”
“Ezra Kraus.” He dips his chin in acknowledgement. “Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials.”
“Thank you. Best gift any of us could receive is Sophie back home.”
“That’s unfortunate, what will I do with personalized cross-stitched pillowcases?” There’s a pause, just a moment, the only sound is the tires eating up the road, then the others roar with laughter. My lips twitch, but I remain straight-faced.
“So, obviously, I’m ecstatic to have my sister back, safe and sound.” Jonah’s voice indicates otherwise, though I know how distraught he and his father were in her absence. “Now, from what I understand, when you found her she was absolutely filthy, fucking vile, and had been shitting in the tub.”
My teeth grind at his flippant tone. Seeing Sophie in that condition will live with me for a long time. Yes, she was surprisingly in good spirits, but that doesn’t mean that what she went through wasn’t harrowing and traumatizing. And her brother is making light of it.
“Jonah—”
“Wait! You remember when Zilv and I were in the 8th grade…we were both stoked about the dance. He asked out three different girls and planned a Mrs. Doubtfire-esque wardrobe change.”
“Fucking idiot. I know where this is going.”
“Yes, he is.” Jonah shrugs.
“I mean you.”
“Well, that’s beside the point. I was gearing up to ask Valerie, had the whole thing planned out during the assembly in the gym.”
“Oh fuck!” One of the other men is holding his stomach, face red, his body shaking with laughter.
“Fuck you too, Zeppo.” Jonah sits at the edge of his seat. “Sophie met me outside with my props. She and her friend walked in behind me, and I thought she was there for moral support.”
“When have any of us ever supported one another morally?”
“Just inside the entrance to the gym, she and that bitch Faith stripped me down to my underwear, dropped a bucket of literal shit over my head, strung a dead fish around my neck, forced the sign into my hand and shoved me. I stumbled and fell in front of everyone. I grabbed the sign, held it up and tried to power through it.”
“You can dress a pig in a suit, but it’s still a pig. Oink, Oink. Valerie, this little piggy thinks you’re the shit. Be my date to the dance?”
Dios mio. I drop my chin to my chest as laughter rolls through me. Sometimes you hear about people in their youth, and you just can’t reconcile that version with the adult you know. The fact that Sophie did any of this is not surprising in the least.
“To be fair, Jonah, you put Nair in her shampoo and swapped her swimsuit bottoms with ones that turn brown when the seat of them gets wet.”
“I regret nothing!” Jonah crows. “I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you found her. She and I have been driving each other nuts since I drew my first breath and we will continue for many decades still. But I need to know…on a scale of 1 to Monsturd, how bad did she smell?”
“What is Monsturd?”
“A horror movie about a fecal monster.”
“Of course.” With a smile, I lift my shoulder casually. “Did Valerie say yes?”
He offers me a self-deprecating grin. “No. She turned me down. Spectacularly.” Then he starts chuckling.
“However, she was quite popular on Swingin’ Schlay Productions.
” My eyes flare with surprise. “And she did finally dance with me.” He wiggles his eyebrows.
“Danced on my cock!” He holds up his hand for a high-five that no one returns.
“Harper is such a lucky woman.” I deadpan but he nods enthusiastically. Such an odd man. “Sophie handled her situation with dignity and grace.” His smile softens into genuine affection. “That said, she was Monsturd on steroids and had my driver pull off the road so she could bathe in a lake.”
“That’s our girl,” Zeppo says lowly, Ezra patting his brother’s shoulder next to him, reaching over the back of his seat to tap Jonah in the thigh…before punching it as hard as he can.
“Charlie Horse!”
“FUCK!”
When we arrive at the beautiful estate where the wedding is being held, I slide out of the SUV and track through the people milling around, finally spotting Sophie speaking to several women.
My shoulders relax a little now that I have her in my sight once more.
She’s with her family, I know she’s safe, but still…
I stand in the back while those involved in the three ceremonies figure out placement and duties.
An older man stands next to me, and I instantly identify him as Sophie’s father, Morris Schlay.
Jonah joins us a few minutes later, along with another man.
It takes me a moment to run through the pictures in my head from the dossiers my men compiled on the Kosher Nostra.
Zilv Holofcener is Moshe’s younger brother and by all accounts not known for taking much seriously.
He runs a successful and lucrative business; works hard, plays harder.
“We owe you a debt that can never be repaid,” Morris states after a while. “She is…she is everything to me.” I dip my chin in understanding. She’s an incredible woman.
“I’m sure I’ll come up with something to put the debt to rest.” My mind already turning. “In the meantime, it would seem a mutual ‘acquaintance’ has met an unfortunate end.”
“Shame, really. How unfortunate for his family and the reputation of his company for him to be found in such a ‘compromising’ position.” I turn slightly to meet Morris’s stare.
“He had a puppy tail dildo hanging out of his ass, dog ears on his head, and died during a botched ‘neutering’ from a cocaine-induced heart attack.” I choke on my own spit.
Neutering? I keep my mouth closed, not wanting any more information. “Guess you never really know a person.”
“Yeah,” I croak out.
“He had written a list of associates involved in his human-trafficking scheme. Some prominent names on that list.”
Before I can respond, my attention is drawn to a tall blonde woman striding down the aisle with a small box in her hands, her gaze intent on me.
She’s striking but holds no candle to Sophie.
She stops a foot or so in front of me. The men at my sides snicker but shut up when she glares at each of them in turn.
“You found her.” It isn’t a question, and it’s obvious I did as Sophie is standing about 30 feet from us.
“Yes.”
“She’s safe.”
“She will be.” I don’t know how much these men share with the women, but I won’t promise Sophie’s safety since so many of Teuling’s associates have been affected by the actions of the Kosher Nostra and may still be out for blood.
“Did you kill the men who took her?”
“No, Teuling did.”
“Pity.” She shrugs as if the death of others is an everyday occurrence.
I guess if she’s involved with the Kosher Nostra it might be.
“Here.” Without waiting for me to open it, she turns on her high heel and stalks away.
I find the flap on the box and lift it. A bottle of Ron Santiago de Cuba 500 Anniversary rum sits snugly inside.
A single highball glass sits nestled beside it, etched in scrawling script, “To fight the darkness, do not draw your sword, light a candle.”
“Don’t thank her.” I look up at Zilv, and he smirks. “She’ll slit your throat.”
“Who was that?”
“Blanche Goldman.” Ah, the ball-busting lawyer. “She’s allergic to feelings. Also, a lesbian.” I chuckle as Morris and Jonah groan. “Professional. Not an amateur.” My head whips around to find Blanche.
“She’s a lawyer and a hooker?”
Zilv sags where he stands. “I wish. Then I could pay her and she’d have to fuck me.”
I blink several times, momentarily at a loss for words. Zilv Holofcener lives up to his reputation. Finally, I clap him on the shoulder. “You are going to make a woman very disappointed one day.”
“Probably.” He walks off toward another group of men, leaving me with the Schlays.
So far, the family of the Kosher Nostra reminds me of my own.
Not my father or mother, but my true family; Oleg, Beli, Desi, Elian, and the kids.
I am not usually uncomfortable, but I can’t recall ever feeling so at home somewhere as I do here and I’ve only been with them for a matter of a couple hours.