Chapter 59 #2
The others were nearby, talking excitedly amongst themselves over plans for the rest of the day. From the sounds of things, drinks at a bar to celebrate my trial outcome was becoming a definite in their plans.
I slid my hands into my pockets. “Probably not.”
Despite it bothering him, Mark accepted the outcome with a curt nod before he clapped my shoulder. “Use this second chance wisely.”
“I will.”
I watched him leave until Lily filled the spot where he had been and took my hand.
“What do you do now?” she asked.
“I need to get a bracelet fitted and a fixed address.”
Lily’s expression turned deadpan with a small smile as she tilted her head. “You know you can use mine…” She trailed off as her gaze drifted to something she spotted behind me. Her face softened. “I think she wants to talk.”
I frowned and followed her line of sight to the corner of a corridor off the main hallway, where Julia Ricci, Antonio’s widowed wife, stood.
Dressed in a designer black dress with her hair slicked back into a bun and sunglasses on.
When she caught my attention, she calmly turned and disappeared around the corner.
Whether or not it was an invitation to approach her, we did anyway.
Falling right back into old habits, I scanned the many faces of people walking by as we reached the secluded corridor, looking for familiar faces. There were none, but my guard stayed up anyway.
Julia waited a few feet from the corner with her hands folded over her clutch. She offered us a small smile as we stopped beside her.
“Julia,” I said, glancing beyond her to the end of the corridor.
“Relax. I’m not going to ambush you.” Julia was one of the good ones, but.
Lily was more forgiving with a response. “You can understand why we might be a little on edge…”
“Of course. And I don’t blame you for it. I’m only here as a messenger.”
My guard was still firmly in place. “From who?”
“Antonio.”
“Antonio is dead.”
“Well, I hope so. It would be unfortunate if he were buried alive at the funeral,” she said with mild sarcasm.
“Sorry for your loss,” Lily said gently, smiling slightly at Julia’s dark humor.
“Thank you, hon.”
I tried to relax. And tried Lily’s approach of being more understanding. “How are you? With everything?”
“I’m coping. Antonio left behind a lot of unfinished business, which is the reason I’m here.
” She seemed to brace herself for what she had to say next.
“Antonio had plans in place for if the worst should happen to him. He left me in charge, but he also wanted me to have a trusted business partner… The only person he ever truly trusted was you, Dean.”
I had betrayed Antonio’s trust by working with the cops — he knew this because of his mystery informant — but he was okay with that?
“He always said you reminded him a lot of himself — putting your loved ones first above all else. He respected that about you, despite what you did… I have made some changes to his plans, though. While he didn’t leave it open for discussion, I want you to know you have a choice in this; take the offer and pick up where Antonio left off, or leave it. ”
When the initial shock wore off, I looked at Lily. There was a fine crease between her eyebrows, and she was subtly picking at her fingernails. Her eyes came to me and were filled with uncertainty.
She had been seeing Doctor Hamdan for the past five months, and slowly but surely, it was working for her trauma. If I went back to that life, what would it do to her?
The decision was easy.
“No.”
The crease between Lily’s eyebrows faded.
I pulled my attention off her as I continued. “Today was the last favor from him. I’m out.”
Julia’s smile was almost proud before she joked, “I don’t think anyone ever truly leaves the family, but I respect your decision… Which is why I also have this. Not a bribe but a gift.”
She popped open her clutch and pulled out an envelope, handing it to me.
I hesitated but tore the envelope open and tipped the contents into my palm: a key and a bank check.
“Antonio wanted to give you that after your mother’s funeral, but that wasn’t possible,” Julia explained.
“That’s a check for a million dollars,” Lily whispered with her eyes on the piece of paper.
“That’s how much Antonio made off Dean’s fights,” Julia grinned. “And then some.”
I scoffed in amazement. “That’s more than some… But what’s the key for?”
“Address is in the letter in the envelope.” She sighed to herself, before that warm smile was back. “I should get a move on. My brother is waiting… Good luck, you two.”
The fact that I didn’t know she had a brother was the least of my worries as we watched her walk down the secluded corridor to a back exit, where a man stepped out from an alcove and greeted Julia with a smile.
He wore sunglasses, casual clothes, and a baseball cap, but I recognized him immediately from my many visits to Mark’s office.
Detective Dante Riccardo.
Or Dante Ricci, Julia’s brother.
It was easy to figure out who Antonio’s new informant had been.
He pushed the exit door open for his sister, sending one last look our way before they left the building, bringing with them the weight that once sat on my shoulders.
My attention drifted to the envelope again, and I pulled out the letter within it while Lily watched.
True to Antonio’s style, there wasn’t much detail. Just an address for a place in Park Slope, Brooklyn, scrawled neatly across the middle of the page.