Chapter Nine #2
“Two thirds goes into savings. Still leaves you with more than enough money for a kid your age.”
“Fine. Except on occasion.”
“What occasion?”
“Concert tickets and Broadway shows. They’re a business expense.”
Christ.
Seventeen and talking about business expenses.
“Alright. That’s fine by me.”
“Anything else?”
“You need your location tag on. If you’re traipsing all over the city, I need to be able to find you.”
“Okay.”
“Curfew stands. Except they can push later on Fridays and Saturdays if you have events to… work at.”
“That’s fair.”
“You stay out of neighborhoods that are… problematic for the family.”
“I’ll need a list.”
“I’ll give it to you. Your grades need to stay up. Don’t gotta be a genius, but you need to pass.”
“Got it.”
“Don’t get your sister involved. I don’t want her in any of the pictures.”
“I wouldn’t do that.”
“I know that. I just want to make sure.”
“That it?”
“Yeah. Oh, but don’t throw any of this shit away,” I said, waving at the tabletop. “Plenty of hungry and thirsty people on the way back home.”
He nodded at that.
“Where’s Char?”
“The pawnshop with Alara. Talking books.”
“You can drop her here if you want. You can spend time with her.”
“With who?”
“Alara.”
“Why would I do that?”
Liam let out a huff of laughter as he leaned back in his chair, looking years older than he was.
“You think I don’t see how you look at her? How she looks at you? Call me what you want, but I’m not a kid anymore.”
“Starting to see that. But you don’t know what you’re talking about there.”
“Think I do. Hell, even Charlotte sees it.”
“It’s not like that.”
“Why? Because she’s Brio’s sister-in-law? Or because you’re older than her?”
“Kid, this is an adult topic of conversation.”
“Just calling it how I see it.”
“Well, you need your vision checked.”
“Sure, sure,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Now, you mind? I gotta get back to work.”
A laugh escaped me as I got up from the table. “Any of these up for grabs?”
“Yeah, this one is black,” he said, passing me a cup. “Alara likes hers with cream and sugar,” he said, passing another in my direction. “And Char would love that disgusting strawberry thing.”
I took the drinks with me, still shaking my head as I crossed the street back toward the pawnshop.
“Coffee?” Alara asked when I walked in. “Couldn’t be too bad if coffee is involved.”
“Can I give Tuna some of the whipped cream?” Char asked.
“Sure,” Alara said, nodding toward the back of the store, then waiting for me to follow her. “Did I overreact?”
“No. I’m glad you called. But the kid is working a picture-taking hustle.”
“That’s a thing?”
“He’s making more than a lot of adults. So, if you see him around taking pictures with two phones, he’s not being shady. He’s… saving up for his future down payment.”
“Well, hey, you have to respect entrepreneurial spirit.”
“He’s gonna put two-thirds of it away. Still leaving him with a shit ton of money.”
“It’s an expensive city,” she said with a shrug. “And I bet he will spoil his sister with books.”
“Yeah, he’s a good brother.”
“If it’s good news, why don’t you look happy?”
“I’m not… unhappy. Just a little worried what it says about me as a guardian that he was pulling this off under my nose.”
“He’s seventeen. If he wants to get away with something, he’s gonna get away with it.”
“He is clearly trying to prove he has the drive to be an earner.”
“You don’t want him to join the organization?”
“I think every parental figure wants something different for the younger generation. Something easier.”
“Yeah, but if there was ever a good time to join the mob, it would be with Lorenzo in charge and such a close family making it stable.”
“You’re not wrong.”
“Of course I’m not. I’m the Costa Family historian, remember?”
“That’s a fancy title for a glorified stalker,” I teased.
“An… avid observer.”
“Whatever you need to tell yourself to feel less like a creep.”
To that, her lips twitched.
But quickly flattened.
Like she just remembered she was supposed to be annoyed with me.
“Alara…”
“Don’t soft-voice me,” she said, her face twisting up.
“I just wanted to explain—”
“Charlotte!” she said, whipping away from me.
Char’s head popped up from behind the counter. “You are just so good with Tuna. I think it’s time you start nagging your uncle about getting you your very own dog.”
“That’s low,” I mumbled under my breath.
She ignored me.
“Actually, you don’t even need to nag him. All you need to do is casually mention wanting a dog—or cat, ferret, lizard—in front of Brio, and he will just show up with one.”
“I don’t want a long rat living in the apartment.”
That got a giggle out of Charlotte.
“And, just so you know, having a lizard means you’d have to feed it bugs. Daily. Really big ones.”
Charlotte was notorious for shrieking out of nowhere, making her brother and me stumble out, ready to fight, only to realize there was a spider or shield bug in the apartment. I prayed for her that she never had to have firsthand experience with a New York City cockroach. She’d have a stroke.
“Cats are good when no one is home all day,” Alara said. “Or a cranky old dog like Tuna. Do you want Tuna?” she asked.
Apparently, it was a running joke in the Family about how Alara pretended to just tolerate her dog.
When in reality, she’d once slept in the waiting room of an emergency vet when Tuna had some sort of seizure.
And ordered him a specialty diet. And bought him a stack of Christmas presents high enough to crush him.
Clearly, she wasn’t the only one who’d become an “avid observer.”
“Alright, Charlotte. Let’s get out of here before she convinces you to start your own animal rescue,” I said, leading my niece toward the door. “Thanks again for the call,” I said. “I appreciate you keeping an eye out for him.”
“He’s family,” she said with a shrug.
I stepped outside but couldn’t seem to stop myself from glancing back.
And seeing a shadow cross her face.
She wasn’t looking at me anymore, though. She was glancing toward the back of the shop.
It was startling enough of a change that I wanted to step back inside and ask her if everything was all right.
But I knew she wouldn’t want that.
So I sighed and followed Charlotte toward the subway as she prattled on and on about the best pet for our family.
I paused at the top of the subway steps, glancing back at the shop as the lights inside flicked off.
And the whole way back to our apartment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was going on.
I guess I was going to have to keep a closer eye on Alara.
Whether she liked it or not.