AllFreeNovel
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“Okay, the kid lives.” He returns to watching the pair. “So if we make the lady disappear, what happens to the?—”
“Fuck! Forget the order. If she shows up, relocate her and the girl out of state. And don’t mention that child again.”
Mattia retrieves his phone to relay my message as we pull away.
I stare out the other window, avoiding the woman although I can feel her stare through the car despite the growing distance between us. “Have someone follow her to make sure she leaves and find out everything about her. I especially want to know who she works for.”
“I’m on it.”
I face Mattia. “On second thought, have Jamal handle it.”
Jamal is my second in command. His entry into the DeLuca organization caused a lot of contention with my father, who wanted to maintain made men at the core of the organization. Jamal rose through the ranks and proved himself more valuable than every Italian and Italian American working for me. That’s why I’ll trust him with looking after this batshit situation I’m in.
On the drive to my brother’s home, I question if going to him is the right decision. We’re close and rely on each other when shit goes down. But how can I interrupt his bonding time with my nephew? It’s not like I need him to hold my hand, but I need an outlet for dealing with the memories.
They won’t leave me alone, and I’m helpless as Giulio’s ghost rises from the dead to remind me he would destroy everything good in my life. I pull my phone from my breast pocket and text my best friend, Aurelio. My phone buzzes with his response, and I inform my driver of our new destination.
Within minutes, we pull into the underground parking. I don my shades and make my way to his floor, making sure not to expose my face to any of the cameras. Douglas citizens accept a lot of corruption, but I don’t make a habit of advertising my part.
Aurelio and I have been friends since we went after the same girl in high school. I tried to hate him, but we found common ground in our shared experiences growing up in a single-parent home.
He grew up with a bitter mother who tried to control him. There wasn’t a low she couldn’t bend down to, whether it was prescription drugs, restraints, starvation, or her fists. I grew up with a man who threatened people’s lives for the sole purpose of controlling me. Not on the same level, but we both desperately craved freedom and forged a lifelong bond. Even Aurelio’s decision to become a cop hadn’t changed our relationship.Aurelio is the only person aside from Valentino who knows me deeply.
He opens the door to his apartment after I bang on it a few times. “What the fuck is your problem?”
I barrel through to his kitchen where I take out two beers and hand him one. I down half of mine before slamming it on his counter and answering him. “I met the kid.”
He furrows his brow. “Kid? What—Oh!” He takes a sip of his beer as he contemplates me. “The meeting didn’t go well?”
A hoarse laugh escapes me, and I drain the rest of my bottle.
“Well, do you have a son or daughter?”
I flinch as an image of the little girl’s face springs to mind. “A daughter,” I croak. I take another bottle from Aurelio’s fridge and escape to his small living room where I drop onto his couch.
“Did the mom explain why she hid her all these years? Or what she wants from you?”
His questions cause me to cover my eyes in shame. “I… don’t know who the mother is.”
Aurelio comes to a stop before me and folds his arms. No judgment emits from his stance, only confusion.
Welcome to the club buddy.
After a few moments of silence in which I don’t know where to begin, he says, “I need you to walk me through what happened, but not yet.” He takes another swig of his beer. “Wait here.”
Moments later, he reappears with a bowl of popcorn and two more bottles of beer. He hands me one and walks away with the popcorn.
“Stronzo, che cazzo?”
He shrugs and falls back onto a recliner. “You have drama written all over your face. Oh? Did you want some?” He holds out the bowl to me.
“Fuck off.”
“This is my apartment. You came to me. If anyone’s fucking off, it’s you. Now, are you going to tell me what happened or use the two legs God gave you and walk the fuck out of here?”
I glare at him but settle back. He’s one of the few people I allow to talk to me any old way. Then again, he’s never steered me wrong whenever I sought advice from him. I relay my encounter with the nanny and the child she claims is my daughter. As much as I want to reject the girl, those eyes don’t lie.
“So let me get this straight. A strange woman claiming the child she has in tow is yours shows up on your doorstep out of the blue, and your first reaction isn’t to verify if the kid is yours? Instead, you threaten the woman’s life and run like a bitch to me? Because I can do what?”
