Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76539 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 383(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Jesus fucking—Angelo, brother, Sara’s pregnant with your child and you’re making fucking flights back to Philly. What the hell is wrong with you? I should slap you upside the fucking head. Your grandmother would be absolutely ashamed.”
“I mean—hey, first of all, fuck you, don’t bring my grandmom into this. And second of all, Philly’s my home. I’ve got the crew, I’ve got my obligations.”
“Fuck the crew. I can get somebody else to take over.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “Carmine, are you fucking firing me right now?”
He sighs and softens as he puts a hand on my shoulder. “No, you stubborn asshole. I’m trying to help you.”
I let that sink in. I glance back over my shoulder toward the building and all I want to do is turn and go back in that room and find Sara. I want to kiss her, hold her, and keep on doing that every day, every night, from now until we’re old and decrepit. But I’ve always seen my life one way—in the streets, in Philly, running a crew—and this is something else.
“I want to stay,” I tell Carmine and look him in the eye. “How do I make that happen?”
“Cancel your flight, you big fuck.” He grins at me. “As it happens, I’m starting something here in Texas. You could call it an affiliate family. An extension of the Scavo. I’ve been traveling too much between here and home, and things are fractured, but I think this is a way to tie it all together again.”
“An affiliate Famiglia. Like we’re some corporation.”
“Exactly.” He jabs a finger into my chest. “Listen, Angelo. You’ll keep on being who and what you are. That won’t ever change. But I’ve learned some things in my time with Brice, and the Famiglia’s got to change if we want to reach that next level. I need you here, in Texas, helping out with the transition.”
“A transition to what?”
“Something bigger, brother. Something fucking huge, and you are going to be a part of it. Assuming that’s what you want.”
I step away from him and look at the flowers, at the bushes, and up at the sky. It’s not my sky, not the vague black expanse with the few little twinkling dots that hangs over Philly. No row homes, no skyscrapers. Nothing like the place I’ve known and loved my whole life.
And to hell with all that.
“If it means I get to stay here with Sara, I’ll take the job.”
“I thought you would.” Carmine pats my shoulder. “Go tell her. I bet she’ll be happy.”
“Right now?”
“Yeah, please, and stop fucking moping around. God damn, that was getting annoying.”
“Asshole.” I grin at him. “But thanks.”
“Don’t thank me. I’m going to rely on you down here, Angelo, and it won’t be easy.”
“I never wanted easy.” I walk away and he stays behind, smoking and watching me, and I know I’m in for something hard, something dangerous, something wrong—and none of it matters.
Because I’ll have my Sara. My baby. My future.
I walk back through the Oak. I find the private room. And I go right up to my girl. “Can I borrow her?” I ask Robyn and gently help Sara to her feet.
“Bring her back in one piece, please,” Robyn says. “Preferably without any stains.”
“Oh, god, don’t be gross,” Sara says, glaring at her.
I steer Sara out into the hall, pin her up against the wall, and kiss her. “I’ve got good news,” I whisper.
She kisses me hard, a little surprised, but eventually bites my lip. “Hey, asshole, you heard what Robyn said?”
“Sorry. I’m getting carried away.”
“What’s the good news?”
I step back and look into her eyes, grinning my fucking head off. “I’m staying in Texas.”
She stands there like she doesn’t understand. “For another few nights?”
“No, princess. I’m staying in Texas for as long as you want me here.”
Her eyes go wide. “You’re joking.”
“Carmine’s starting something down here. Some new venture he wants me to work on. But who the fuck cares about that? This means we don’t have to worry about anything anymore.”
“But your family, your friends, your grandmother—”
“I’ll visit my grandmother. We both will. And fuck everyone else, that’s what Facebook is for.”
She laughs. “You have a Facebook?”
“Nah, but I should probably make one. Or hell, fuck that too, I don’t care. All I want is you and that baby, and I’m not going anywhere.”
She pulls me against her and we kiss, deep and slow, an exploring kiss, a celebratory kiss—the first of many kisses like it.
I can barely comprehend what my life’s going to be like. I’ve been in one place since I was a kid—I’m Philly, born and bred, and the rivers and streets of that place are in my blood, etched into my skin, broken into my bones.
But my life is in Texas now. My future is here, my heart is here, my love and my child are here. Sara, this baby, this is where I have to be. I’ll still be in the Famiglia and still work for Carmine, but I’m leaving everything I’ve ever known behind.