Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 56680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56680 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
I step from the car, my gun in my hand, staring at the man. He looks back at me calmly. I know another predator when I see one, another hunter.
“Tony Marino sent me,” he goes on. “My name’s Ritchie Amato. The big don should’ve told you about me.”
I glance at Luca but keep Ritchie in front of me the entire time. “Call your dad, Luca,” I say.
“No need to act so tough,” he says with a mocking, ice-cold smile. “Nothing bad is going to happen here.”
“Yeah. Describe him. Then why… No, Tony didn’t call. He was probably facedown in a bottle. Yeah, well, we don’t need any goddamn babysitter.”
Luca hangs up, walks over, and nods gruffly at him. “He’s Uncle Tony’s friend. Uncle Tony cares about his daughter so much that he apparently sent somebody to spy on us.”
“Spy,” Ritchie says, laughing. “He just wants his daughter home safe and sound.”
“Who are you, anyway?” Luca says.
“My Family back west, they’re small, but your uncle’s a smart, well-connected man. He’s building the west, just like the pioneer days, eh?” Ritchie grins. “So I’m helping him. Helping her.”
“My cousin,” Luca says. “Mia. She’s a good person.”
“That’s what I’ve heard.”
“Heard what?” I say, my hand on my gun, my finger twitching as though trying to spring onto the trigger.
“I’m sorry?”
“What have you heard about Mia?” I ask. “You said you’ve heard she’s a good person.”
“Well, you know how people talk about families, small talk, man. Just common manners.” He laughs in a shit-eating way. “I guess you’re not one for small talk.”
Luca glances at me. From how he’s looking, I know he knows something about Mia and me. I don’t even have to say anything. He knows what a hungry, possessive man looks like. He’s the same way with Ruby. Only, before, it always seemed so stupid to me. So pointless. It’s all going to end anyway, but not anymore.
“Whatever the case may be,” he says, “I’ve heard she’s a pretty, nice, friendly young lady.”
I grind my teeth, wondering if he knows something, too. He’s eyeing me like he’s expecting a reaction and wants to make something out of it. Or maybe this is all in my head, and I just want to cave his teeth in for daring to talk about my woman.
“Is that right?” he says, turning to me.
My finger twitches. Has anybody put this man in his place before? It’s like he doesn’t understand the reality of violence. He doesn’t understand what I could do and how quickly I could do it.
“My cousin’s fine,” Luca snaps. “You got a piece on you?”
Ritchie smiles tightly. “All due respect, Mr. Mareno, but I’d be an idiot if I didn’t.”
“Let me see it,” Luca says.
Ritchie hesitates. “I don’t think…”
“I’m interested in firearms. I’d like to have a casual inspection, brother. No big deal. I mean…” Luca laughs in that easygoing way of his. “We’re all friends here, right?”
Ritchie swallows, looking around as though for backup. “Why do you need to see my gun, man, uh, Mr. Marino? Come on.”
Luca walks over to him and stands within touching distance. “Come on? I’m not asking anything unreasonable. You come here at the last minute, a friend of Tony’s. Let me have a look.”
When Ritchie reaches for the back holster, I raise my gun to a twenty-degree angle, still pointing down but ready. I’ve got crazy rage in me, the sort telling me to unload my gun into this asshole because of a comment he made about Mia—one single comment.
So why am I letting the real monster live, then? Ma, I try to remind myself. Ma.
Finally, Ritchie hands over the gun.
Luca takes it and walks backward, nodding at me. I approach him and start patting him down. When he raises a hand, I just look at him right in the eyes. He knows he doesn’t want to escalate this. After patting him down, I find a small knife. I drop that in my pocket.
“Way to make a fella feel welcome,” he laughs. “Jesus H. Christ.”
“I don’t know you, buddy,” Luca says. “My old man says you’re riding along, so ride along, but I’m not having a stranger with a gun at my back.”
“What if we need another shooter?” Ritchie snaps.
“This is a simple exchange.”
“Don’t we want to get the men who killed Vito Santoro?”
“Nobody gives a fuck about Vito Santoro,” I growl, staring Ritchie in the eye. I almost add, “It didn’t take much to kill the abusive, sadistic piece of filth. It didn’t take any effort at all.”
“I know he rubbed people the wrong way, but Christ, enforcer, relax.”
“Nobody actually uses the term enforcer much unless you’re a cop. Are you a cop?”
“Yeah, endorsed by Leonardo Marino,” the man grunts sarcastically.
“Even if you were, all you’d see today is a quick, effortless exchange because nobody here wants vengeance for Vito.”