Enforcer: A Prequel Novella to the New Mafia Trilogy (15 page)

November 2012

Crimson was slammed and at some points I literally had to
push my way through the crowd. Normally in November we got away with
circulating air from the outside in, but the sheer volume required us to turn
on the air conditioning. Sweat tickled my scalp and dripped down my back. I had
just made it to the top of the stairs so I could have a better view of the
dance floor to look for any signs of trouble, when my phone vibrated,
indicating I had a new text message.

Fishing the phone out of my pocket, I read the text and
inwardly groaned. I knew this was going to happen. Natalie was at the front
desk and apparently already drunk. Pushing my way through the crown again, I
made my way to the entrance.

          ‘Grant!” Natalie called and threw her arms around
me before stumbling back into Chelsea and her other friends. “You remember
Rachel and Jillian?” She pointed to a pale redhead wearing a black dress and
another girl with short purple hair that screamed art student. “And I don’t
think you’ve met Tom and Nate?” She introduced me to two guys holding hands
indicating they were together even though they dressed like they twins. All of
them, Natalie included, had rosy cheeks and glassy eyes indicating they’d
already been partying.

Anthony “The Giant” was working the door and he gestured for
me to talk to him. I left Natalie and her friends by the front desk.

          “What’s up?” I asked.

          “I almost didn’t let them since they’re pretty
wasted already, but she said she’s your sister and it’s her birthday.”

          “It’s cool man, I’ll handle it and yeah, she’s my
sister.”

          “Let’s go, Nat. You get one drink on me for your
birthday and then you’re out of here,” I said, leading her group into the club.

          “What? One drink? Come on, Grant, it’s my birthday!
I’m finally old enough to hang out where you work. Please? I promise to
behave.”

          “I promise too!” Chelsea chimed in, pulling
Natalie onto the dance floor. The rest of the group followed and were swallowed
up by the crowd.

I had been so focused on watching Natalie, I didn’t hear
Miranda approach until she was standing beside me.

          “Anthony said your sister is here?” she asked and
I nodded. Miranda followed my gaze to where I was staring intently to make sure
no harm came to Natalie. “I can see the resemblance. Although she looks much
better in a dress,” she teased. When I only grunted, she peered up at my face.
“Why are you so tense?”

I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “I can’t keep her
away from here without sounding like an irrational dick and you know I want to
keep this part of my life separate.”

Miranda placed her hand in mine and laced our fingers
together. “Grant, this is you as head of security of Crimson being exactly who
your sister thinks you are. One of these days you’re going to have to tell her
the truth. You can’t keep lying to her.” With that slight admonishment, she
gave my hand a gentle squeeze before she released it and walked away.

I spent the rest of the night keeping an eye on Natalie and
conceded to letting her have a good time for her birthday. At least here I knew
she’d be safe.

***

December 2012

Miranda snuggled next to me and I felt her shivering.
Pulling the comforter up over our naked bodies and covering us completely, I
pulled her in closer so the top of her head was tucked beneath my chin. Her
lips were pressed against my collarbone and I felt them curl up in a smile. Her
hand trailed down between us and grabbed my morning wood that was jabbing into
her hip.

          “Somebody’s awake,” she murmured and gently
squeezed.

Suddenly I rolled so Miranda was beneath me and I was positioned
between her legs. Grabbing her wrists, I held them with one hand over her head.
“Oh, I’m awake, baby. Are you?” I teased her with the tip of my dick before slowly
pushing all the way in.

She lifted her hips and wrapped her legs around me, giving
back and taking simultaneously. This was heaven - waking up next to my girl in
the morning. I wanted to make it every morning, to move in together, but even
though it had been over three years, by some miracle my sister still didn’t
know I was in a relationship or an enforcer for the Philly mob. Fortunately
Natalie had been busy with school and work and had only been back to Crimson
once. Now I only had to hold on for less than six months and then Natalie was
graduating. She’d be leaving Philadelphia for grad school. I’d be able to move
forward with Miranda.

Was it weird that I was hiding a relationship from my
sister? Yes, but then my family had always been weird about relationships.

I curled myself around Miranda, her back against my chest
and my arm held her close. I sighed with contentment and nuzzled her neck, kissing
just below her ear. “I love you,” I murmured. She clasped her hand over mine
and wiggled her ass.

          “I love you too.”

It was a lazy Sunday morning and all I wanted to do was stay
in bed with my girl and shut out the world, but Natalie and I were meeting for
brunch. From the tone in her voice when we spoke last, I knew she needed something
and assumed it was money. Occasionally she called me for some cash and I was
happy to lend it to her, but she would come right out and ask me without having
to go to lunch, which made me suspect she needed something more. I rolled out
of bed with a parting slap to Miranda’s ass and went to get ready.

An hour later I walked into El Vez and found Natalie sitting
by the window just past a giant bedazzled bicycle they had on display. A bowl
of chips and their signature guacamole were already on the table and she had a bloody
Mary with salt lining the rim in front of her.

          “Hey, Nat,” I said, sitting down across from her.
She looked up from the menu and smiled.

          “Hi! I ordered your usual, is that cool?”

I nodded and thanked her. Moments later our server set a
pint of hard cider down in front of me. I studied Natalie as she perused the
menu. She was paler than usual, her summer glow long faded by the short winter
days. This made her hair seem darker than usual. I noticed gray smudges under
her eyes and worried she wasn’t getting enough sleep.

          “How’s school going?” I asked.

          “Crazy. I’ve pulled two all-nighters this week to
complete projects and I have a huge final on Tuesday I’ve been cramming for.”
She paused and took a sip of her bloody Mary.

          “Enjoying being 21?” I asked, gesturing toward her
drink.

          “Fo sho,” she said with a laugh and took a bigger
sip. I shook my head and drank some of my cider, draining half of the pint
glass in one pull.

I was just digging into the guacamole when the server came
by to take our orders. I ordered my usual, the huevos rancheros, and Natalie
ordered a lump crab meat and corn omelet.

          “You’re living pretty large for a starving college
student,” I commented, pushing the crock of guac towards her.

She paused, mid-dip, and looked across the table, “I figured
my big bro had the tab this time.” She winked and popped the entire chip in her
mouth, closing it to reveal her “obnoxious little sister grin.”

          “One of these days you’re taking me out to
brunch,” I warned her and emptied my glass with two big gulps. “So, what did
you need to talk to me about?”

Natalie fidgeted in her chair, grabbing a section of her
long hair and twisting it around her index finger.

          “What kind of trouble did you get into this time,
Nat?” I asked, recognizing her guilty nervous body language.

          “I’m not in trouble. Okay, I might be if I don’t
get another job.”

          “What happened to Friday’s?” Natalie had been
working there steadily since her freshman year. They were flexible with her
school and she made enough to cover most of her bills. When she was short, I
covered the difference.

          “They’ve cut back everyone’s shifts and business
hasn’t been that great. I’m making shit for tips.”

          “So, look for another job. There are plenty of
restaurants in the city.”

          “Yeah, but I was thinking,” Natalie leaned
forward, moving her drink to the side so she had an unobstructed view of me.
“I’m 21 now and you do really well at Crimson…”

          “No.” Not just no, but fuck no, I wanted to say.

She frowned, but didn’t cross her arms and huff at me like
her usual. “Grant, I need the money and I don’t have anything saved up for grad
school. Please, it will only be temporary – until graduation. You can even
pretend I’m not your sister.”

That got a smile out of me, but it wasn’t enough to sway my
decision. “The answer is still no. How much money do you need, I can lend it to
you.”

          “I know you can, but I don’t want to have to
depend on you all of the time. If I move to Chicago for grad school – if I get
in - I’ll truly be on my own and will need to take care of myself.”

Our food arrived at that moment, along with another round of
drinks, temporarily breaking up the tension that hovered like a black cloud
above our table. We didn’t speak much while we ate. Natalie started to say
something several times, but stopped herself. When I asked her what she wanted,
she shrugged her shoulders and gave me a sad smile. After the third shrug, I
set my fork down and stared at her.

          “Jesus Christ, what do you want to say? Just spit
it out.”

          “Why can’t I work at Crimson? You got pissed when
I came in on my birthday. You’ve been so secretive and it’s not new, you’ve
been like that since,” she paused as she mentally counted back the years,
“since you started working that construction job. What aren’t
you
telling
me
?” This time she did cross her arms across her chest when she
glared at me.

Fuck, she wasn’t going to let this go. “Because I wanted you
to have separation from me, Natalie, so you can have your own college
experience without big brother watching your every move. Was that wrong of me?”
I was hoping that martyr guilt trip made her drop it.

          “Well, I had it and now I need a good paying job,
plus I’ll be leaving the city and wouldn’t mind spending more time with you
during my last few months – even if we have to work together. Please, Grant?”

We were in a stalemate and she was laying on the guilt
pretty thick too.

          “Fine, I’ll talk to the manager. I don’t even know
if we’re hiring.”

          “Thank you!” She clapped her hands in front of her
and bounced up and down in her chair, reminding me of her roommate, Chelsea.

It wasn’t a yes and it stopped the direction our
conversation was going in since people had already started looking over at our
raised voices.

***

I went straight back to Miranda’s, unlocking the front door
and securing it behind me. The distinctive smell of weed permeated the air and
I followed the cloud into the living room. Miranda was reclined on the sofa
listening to Christmas music and smoking a joint. She took one look at me and
sat up, patting the empty cushion next to her. I sat down and she handed me the
jay. “Something tells me you need this.”

I didn’t smoke up regularly, just every once in a while when
I needed to chill and Miranda knew me well enough to know this was one of those
moments. We passed the joint back and forth a few times until Miranda set it on
a small glass ashtray. The weed had the desired effect and I closed my eyes, my
head falling back against the cushion as I sunk down, letting the sofa claim
me. 

One thing I loved about Miranda is that she knew not to pry.
We sat there, completely at ease in each other’s company, listening to The
Temptations version of The Little Drummer Boy, which was actually fucking
awesome to listen to when stoned. Who knew?

Miranda lay down so her head was on my lap, her legs hanging
over the arm of the sofa. I played with her hair, letting the silky strands
slide through my fingers.

          “Natalie needs money, but she wants to earn it
herself,” I said.

          “She is working, right?”

          “Yeah, but it’s not enough. She asked me to get
her a job at Crimson.” Miranda turned her head to look at me. “I told her no.”

I filled Miranda in on the rest of the conversation and how
it had ended. “Are you really asking me if Natalie can work at Crimson?” she
said and I was surprised her mouth wasn’t hanging open.

          “The answer is still no, but I did my part by
talking to you like I promised.”

          “I will need a cocktail waitress in January when
Alessandra goes back to school.”

          “It’s not happening,” I snapped, removing my hand
from Miranda’s hair.

Miranda sat up and lit the remaining half of the joint. She
took a hit and passed it to me. I shook my head so she took another hit before
placing the roach back in the ash tray. “I think it could work,” she said,
laying back down and snuggling in closer. I started to object, but she cut me
off. “It’s temporary and she’ll be leaving just as Alessandra gets back. Plus, you’ll
be able to keep an eye on her. She’ll be fine with you working there. Besides,
your sister is right: you need to spend time together before she leaves, you
have pushed her away.”

          “So then I’ll go to freakin’ brunch with her more
often!”

Miranda sat up and looked back at me over her shoulder. “Grant,
how long do you think you can keep your life secret and since I’m part of that
life, will I ever meet your family?” With a heavy sigh, she stood up and left
me alone in the living room. Seconds later, I heard her moving around in the
kitchen. Shit! I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees.  Rubbing the
back of my neck, I thought about both arguments. It was temporary, but could I
keep Natalie safe? Then I thought of all the guys who worked at Crimson,
especially Miranda’s cousin Dom, who was a huge player. Not one of them would
be allowed to touch her. It would be just like in high school when I told my
teammates that she was off limits.