Enforcer: A Prequel Novella to the New Mafia Trilogy (16 page)

Movement caught my eye and I looked up to see Miranda
standing in the doorway with a cup of hot cocoa in her hands. She regarded me
with cool green eyes and let the hurt shine through. I knew it bothered her
that I refused to introduce her to my family. Not only was I pushing Natalie
away, but Miranda too. Trying to straddle both worlds really sucked sometimes.
I was a rope and the two most important women in my life were at either end
pulling.

          “Fine, you both fucking win. Natalie can work at
Crimson, but it’s only until she graduates in May and we need to have a staff
meeting with everyone so they don’t fuck up and let something slip about the mob.”

Miranda smiled at me. “Relax, Grant. This will work out
great. I can’t wait to meet your sister!” She turned and started to go
upstairs.

          “Miranda, you know I love you, right?”

She turned mid-step, one hand on the banister, the other
holding her mug. “Of course and I love you.”

I readied myself for her reaction to what I was about to say.
“We need to be just co-workers in front of Natalie… at least for now. I will
tell her about us, but give her time to get situated.”

Her hand tightened around the dark wood bannister and her
nostrils flared slightly, but she nodded in consent. “I know how hard it is for
you having Natalie come to work with us. We’ll do this your way.”

I didn’t expect Miranda to be so passive, but was relieved
because I didn’t want to fight with her. Miranda went upstairs.  A floorboard
creaked overhead as she walked toward her bedroom. I went back to the living
room and picked up my cell phone. I called Natalie to fill her in on the news,
holding my phone away from my ear when she shrieked like she had just won the
Powerball. Despite my misgivings, that was the first time Natalie had been
really excited about something in a long time.

That night at Crimson, Miranda and I brought the staff
together for an impromptu meeting and apprised them of the situation.

Brittany, one of the servers with over processed hair,
wasn’t too happy about the news and her resting bitch face escalated to a whole
new level. “She’s just going to be here to work, Brittany,” Miranda said. “I
know it’s too much to ask for you to do the same, but you won’t have to worry
about competing with her for men.” Satisfied, Brittany adjusted her top to keep
a nipple in check and glanced sideways at Dominic with a predatory gleam in her
eyes. Dominic certainly had his following of devoted stalkers. I laughed at
myself, remembering I used to have the same before Miranda entered my life.

The next time I saw Natalie, it was for a few hours
Christmas Day to exchange gifts. We didn’t make the journey home and even
though we offered for our mom to join us in Philadelphia, she declined. We
didn’t do our usual baking, just ate store bought cookies as we opened presents
in Natalie’s apartment. Chelsea had gone home, but Natalie was finishing her
last two weeks at Friday’s so she stayed.

I had bought Natalie a new iPod with the strap so she could
attach it to her arm when she went for her runs. “Grant! This is too much!” she
squealed and I waved her off. “Thank you,” she said and almost stopped me from
opening the present from her.

          “What?”

She frowned and a saw a little crease form in in between her
eyebrows, almost identical to the one our mom had, but I knew better than to
tell her that. “I didn’t get you anything nearly as nice.”

          “I don’t care about that,” I said and ripped the
wrapping paper off to reveal a plain cardboard box taped shut. Using the key
for my Lexus, I cut through the tape and popped the flaps open. Inside, on a
bed of green tissue paper, was a painting. With the frame it was about the size
of a book.

I smiled at the image from our childhood that Natalie had
recreated in watercolor. I knew she had a bunch of photographs from when we
were kids, especially ones from before our dad left. She rescued them from the
damp basement where they were tossed in a dark corner. Natalie had painted a picture
from when we were really young. It was the winter we had a shit ton of snow and
dad was still with us. I was helping Natalie build a snowman and someone had
taken a picture of us working side by side to piece the body together. Natalie
had captured our rosy cheeks and big greens perfectly. I was blown away by the
thoughtfulness and the emotion her painting evoked.

          “This is amazing,” I said after having to clear my
throat. “I’m so glad you’ve decided on applying to grad school. You’ve got
serious talent, kid.”

She grinned and her cheeks flared red, just like in the
painting. “Thanks, Grant. That means a lot. I hope I get in to the School of
the Art Institute of Chicago, that’s my first choice.”

          “You will, I have no doubt.”

Knowing my sister had a bright future ahead of her made my
own sacrifices worth it. We hung out for a little bit after opening presents
and Natalie kept grilling me about Crimson - was actually worried about what to
wear. I was the wrong person to ask and told her to wear baggy pants and a long
sleeve shirt or anything equally unattractive. Her response was to flip me off.

I worried about Natalie working in such a party environment
considering her issues in the past and while she had been relatively calm in
college, I couldn’t forget seeing her sprawled on the bathroom floor after
having been roofied. She was gorgeous too, but didn’t think it. Thanks to mom
and her demeaning comments, Natalie’s self-esteem was non-existent and I knew
that made her vulnerable. She hadn’t even started working at Crimson yet and my
protective instincts were in overdrive.

***

The night before Natalie’s first day, I was wound up tight.
My neck muscles felt like boulders from the all of the tension.

          “Come here,” Miranda said from the sofa. “You need
to chill.”

I sat down next to her and Miranda moved so she was behind
me, her knees on either side of my hips. Slowly, she massaged my shoulders,
working the tension loose.

          “Jesus, you are tight. You’ve been carrying the
weight of the world around again, huh Atlas?” she teased and kissed my neck.
“You worry too much.” She kissed my neck again, this time closer to my ear. Her
hair spilled down my shoulder and across my chest, enveloping me in the smell
of coconuts. Who the hell needed aromatherapy when I had my girl working her
own magic? As she bore down on my muscles with firm pressure and continued to
press her lips against my skin, occasionally teasing with her tongue, all my
worries dissipated. I let out a sigh and relaxed against Miranda’s body.  She
draped her arms over my shoulders, running her hands over my chest.

          “Everything will be fine with Natalie,” she
whispered.  

How I wish Miranda had been right.    

-END-

Natalie meets “the family” and her adventure begins in: The
Beautiful People
,
Book One of The New Mafia Trilogy. Turn the page for a
sneak peek.

The Beautiful People

Book One of The New
Mafia Trilogy

Prologue

It was only a job. At least that’s all it was supposed to
be. Despite student loans, the occasional loan from my brother, Grant, and
income from waitressing at T.G.I Fridays, I struggled to make ends meet. Grant
was the head of security at Crimson, one of Philadelphia’s top nightclubs, and
he helped to get me a job there as a cocktail waitress, but I had to agree to
one of his “conditions” first.

          “This is just temporary, until you graduate,
okay?”

          “Relax and believe me when I tell you I don’t have
aspirations to be a career cocktail waitress,” I reassured him. We were
grabbing a slice of pizza before heading into work together.

          “Well, believe me when I tell you a number of
people have gotten sucked into the glamour and money – the whole scene – and
are still there.”

          “Are you talking about yourself? It was the
glamour that lured you in, wasn’t it?” I teased, but really was curious what it
was about Crimson that caused Grant to drop out of college.

He didn’t answer and gave me one of his “don’t mess with me”
stares. I laughed and stood, picking up my grease soaked paper plate for the
garbage. “Grant, I’m just kidding. Come on, I don’t want to be late on my first
day.”

Grant drained the rest of his soda and I followed him out to
his car which was parked in front of the pizza joint. He drove a new Lexus
sedan, silver and fully loaded. This alone was probably the reason he never
left Crimson. Obviously he was doing alright for himself without a college
degree.

My brother was quiet during the brief ride from South Street
until we pulled into the employee parking lot in the rear by the loading docks.
Crimson was a refurbished brick warehouse that sat hulking over the Delaware
River in the old industrial section, near the decommissioned Navy Yard. Blue,
an after hours club owned by the same development company, was located in a
twin building directly next to Crimson. We parked and a neon sign cast an eerie
bluish glow across the hood.

          “I want to give you some advice for your first
night,” Grant said, turning to face me.

          “Okay…”

          “First of all, if anyone gets inappropriate with
you or too handsy, let me or one of my guys know. We’ll take care of it.
Second, there are a lot of egos that work here, so there will be drama. You’re
better off not getting involved, which leads me to the last thing…don’t get
involved with any of the guys here. Dating a coworker is not a good idea.”

          “Company policy?”

          “No, company policies are kind of loose. It’s my
policy…for you.”

          “Oh a Big Brother policy,” I said and tried not to
roll my eyes. “I get it Grant, all work and no play. You don’t have to worry.”
He didn’t because I had no interest in hooking up with anyone. I’d done enough
of that in high school. I was here for the money until I graduated college in
the spring.

Turns out agreeing to Grant’s policy was easier said than
done. While he warned me that I would be tempted by the whole scene, he didn’t
tell me just how seductive it would be. Turns out, Grant didn’t tell me a lot
of things.

While it may take a village to raise a child, it took a
group of amazing people to help with the production of this novella. I need to
thank my soulmate, Steve, for constantly encouraging me to pursue my dreams and
for gently reminding me that I should be writing, not on Facebook. To my
parents, family and friends, your unfailing support has not gone unnoticed. Many
of you have traveled distances to attend author events and have embraced other
Indie authors you’ve met along the way. Rae, Diane, Ashley, and Andrea: thank
you for being kick ass beta readers in a pinch! Your feedback and enthusiasm
were amazing! Finally, to the readers and fans of The New Mafia Trilogy, I
seriously wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Your response to Natalie and
the Grabanos has been overwhelming and humbling. You keep me going and provide
inspiration when writers block is rearing its ugly head.

E.J. Fechenda has
lived in Philadelphia, Phoenix and now calls Portland, Maine home where she is
a wife, stepmom, and pet parent all while working full time. Crazy is how she
likes it.

E.J. has a degree in
Journalism from Temple University and her short stories have been published in
Suspense
Magazine
, the 2010 and 2011 Aspiring Writers Anthologies, and in the
Indies Unlimited 2012 Flash Fiction Anthology.
In addition to writing The
New Mafia Trilogy, she is working on The Ghosts Stories Trilogy. E.J. is a
member of the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance and co-founder of the
fiction reading series, “Lit: Readings & Libations”, which is held
quarterly in Portland.

E.J. can be found on
the internet here:

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/EJFechendaAuthor

Twitter @ebusjaneus (
https://twitter.com/ebusjaneus
)

Tumblr:
http://ejfechenda.tumblr.com/