Long Live the King (An Italian Mafia Romance Duet #2) (13 page)

“Oh my god,” Alannah exclaims with a gasp.

“Yeah, and Frankie just came in here and convinced me that he can’t be trusted. Something doesn’t fucking feel right about this.”

“Does Frankie know who did it?” Alannah asks with her hand on her cheek, still shocked and worried about the murder.

“Frankie doesn’t know shit, but he was doing his best to convince me it was Victor.”

“You don’t believe him?”

“The more he tried to convince me it was Victor, the less I believed him. Victor wouldn’t make a move on us in that way. He’d make it personal so we’d know it was him. Whoever did this had an agenda. They were trying to keep the money from getting to Chicago.”

“Wait, what are you saying, Dominic?”

“I think it was an inside job by somebody close,” I admit out loud for the first time since Frankie was sitting on my couch. “Whoever did this knew the money was there, and they took it to hurt the Family.”

I walk over to my nightstand and grab my cell phone.

“Are you fucking serious?” Alannah says as her fears consume her. “Who are you calling?”

“The only fucking person I think I can trust,” I reply as I push the button to make the call. “Tommy, it’s me. Where the hell are you? Alright, listen, you and I need to meet up after you’re done at the hospital. Don’t tell anybody you’re coming to see me. I think we may have some snakes in our house, and it’s time to start chopping off heads.”

“I
fucked up. I fucked up!”

“Hold on, calm down. What are you talking about?”

“Did you not hear what I just said? I fucked up!”

“Yes, I heard what you said, but now you have to calm down and tell me what happened. I’m not gonna be able to guess it just because you’re screaming it at me.”

“I made a big fucking mistake, and I’m probably gonna die because of it. I didn’t mean to, I swear I didn’t.”

“Geez, would you man up and tell me what the hell you’re talking about so we can figure it out. That’s why you’re here, right? So we can figure it out? Well, stop crying over it and explain it.”

“Alright, alright. I went to take care of the delivery situation, just like we talked about. I ran the truck off the road, and the car that was behind it followed.”

“Did you cover your face?”

“Yes I covered my face.”

“Okay, so they didn’t see you.”

“Just let me fucking explain! I ran the truck off the road and went to approach it on the passenger side, because I knew that’s where the money would be, but as soon as I got out, the guy from the car started shooting at me. I had to duck down and hide behind the car I rented, which I can’t take back now because it has fucking bullet holes in it. So, I had no choice but to shoot back. I fired a few shots at the car, and I figured I hit him because he stopped shooting, so I approached the truck with my gun drawn, thinking the driver wouldn’t put up a fight, but I was wrong. As soon as I opened the door, Raphy shot me. Look.”

“Shit. Your shoulder. Why didn’t you go to the hospital?”

“Really, the hospital? I couldn’t risk that! I’m not stupid!”

“Okay, okay. Calm down. What else happened?”

“So once I gathered myself, I knew I had to get the money, so I went to get back in and Raphy shot at me again, so on instinct, I fired some shots back. I figured he’d duck for cover long enough for me reach in and grab the suitcase with the money in it. But when I reached for the money, I saw he was dead. I hit him right in the heart. I wasn’t even aiming when I shot, I was just trying to scare the asshole. I fucking killed a made guy.”

“Alright, look, this isn’t a big deal unless someone finds out it was you.”

“I know. That’s the other part.”

“What? What are you talking about?

“When I saw that I’d killed Raphy, I freaked out. I fucking panicked because I knew Raphy, and I didn’t mean for that to happen. So, I kind of lost it and I took off the mask I was wearing.”

“You did what? Why the hell would you do that?”

“I just killed a friend of mine, okay? I don’t need you fucking judging me. I took off the mask and stood there looking at him in fucking disbelief. Then, I heard another gunshot and a bullet went whizzing by my ear and into the door beside me. When I turned around, Dan was standing at the back of the truck. He was bleeding from his neck, but there he was, looking at me in disgust. He saw my face. I had no choice after that. I aimed and pulled the trigger before he could get off another shot, hitting him in the chest. Then I grabbed the money off the seat and tossed it in my car, but before I could go, I knew I had to make sure Dan was dead, even though I knew it would haunt me forever. So, I went back over to him and put four more in his chest for good measure.”

“Geez. I’m sorry you had to do that, but you had to. If you didn’t kill him after he saw you, you know what would’ve happened. You probably wouldn’t even be here right now. So, you had to do it.”

“You don’t understand. I put four in his chest, but Dan didn’t die. He was wearing a vest.”

“What?”

“He’s still alive. In the ICU at Mercy.”

“What? Dammit! How could you be so stupid?”

“Hey! Who the fuck do you think you’re talking to? I’m not a fucking psychic, okay? I don’t have x-ray vision to look through people’s clothes, so I didn’t know he was wearing a vest.”

“Why didn’t you shoot him in the head?”

“Because I know him, that’s why! I wanted his mother to be able to have an open casket funeral, not to mention, I wasn’t supposed to kill anyone anyway. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

“Well now you have to do something about it, because if he comes to, he’s gonna rat you out, and all hell is gonna break loose.”

“What the fuck am I supposed to do? He’s in Mercy hospital, and he’s constantly surrounded by people. I can’t do shit. I’m fucked. They’re gonna find out it was me, and they’re gonna cut my balls off for this. Dominic is gonna let them torture me for stabbing him in the back like this. This is just as bad as being a rat. I’m a fucking dead man if I don’t do something.”

“Oh just calm down already. Yeah, you messed up, but as long as Dan is in the ICU and unconscious, you’re fine.”

“He ain’t gonna be in ICU forever. I don’t have time to wait around. I gotta figure out how to snuff him out before he wakes up and ruins everything.”

“Don’t do anything stupid. I know you’re gonna do what you want, but I’d advise you to take your time with this. You can’t run up in the ICU and start shooting. As far as our plan for Dominic is concerned, we’re still good. No one knows you took the truck before, and no one knows you took the money today. So, there’s no need to panic. You can relax. You hear me, Tommy? You’re fine. We just need to figure out the next move.”

Dominic

“T
hanks for letting us in, Mrs. Stanza.”

“It’s my pleasure, Dominic. Thanks so much for coming. I know if Daniel was awake, he’d be glad you came to see him.”

I hug Dan’s mother like we’re good friends, but we don’t even know each other. She just knows that her son works for me. She knows I’m the boss and that Dan looks up to the boss, but that’s as far as it goes.

The seventy-nine-year old gray-haired woman feels soft in my arms—fragile, like looking at her only child lying in a hospital bed as he clings to life has taken everything out of her. We’re in the ICU, but it feels more like a morgue than a hospital.

Aside from Dan’s mother, no one is in the room, mainly because the hospital won’t allow anyone but family in the ICU, but also because it’s one o’clock in the morning. I waited until everyone would be out of the waiting area before deciding to come see Dan, and his mother was nice enough to let us in the room by vouching for Alannah and me to the hospital staff.

While Alannah greets Mrs. Stanza, I walk over to the bed and look down upon Dan’s nearly lifeless body. There’s a tube in his neck and he has all kinds of bandages on his torso from the multiple shots he took. Luckily, Dan was wearing a bullet proof vest, otherwise, there’s no way he’d be with us right now. But the vest is also the reason he has internal bleeding that’ll require serious surgery in the coming hours, along with the surgery he’ll need to repair his trachea and vocal cords. It’s a fucking miracle this kid is still alive. The fact that he took a bullet to the side of his neck and still managed to get out of his car and fire a few rounds of his own is amazing. Dan isn’t made, but if he manages to pull through this, I’ll definitely give him consideration when they open the books.

As I look upon Dan, I feel fury that’s been building up in me these past few days boiling to the surface again. After a year of happiness and living the good life, the other shoe has finally dropped. I’m finally experiencing the stereotypical bullshit that happens to mob bosses. All of this shit reminds me of captains plotting to kill their boss, like John Gotti having Paul Castellano shot to death while he’s on his way to dinner, or the Commission putting a contract on Carmine Galante to be carried out while he’s having lunch in broad daylight. I feel like their fate might be creeping up on me, but it doesn’t scare me. No, it only pisses me off more than I could ever explain to anybody. There’s no chance in hell I’m going to let these motherfuckers take me out like those old bosses got taken out. Not a chance. Not me.

You better remember it forever. I’m Dominic Collazo.

“What are you thinking?” I hear Alannah say from behind me as she places a soft hand on my hard shoulder.

“I’m thinking I want to find out who the hell did this,” I reply, keeping my eyes on Dan. “I’m thinking there might be a chance Dan saw something. Maybe he saw who shot him. I’m thinking Raphy was a made guy, so his unsanctioned murder is an act of war. I’m thinking I don’t wanna wait for the Commission to give me their approval anymore. I have to get a hold on all of this, and I’m thinking I need Dan to pull through, because he may have some answers I need.”

Alannah doesn’t respond. I look back at her and I can see the anxiety in her eyes. As if her pupils were crystal balls, I can tell she’s worried about the future—about the possibility of me ending up in a hospital bed just like this one. The way things have changed is exactly the kind of thing Alannah was worried about when she first came back to St. Louis. Her worst nightmare is coming true, and the last thing I want is for her to be scared. My woman should never have to worry—not about me, not about anything, and that’s just another reason I have to get control of this. She has to know that I’ll be her anchor when things get rough. She has to know I’ll always protect her.

Reading the fear in her eyes, I turn around and wrap my arms around Alannah, pulling her body in close to me. She lowers her head and buries her face in my chest as she interlocks her fingers behind my back.

“I know you’re worried, babe,” I whisper to her so Dan’s mother doesn’t hear. “But listen, I don’t want you to worry about me.”

“You may as well not even say that to me,” she says as she lifts her head and whispers in my ear. “You know I’ll worry anyway. I can’t help it.”

“Yeah, I know,” I reply. “But I got this. I’m gonna find out who the hell is behind all of this, and I’m gonna take care of it. Nobody threatens us. Ever. You know I’d never let anything happen to you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about, Dominic.”

“Nothing is gonna happen to me. I don’t give a fuck if it’s Victor or Giovanni, or fucking Satan himself—anybody who comes for me is gonna die trying. Anybody who threatens you is gonna suffer first, and they’re gonna die too. I don’t fear anybody, but after all that’s happened, everybody better be afraid of me.”

Alannah looks into my eyes and exhales. I know it doesn’t matter what I say, she’ll be worried to death, maybe even after this is all over, and I hate it. I hate that she feels anxious all the time, and I wish I could assure her that I’ll be okay, but in this life, you really never know.

“Just find out who did it,” she says, this time a little louder, and Dan’s mother overhears.

The old woman stands up and walks over to us, her oversized floral dress hanging off of her like a nightgown. She places a hand on Alannah’s shoulder as she looks me in the eye with a face as cold as ice.