Page 27 of Apple Martinis

“We don’t know that this is trafficking though.” I sit up, looking over at my friend.

“Doesn’t matter.” He shrugs. “It seems like a trafficking thing. You said it was more than one person in the van that took her.”

The picture of my father pops into my head just like it always does when anything is mentioned about trafficking. Is the family into that kind of thing?

If they are, would they be willing to at least help me get Piper back or would they laugh in my face about losing her?

“What are you thinking so hard about over there? You’re growling.” August asks.

“I wasn’t growling.”

“You were growling, man. That tells me that whatever you were thinking about pissed you off.”

“I was thinking about my father’s family.” I finally say.

“Why would you be thinking about them?” He asks, confused.

“There’s things about them that I’ve not told you.” I sigh and he sits up, giving me his full attention.

“Like what?”

“Have you ever heard the name Tony Marcus from New Orleans?” I ask.

“Fuck, who hasn’t. They’re supposedly part of some big Mafia family back in Italy but they say Tony broke off from the main branch, going his own way. The authorities have been trying to take him down on drug charges for years but can never quite get the evidence on him. Why exactly are we talking about the Marcus family?”

“Because Tony is my uncle. My biological father was his brother.”

August looks at me with wide eyes saying nothing as he sits back in his chair, drinking his own beer. I listen to the crickets in the silence between us. I know he’ll have more questions so I wait him out.

“Do you think they might help you?” His question surprises me.

“I knew you’d have questions but I didn’t think it would be that one.” I chuckle.

“I do have questions. Quite a lot of them but that can wait. What’s important right now is figuring out what to do about getting your girl back because I think you are right about the cops. They’re not going to be much help.”

“I don’t know if they’d help. I’ve never talked to any of them before. Hell, they don’t even know that I exist.” I slam my beer down.

“Then maybe it’s time that they do. If they can possibly help, you need to call them. Tell them who you are and that your girl was taken.”

“There’s a huge possibility they’d laugh in my ear until they hang the phone up. That or try to kill me.”

“Kill you? Why the fuck would they do that?” He demands.

“That’s the scenerio my mother was always afraid of. That my father would kill me.”

“But he’s dead. You can’t know for sure how the rest of them would feel about you.”

We drop off into silence yet again. August gets up, going to the fridge for more beer, handing me one as he takes his seat again.

Thinking about it, even if there’s a possibility that they come to kill me, I’m more than willing to take that chance if it might mean getting help to get Piper back.

Not caring what time it is, I grab my phone and pull the number up that I’ve called before but never had the guts to talk to whoever answered.

“Who are you calling?” August asks.

“Who do you think?” I say, raising the phone to my ear as it begins to ring.

“Hello?” A woman answers sleepily.

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