Page 36 of Mafia Baby

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Vince is standing at the door of my loft, which is odd. He’s never come down here on his own. I’ve brought him here twice, so he knows where it is, but otherwise it’s always me going to him.

“Reaper, suddenly you don’t answer your fucking phone?” Vince’s voice aggravates the headache that I’ve woken up with.

I look at my watch. It’s eight in the morning. I overslept slightly. I remember passing out after taking painkillers last night, so I must have taken enough of them to get a good night’s sleep.

I look around for Gianna and realize that I can hear the shower running. I don’t want her to meet Vince. I need to get him out of here as quickly as possible.

“Nice to have you over, Vince.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’d rather you answered me when I call you, so I don’t need to come over.” He’s agitated, so I get up and put a cup of coffee in front of him. I stand on the opposite side of the kitchen, listening.

“Next time.” I joke with him. He remains silent, not even smiling. I’ve always been convinced that Vince doesn’t have any sense of humor at all.

“I need you to do some traveling. There’s a man we’ve been keeping an eye on, but the bastard has snuck off to Atlantic City. Seems he’s taken my product and is trying to sell it as his own. Without paying me a share of those profits.”

“You want me to find the products or the man?”

“Both. Bring the product back with you. Eliminate the man.”

“Okay.” I’ll figure out what to do with Gianna later. I can’t say no to Vince, or he’ll realize that something is up.

“But you have to do it smart. Watch him for a bit, see who he’s connected to. And then get it done and get home. I don’t have as many contacts in that city, so there’s no room to get caught with blood on your hands.”

“Watch him for how long?”

“I’ve made sure you have accommodation for at least two or three weeks.”

“Okay. No problem.” Leaving town for three weeks isn’t an odd request from Vince, but it seems ironic to be happening now when I have Gianna to think about.

Vince looks satisfied. He’s got what he came for. He sits down on the bar stool and makes himself comfy. I can see him staring at the bruises on my face.

“Little fight,” I tell him, not waiting for the questions.

“Little?” Vince raises his eyebrows, not believing me one bit. I haven’t looked at my face yet, so I can’t tell how bad the bruising is. From Vince’s expression, I’d guess it’s bad enough to raise a few questions.

“Stupid, with a friend. No big deal.” Vince isn’t usually one to ask too many questions, but as he gets older, he seems to be a lot more interested in what is going on in my life.

“A friend, huh?” Maybe I shouldn’t have given him that many details. He knows William, and he’s smart enough to put two and two together. “Maybe it’s good for you to leave for a bit.”

“Maybe it is.” I set my cup into the sink. I hear the shower turn off. “Well, I have some packing to do,” I say to Vince, hoping he’ll get the hint and head out.

“Got a visitor?” Vince says to me, one brow lifted in inquiry.

I wince as I hear Gianna starting to sing to herself in the bathroom. She likes to do that while she’s putting on her makeup.

Usually, I find it really charming. Today, I wish she would have just stayed quiet.

“I’m not allowed to have some fun, once in a while?” I ask wryly.

Vince looks at me with narrowed eyes. “I heard a rumor that Gianna Bianchi has gone missing. Her family has been asking where she’s staying. They seem very worried about her.”

“That’s odd,” I say without any inflection in my voice. I level a calm stare at Vince.

If I can just get him out of my hair before Gianna comes out of the bathroom, I might be able to avoid having issues with Vince about how I spend my free time.

“Isn’t it?” Vince replies easily. “Want to introduce me to your lady friend when she comes out of the bathroom? I hope she went in there with some clothes to put on.”

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