Page 55 of The Price of Power

Yeah, something about the softness of that word was at complete odds with the hardened man sitting next to me.

Yet, at the same time, the sound of it coming out of his mouth was enough to send another one of those electric thrills straight through me.

Damn—those were becoming a habit.

“People need to know that anyone who crosses me will pay a steep price. No matter what,” he continued. “There’s no other way. Every action I take against those who try to fuck with me or my family is another brick in that wall. Give it enough time, and that wall becomes an impenetrable fortress. Then people aren’t merely afraid to mess with me; they know for a fact they can’t.”

On the surface, I understood the logic. But his line of thinking still had some major flaws.

“But fortresses keep everyone out,” I pointed out. “A life where no one can get close to you might be safe, but isn’t it also lonely?”

“Normally, yes,” he admitted, flipping his hand over so his palm was flush against mine, our fingers intertwined. “But once in a blue moon, something surprising comes along that?—“

“My apologies, Mr. D’Angelo,” a voice broke in, cutting off Gabriel before he could finish his thought. I looked over to see one of the servers standing sheepishly at the edge of the table. “But we’ve been so busy tonight, and this is the first chance I’ve had to come over and give you this. It’s from Ray Jr.”

He pulled a neatly folded sheet of white paper from his black apron pocket and slid it across the table.

“It’s all right, Raymond,” Gabriel said. For once, he didn’t look at all upset about being interrupted. “You know I always look forward to receiving another one of his drawings.”

Gabriel opened up the paper to show a child’s colorful crayon drawing. Lopsided buildings rose high in the background—the skyline of New York, no doubt—but in the foreground was a stick figure family. A mother, father, and little boy clustered together in the center, but there was one more figure to the side.

A big man in a dark suit with jet-black eyes standing protectively behind them.

“He drew that one last week for you, sir. So, I was hoping you’d come in again soon,” the waiter said before shifting his focus to me. “I hope you realize what a great man you’re out with tonight, miss.”

Great? I wasn’t prepared for that. I couldn’t imagine anyone going out of their way to describe Gabriel that way. Infamous, maybe, but not great.

Still, I smiled politely, which the waiter took as a sign to keep explaining.

“My son was born with a heart condition,” he explained. “We knew for a while that he needed surgery, but my wife and I were struggling to figure out how to afford it.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry,” the waiter was quick to say. “Because the moment Mr. D’Angelo found out about his condition, he immediately paid for the surgery. Just like that—no questions asked.”

I looked over at Gabriel, trying to reconcile a selfless action like that with the ‘impenetrable fortresses’ story he’d been telling just moments ago. “You did?”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” Gabriel said, attempting to shrug it off. “Raymond has been taking care of me for years in this restaurant. Anyone in my position would have done the same thing.”

“No, they wouldn’t,” I said softly.

“It’s true,” Ray added. “And it wasn’t just the money. Mr. D’Angelo also took it upon himself to have my son transferred to the best hospital and secured the top heart doctor in the city to do the surgery. From the moment he found out there was a problem, he’s been our guardian angel.”

“Not so loud, Ray,” Gabriel teased. “You’re going to ruin my reputation.”

“Of course, sir.” The waiter beamed back with the widest smile I’d ever seen on a man. “I just wanted to give you the drawing. Now, I’ll get back to work and let you enjoy the rest of your evening in peace.”

I couldn’t do anything but blink as the waiter nodded respectfully before walking away. Eventually, though, I found my words.

“How many more people are walking around this city with stories like that about you?” I asked.

He picked up the bottle of wine and refilled our glasses. “None that you or anyone else need to worry about.”

“Why don’t you want people to know about this?” I asked. “All it would take was a couple of stories like that getting out the press, and it could change the whole narrative about you in the city.”

“And that’s exactly why I don’t want it to happen.”

“Because you’re afraid that kindness will cause cracks in that fortress of yours?”

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