Page 16 of Inherting the Mafia

Vinnie sent me a small smile. "My advice? Run as far and as fast as you can."

My eyebrows shot up. "Run?"

"I grew up in the life so I'm used to it," Vinnie explained. "You haven't and there is no learning curve here. If you get it wrong, you die."

Yeah, that was reassuring.

Not.

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, Mr. Borelli."

"Vinnie, please," he corrected me.

"I prefer Tony," I countered. "My understanding is that I am the only one that can take the position as head of the D'Angelo family and it beats working three jobs and living in a studio apartment."

I wasn't sure if my villa in Italy was anything like this place, but it had to be better than my craptastic apartment.

"There's a strong possibility that whoever took out the family will come for me next, so I doubt I'll have the position for long. Still, having a few days off from working three jobs would be worth it."

Getting more than four hours of sleep would be worth it. Pretty sure I'd have a heart attack if I slept through the night, so one way or the other I was probably going to die.

"Vinnie?"

I turned when someone called out from behind me. A slim chestnut haired man was walking into the room, a big smile on his face. A guard walked behind him, several bags in his hands.

I watched him walk right up to Vinnie and then bend down to plant kiss on his lips. My eyebrows shot up. I know I got most of my mafia knowledge from movies, but my understanding was that you couldn't be gay in the mob.

"Did you bankrupt me?" Vinnie asked as he took the black credit card the young man held out to him.

"Tried to," the man replied. "You have a few dollars left."

It wasn't until he plopped down on the couch next to Vinnie that I got a good look at his face and realized he looked vaguely familiar. I just couldn't place him.

"Tony?" the man asked.

I squinted at him. "Do I know you?"

"Tequila sunrise with a handful of cherries."

When it clicked, I burst out laughing. "You know, no one orders that drink like that except you."

"You two know each other?" Vinnie asked.

"Tony was the bartender at my favorite bar," Nicky replied. "Although, I haven't seen him there for awhile."

"I stopped bartending there a year ago," I stated. "I got another job."

Or two or three.

Nicky frowned for a moment, glancing between me and Vinnie. "What are you doing here?"

Yeah, about that...

"It seems I'm the new head of the D'Angelo family. I'm here to pay my respects to Vinnie before we fly to Italy."

"When did this happen?" Nicky asked.

"Yesterday."

---