Page 85 of Memphis

“Okay. I’ll meet you outside.”

“Sounds good.”

We said our goodbyes to the guys before making our way out of the bar. I watched as Toni made her way down the hallway, and once she’d made her way inside the bedroom, I turned and started towards Gus’s office. It was hard to believe that just an hour prior, I was a complete wreck. My girl was in trouble, and I was terrified that I wouldn’t get to her before something awful happened—that I’d lose her forever.

Thankfully, Blaze and the others made sure that didn’t happen, and for that, I felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude. When I reached Gus’s office door, I knocked and waited for his okay before I entered. When I walked in, he was sitting behind his massive desk, and like my father, he had this presence that commanded attention. His piercing blue eyes met mine as he smiled and said, “Memphis! You made it.”

“Yes, sir. I hate I couldn’t have been here sooner. I sure would’ve liked to have been there when the boys took out Vittorio.”

“Oh, your girl beat us all to that, but we made sure there’d be no trail leading back to her. So, we won’t have to worry about any blowback from him or his crew.” His eyes narrowed. “Her father is another story.”

I was momentarily confused by his statement, but I was more concerned about her father being an issue, so I asked, “You really think he’ll be a problem?”

“Afraid so.” Gus grabbed a file from his desk and offered it to me. “Vittorio wasn’t the only one he was fucking over, and it’s only a matter of time before one of them figures out what he was up to.”

“And when they do, they’ll come calling.”

“Exactly, so you might want to have Toni steer clear of him—at least for the time being.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”

“Well, if he causes any problems, just give us a call.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already gone above and beyond."

“It’s what we do for family.” Gus leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. "You know that.”

"Yeah, I do, and I truly appreciate it, Gus. Really."

“Glad we could help. Now, go on and get out of here. Take your girl home where she belongs.”

“Planning on it.” I reached over and shook his hand. “Keep the shiny side up and rubber down.”

“Right back at ya, brother.”

I said my final goodbyes before going out to the truck to meet up with Toni. She was already sitting in the passenger seat of my Ford pickup, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight. Mygirl was there and waiting for me. In my mind, there was nothing better.

I got in, and as I started the engine, I asked, “So, your place or mine?”

“Umm... I uh.”

“It’s not a difficult question. Just tell me where you wanna go.”

“Well, I’d like to go to your place, but it’s late and it’s two hours away. And I need to go by my place to grab my stuff, and if we’re going there anyway, we might as well just stay there. But I’m fine either way.”

“How ‘bout this: we go to your place, get your stuff, and if you’re up to it, we go on to my place. But if you’re wiped, we stay there.”

“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”

“Then, that’s what we’ll do.”

I backed out and then drove through the gate and towards Toni’s place. I had a hard time keeping my focus on the road. Toni was sitting right there next to me, and all I wanted to do was hold her in my arms and keep her there for days on end. And I planned to do just that as soon as I got her home.

And once I got her home, I planned on her staying—for the long haul.

We were getting close to her place when she turned to me and said, “I haven’t called my dad.”

“Maybe you should hold off on that.”

---