Page 116 of Manny

When we park, I shove my helmet under the seat. “Did you know anythin’ about Lace and the goddamn mafia?” I point at Manny.

He shakes his head. “Nope, not a thing. She did brush over why she was waiting tables instead of working as an accountant, and I thought it was fishy at the time but didn’t want to pry.”

“Looks like she’s been keepin’ secrets,” I mutter. We head to the entrance and the closed sign is on the door. Nobody is in the cafe except Pipes, Hustler, Giggs, and two huge looking bodyguards with the man, I assume, is the mafia don. Good, he’s still fucking here. If he laid one finger on Lace, he’s a dead man.

I rap on the door and Giggs comes to open it. Two other men in suits I don’t recognize stand by the door. Busting through, I nearly take Giggs out as Hustler, and the guy who must be Mateo, argue. I search around for Lace, but I don’t see her. I don’t care that the two behind me have their guns drawn and this looks like it could get pretty ugly fast.

“Where is she?” I hear Manny before I can get the words out.

Giggs thumbs toward the kitchen. “In the back with Audrina.”

Manny looks at me. “Go check on her.” I give him a chin lift.

Mateo is a tall, lean, slick looking fucker who looks more like a pen pusher than a mafia don. He’s younger than I thought, maybe mid thirties, wearing an expensive looking suit.

“What’s goin’ on?” I bark.

Hustler doesn’t look happy, and the two goons by the door look like they’re ready to pounce.

“Cash is on his way with Ryder and Riot,” Pipes whispers out the side of his mouth.

“Well, it seems our little baby doll has caused quite an upset.” Mateo tugs on the lapels of his suit jacket like the smug son of a bitch that he is.Baby doll?

“Start talkin!” I grunt.

“Looks like the cavalry have certainly arrived.” He smirks. “Like I was just explaining to Hustler over here, I came to question Lace about why she left in such a hurry from my casino and shortly thereafter, twenty million dollars just happened to disappear.”

I point at him. “Leave Lace out of this, she didn’t do anything. A simple phone call would have cleared this up. I’m sure you’re not really serious in thinkin’ she’d steal twenty million dollars and come back to New Orleans?”

“And I told Mr. Judice over here that he needs to leave before things get really ugly.” Hustler looks like he’s ready to smacksome heads together, and when I see one of the goons with a bloody nose, I wonder if he’s already had a swing. I mean, I know Hustler is old and all, but Priest said his fights in prison were legendary. What he went to prison for, I don’t know. The man is almost twice my age, but I wouldn’t pick a fight with him.

“While my Underboss is currently indisposed, I’m afraid that isn’t possible.” He gestures over to the men by the door. “I also have plenty more men at my disposal if needed, though I’m sure it won’t come to that. In a show of good faith, I came to talk to Lace because, while I had my suspicions, all the evidence led to her and I want to know why. If someone set her up, I need to find out who it was.”

“She told you, she didn’t do it,” Hustler maintains. “I hardly think a twenty-five-year-old would steal that much money and be working in a coffee shop, or come back to New Orleans like Bandit said.”

“Of course you’re her family, you’re gonna say that.” Mateo doesn’t seem one bit fazed. “But someone has my money, and they did a pretty good job of hiding it and tryin’ to pin it on her.”

Manny comes back out of the kitchen and for the first time in all the time I’ve known him, he looks mad.

“Is she okay?” I demand.

His eyes meet mine, and he gives me a nod. “She’s fine. She’s just shaken up.”

Hustler eyes the two of us, but doesn’t say anything.Shit.Trust him to be so observant.

I turn back to the suit. “Just so you’re aware, the NOLA Rebels own this town, and most of them are on their way.” I glance over his shoulder. “What I wanna know is why you barely have any men here. Does the don of wherever the fuck you’re from usually travel with so little security?”

Mateo snickers. “Arizona. I’ve done some, uh,rearrangingin the family, shall we say? It was a big fucking mess. I took outthe trash, and I’m restructuring. Hence why I’m here; my Capo and soldiers couldn’t be trusted. You know the old saying where if you have a job to do, do it yourself? Or wipe everyone out and then start again.”

He’s being awfully cavalier, and for a moment I think he may have lost his mind.

Hustler points at him. “You know the New Orleans mafia were run out of town. It’s Irish territory now,” he says. “Not like you wanna be overstayin’ your welcome, if you get my drift.”

We hear the sound of straight pipes in the distance, and this Mateo fuckface has to know his time is up. Mafia don or not, he’s nobody in this town.

“Not going anywhere until I talk to Lace. She’s the only one who can help me.” He folds his arms over his chest. While he’s not exactly small, he knows he’s outmatched, and that tells me how desperate he must be.

“We’ll move it to the clubhouse,” Hustler says. “No business is gonna happen here, and I’ve got a coffee shop to run. Last thing we want is police arrivin’ and findin’ all of us here.”

---