Page 7 of Out of Sight

I had to get out of this mess of a job, but you couldn’t just put in your two weeks notice with the mafia. A person with less to lose than me could probably just disappear, but I had bills to pay and responsibilities that I couldn’t just walk away from. I needed to go back and play it by ear, at least until I could figure out a new plan.

Because that worked so well with Mario Costa,my conscience taunted me.

I ignored it and got up. I’d been lying in bed for too long anyway. Needing to keep busy, I found myself following my normal routine and going to the gym. I pushed myself harder than normal, doing anything to keep my mind from wandering and remembering what I witnessed—what I was an accomplice to—last night.

At 12:30 I racked my weights and headed to the locker room. By 12:47 I was showered and dressed, climbing into my car to drive over to Morelli & Morelli, Attorneys at Law.

There was a gorgeous woman I’d never seen before sitting at the reception desk. Her dark blonde locks flowed down in shiny waves across her shoulders, almost hiding her delicate frame. She had a calm look on her face, but a nervous tilt to her mouth. I imagined I looked the same.

I turned my gaze from her—now wasn't the time to flirt—and locked eyes first with Carlo Morelli, then Angelo.

“I’m here. Can we talk in private?”

I glanced at the girl again, wishing desperately for just a moment that I had the stomach for this kind of wet work so I could keep coming to the office and maybe get to know her.

I shut the thought out of my mind. Nothing would be worth what I’d lose of my soul to keep this nightmare going.

Angelo nodded his head back toward his office, waiting for me to lead the way. I felt vulnerable, like I had a target on the back of my head as the brothers followed behind me, Carlo closing the door with a distinct click behind them.

I took a deep breath before I turned around to face the brothers, wiping my face of emotion.

“Antonio said you had a great night out, that he learned quite a bit from you,” Carlo began, a satisfied gleam in his eyes. Angelo just stared, silent as death.

“I didn’t really do much,” I said, stiffening my spine. I didn’t want to talk about last night.

“Oh, but you did! The ear thing was magnificent! You might have found your calling card.”

I swallowed hard, trying to stop the bile from coming up.

“And the bonus lesson of how to break into a car without damaging it. Classic Willie-Boy,” he continued, a callback to a week ago when I merely ran drugs and boosted cars for the organization.

Could I go back to the lesser jobs? Was there a way to tell the Morellis that I didn’t want more blood on my hands?

“Bracco.” Angelo’s voice was sharp and I turned my attention to him. “They’ve already found the body. Did you or Antonio leave any prints?”

Oh god, I touched Mario’s ear.Did I leave a bloody fingerprint anywhere?

“Unlikely,” I said instead. “It’s impossible to be sure since Antonio is still so new at these things, but we seemed clear and didn’t leave anything behind.”Except Mario.

“Good,” Carlo praised. “Your next job-”

“Yeah, about that,” I interrupted. Both men raised an eyebrow my audacity. “I was thinking that maybe I could go back to-”

“There is no going back,” Angelo said. “You swore the Omerta, William Bracco. Your life and loyalty are with us now. There’s no justice, nothing at all beyond us,” he intoned.

“Of course,” I backtracked.Shit.“That’s not what I meant, obviously.”

“If you need more incentive,” Carlo said, exchanging a look with his brother, “perhaps this will help. We believe in fostering loyalty when we see talent, so here. Take this.”

And Carlo took off the thick gold watch from his own wrist and handed it to me.

I glanced down at the cheap, boring watch adorning my wrist. The gold watch would be a massive upgrade and I desperately needed the money. I could easily pawn that for more than a few grand. But would that be enough if I needed to go on the run? I’d figure it out later; you didn’t reject a gift from a mafia boss.

My fingers closed around the watch, but Angelo caught my elbow before I could put it in my pocket. “Put it on.”

I undid my own watch first, making a big show of throwing it in the trash before fastening the new one. The band was a littleloose—Carlo’s wrist being a bit thicker than mine—but fit well enough. It was heavy with the weight of real gold and forced loyalty.

“There! You look magnificent, Willie-Boy!” Carlo grinned, grabbing my face and kissing my cheeks. “Does he not, Brother?”

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