Page 62 of A Touch of Fate

I got dressed, then let Leo drive me to the community center, a small flat-roofed building beside the main Catholic church of the Outfit in the city.

Priest Agnellus waited in front of the building, easily recognizable by his cassock. He was bald but not as old as I’d suspected, maybe in his late thirties. I wondered how he livedwith the confessions of the Made Men. Leo opened the trunk for me so I could slide back out.

Priest Agnellus met me halfway and shook my hand. “Mrs. Mione, Geno and I are very honored about your interest in our project.”

“I think it’s very important to offer mental support to Made Men and their families who are affected by a disability.”

Leo trailed us as the priest led me up the ramp into the community center. In its center was a big round table with a dozen chairs around them. A TV screen was bolted to one wall with two wide sofas in front of it. Horse racing and a boxing match with the betting quotes showed on the screen, but the sound was off. A pool table and darts were additional entertainment.

“Bets are Geno’s and my sin,” Priest Agnellus said with an embarrassed laugh.

“Bets aren’t Geno’s only sin,” Leo said with a rough laugh. I slanted him a look, but he didn’t elaborate.

“I’m a Made Man, Leo. My sins are various,” a deep male voice said from the doorway to what I assumed was a kitchen, judging by the microwave and coffee maker I spotted behind him when I turned. He was a tall and broad man, perhaps in his late twenties. He looked a little rugged with a short beard and disheveled brown hair.

He came toward us with a thermos in one hand and four mugs dangling by their handles from his other. His gait was the slightest bit uneven as if one of his legs was shorter than the other. He set down everything on the table before he tilted his head in greeting. “Mrs. Mione. We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Leo gave him a harsh look, then pulled up a chair at the table and sat down. He obviously had no intention of giving us privacy. I didn’t want to discuss the matter in front of the twoother men. Later, there would be time to ask him for a little distance.

“It’s Emma,” I said with a small smile up at Geno. “The same goes for you, Priest Agnellus. And I assume everything you heard was positive.” I made a face that clearly showed I knew that wasn’t the case.

Geno removed one of the chairs so I could slide closer to the table, and I did. “I don’t have to tell you how our world sees us.”

Geno sank down to my left but with a chair between us. Priest Agnellus took the seat across from us.

I wondered what exactly Geno’s disability was, as it wasn’t immediately apparent.

Geno pulled up his jeans leg, revealing a prosthesis up to his thigh. The knee prosthesis gleamed in the halogen lights above our heads, but the rest was black. “I got trapped under debris after the Camorra blew up one of our nightclubs five years ago. Lost a leg and hearing in my left ear.”

“And you decided to help others with disabilities?” I asked.

Geno lifted a mug with a questioning expression.

“Yes, please.”

He poured the steaming hot black coffee into my mug, then handed it to me. “For almost two years now. During the first three years, Priest Agnellus helped me.”

“He’s still a Made Man. Has been back to work for a year now.”

Geno narrowed his eyes at Leo. “For eighteen months. But I was a Made Man before that too. All the men who we help are still Made Men, even if they aren’t active. The only way to leave the Outfit is by death or betrayal.”

Leo shrugged. “Of course.”

I glanced between the two, sensing a certain dislike.

“What do you do for the Outfit?”

Geno regarded me carefully. “I’m one of your husband’s and father-in-law’s enforcers.”

“Oh,” I said, surprised that he showed kindness by helping other Made Men with disabilities but, at the same time, tortured people.

“You atone for your sins,” the priest said.

Doubt filled Geno’s face, but he didn’t voice it.

“How do you usually help? And what can I do?”

“We have an open meeting twice a week. We also do house visits for those who don’t feel well enough to venture out,” Priest Agnellus said.

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