Page 81 of Clean Slade
He’d killed both my mother and Nino’s. I would never put it past him to hurt his own.
But what I found hard to believe, to comprehend, was how Grams could look her son in the eye, how she could put up with him, after he killed his father. I would never understand the kind of strength it took.
I’d asked her to come with me. I’d told her that if he ever found out what she’d done, he wouldn’t hesitate, but she didn’t listen to me.
“He needs someone who isn’t scared of him to keep him under control,”she’d told me.
Never mind that a man like Tony Ferraro couldn’t be controlled.
“Fine,” he finally spat out and turned to me. “We’ll wait a few days. But not for long. We won’t gain his trust if we take forever, and I need to end his pathetic empire.”
“Th-that’s fine. A few days is all I ask,” I told him.
Father looked around the room and lit a cigar.
“Isn’t this nice? It’s like a family reunion,” he said.
Yeah, sure, a family reunion that’s a few family members short, thanks to you.
“I guess the only one missing is little Alessia.” He blew out the smoke, creating a gray cloud in front of him before rising to escape through one of the many gaps in the building.
“Her name is Mackenzie,” I shouted at him, although I felt guilty saying that in front of Grams.
Annie and I had agreed to name her after my grandmother because she’d done so much for us all our lives, but I couldn’t keep the name when we ran. It killed me having to change it, but it was done now, and Mac had been Mac all her life.
“I bet she’s grown a lot!” Grams said.
“She has indeed. I can get her here if you want, Mother. That way, we can have a real family reunion.” His smirk made me sick to my stomach, and I no longer cared who he was, what he’d done, or what he could do. I lashed out.
“Don’t you fucking dare!”
I charged forward before Nino crashed into me and stopped me.
“You don’t want to do this,” he hissed, but his eyes weren’t threatening. They were pleading.
“Listen to your brother. He knows what he’s talking about,” Father said.
“It’s okay,” Grams added. “Mackenzie has school tomorrow, and it’s past her bedtime. There’s no reason to disturb her.”
Father rolled his eyes and took a big puff of his cigar.
“You people are no fun! Don’t go anywhere, don’t do anything. We’ll be in touch.” He gave me a once-over before walking out of the room, Nino following shortly after him.
Grams rushed to me when the room was clear, and her sternness dropped as she patted my face, shoulders, and hands as if checking me for injuries or ailments.
“Are you okay? Has he hurt you?” she asked.
“No. Not yet.”
“Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”
I looked around, certain he could hear everything going on.
“Let’s not kid ourselves,” I said. “I can’t breathe without him knowing. I…I don’t even know how he found me.”
“It was a coincidence. Just bad luck. He found some of Raymond’s men and tracked down the cartel, and in finding them, he found your friend and you.”
“So he did lie.”
