Page 17 of Tainted Princess
CHAPTER FIVE
Enzo
What a fuckin’ week. Thank fuck it was Friday.
I stood in the gravel surrounding an old warehouse, some rundown place with a shitload of busted windows and no security cameras. I could smell the stink from the Harlem River, a sick-looking brown thing that chugged along slowly behind the rail yard where I stood with my father, waiting for Don Carlo to join us. It was nearly midnight, and I couldn’t wait for this fuckin’ trip to be over.
I hadn’t come to New York often. My father typically came to visit me, because, let’s be honest, what wife wants to put up with a walking, talking reminder of her husband’s indiscretion for the holidays, right? But once or twice, when she would take their girls, Nina and Lisa, to visit her mother, Pops would have me out for the week to see him and meet some of the crew. And every time I came out east, I couldn’t get over just howdulleverything was.
Maybe I was biased because my apartment in Vegas was right on the Strip and I spent every night staring at the lights of Sin City as they called out like a Siren to everyone in a hundred mile radius with any kind of vice. But driving around Manhattan, all I could think of was how everything was gray and brown, with no life, no color, and no soul.
Standing in the train yard, the soullessness was even more evident. Rusted train tracks laying side by side, ready to take the cars filled with people and merchandise anywhere but here as fast as they could possibly go. I couldn’t for the life of me understand why someone would want to live in this shithole, with row after row of bricked homes that looked more like prison cells than apartments, concrete covering every single square inch they could manage to cover, and don’t even get me started on the fuckin’ snow. I made the mistake of visiting in January once, and I swore I would never do something so stupid again.
We stood with our backs to the river, the collar of my coat turned up against the chilly late September wind and watched as a pair of headlights crawled toward us, tires crunching over the gravel. The Bentley parked, the pale glow of the headlights hiding the occupants from view, and my anxiety went up a few notches. I slid my hand behind me, gripping the Glock that my father had loaned me, and kept my eyes open. My father may have trusted these guys, but I didn’t know them from Jack; without my own crew, I wasn’t gonna take my safety for granted.
The driver’s side door opened, and a single man exited, his huge form just a dark shadow as he moved to the passenger side and opened the rear door. As the headlights finally timed out, I blinked away my blindness and watched as Don Carlo De Marco stepped out of the car.
He looked much the same as he had when I saw him last, almost six years ago now, just older and more tired looking. His tall, thin frame was draped in a suit that cost more than most families paid for their rent each month and his shoes shone even in the dim light of the train yard. He had a cigar clutched between two fingers, and he moved with the confidence of a man who knew his worth. Not taking my eye off the goon behind him, I watched as Don Carlo approached my father, shaking his hand warmly, before turning his attention to me.
I could feel the judgment the moment he laid eyes on me. It was like his brown eyes were looking right through me, taking my measure and assessing if I was the right man for this job. Not quite as tall as I was, I still felt as though he was looking down on me, and I fuckin’ hated it. Clenching my jaw, I met his stern gaze with steady confidence and waited for him to make up his mind.
When it appeared he wasn’t going to engage me, I raised an eyebrow and asked, “You got somethin’ to say?”
“Enzo!” my father hissed, but Don Carlo raised his gloved hand, not looking away from me.
“Enzo Argenti, the Desert Bastard. How nice of you to join us, son. Last time I saw you, your balls had barely dropped.”
“If you want to talk business, Don Carlo, let’s talk. If you wanna discuss the state of my genitals, we can do that too, but I’d ask that we move to a better location. This river stinks worse than the back room at a low-end strip joint and I ain’t much enjoyin’ the view.” I gestured broadly to the barren and depressing neighborhood around us.
“He’s cocky, Giuseppe, I’ll give him that,” Don Carlo said slowly, taking a step toward me. This close, I could see the dark circles under his eyes, the weariness that seemed to be etched right into his very soul. I’d have felt bad for him if I gave a shit, which I didn’t. “Tell me, son. You think you’re a tough guy?”
“I ain’t your son.”
“No,” he said slowly. “And thank God for that.”
“Listen, Carlo,” I started, loving the way he stiffened when I didn’t use his title. “I appreciate the warm welcome and all, but I’m here to do you a favor, not the other way around. If you want to call this all off, be my guest. I’ll hop the first flight back to the desert, and you can find some other schmuck to pawn your girl off on. It makes no difference to me.”
At the mention of his granddaughter Don Carlo’s eyes widened, and he seemed to remember that there was more on the line here than his pride. He stepped back, turning to watch as another vehicle approached us, a van this time.
“You’re right, Enzo,” Don Carlo spoke quietly, his voice holding all the authority of his position. “Thisisa favor to me. But let’s not act like you’re not getting something out of this deal as well.” The van stopped and the two guys in the front seat jumped out. They were dressed in suits as will, but theirs weren’t nearly as well made as Carlo’s was. “If you hope to give your father the legacy he’s always desired, you’d best check that attitude at the door, boy. Because once you’re in my crew, you will answer to me in all things. And if I don’t like how things are going out there in Nevada, you can be sure that I’ll be there to put a stop to it.” He whipped his head back to me, eyes narrowed. “And that includes anything to do with Francesca.”
Ah, so this was about the girl. I guess when you had to sell your daughters and granddaughters to the highest—or in this case, lowest—bidder, you couldn’t ever guarantee that they’d be treated right. Well, he didn’t have to worry. I planned on spending as little time in Francesca’s presence as possible. If she really was the kind of woman my father described her as, the last thing I would be doing was giving in to her needy demands. I didn’t have time to placate some weak wallflower of a woman, not for one minute.
Of course, I didn’t say any of that to Don Carlo.
When the sliding side door of the van opened, the two guys hauled a third man out of the back. His hands were tied in front of him, and he had a black bag over his head.
I almost laughed at the scene, like something straight out of the movies, but I managed to school my face. The bigger of the two goons grabbed the guy by his elbow and hauled him toward us, not caring that he stumbled and struggled to keep up. Once they were in front of us, the big guy kicked his captive in the back of the knees, forcing him down onto all fours in the dirt.
I stared at the goon, his ill-fitting suit looking wrinkled and creased, his white button-down shirt stained and straining across his ample middle, and his eyes full of hate. I was shocked to find that hate directed at me; I’d never met this guy before.
“Thank you, Dino,” Don Carlo, said. The goon, Dino apparently, grunted, but never moved his glare from my face.
For his part, Don Carlo either didn’t notice Dino’s hostile behavior, or he just didn’t care. Considering our earlier conversation, I was leaning toward the second option. The Don stepped up beside the guy on his knees and drew off the black bag, revealing the panicked face of a sniveling man, his mouth gagged, and his cheeks wet with tears.
Oh, man. Not another crier. I could only hope this one didn’t piss himself, like Harry had. I was not in the mood for that again.
When the gagged man finally got a look at Don Carlo, he went from panicked to completely hysterical, his moans and whimpers filling the quiet train yard with noise. It didn’t last long as Dino stepped up and cuffed the guy on the side of the head, knocking him to the side where he landed on his shoulder in the dirt. Dino kicked him again and then set him back up on his knees.
