Page 44 of Kingpin
“Wow, that’s deep,” I say, doing my best to stay cool.
“Maybe it is,” she continues with a serious expression on her flawless face. “But I’m not going to lie to you, Dominic, I learned about the Giordano family and how it works. There was a lot out there on the news, and I learned a lot about the kind of stuff you do.”
“Well, I’ve always been honest with you about the things my father and I used to do,” I chime in, whispering, just in case there’s ears in the room. You never know.
“I know, and it never bothered me when we were kids because you were always nice to me. You always made me feel special, even when you were scaring the shit out of the other kids. But now that we’re grown and I know what yourfamilydoes to make money, it scares me, Dominic.”
“Hey, you don’t ever have to be afraid with me, Alannah.”
“How can I not be? You’re a part of what the cops call the mafia. That’s scary shit, and I know you own casinos and they make legit money, but is that all there is to it? I mean, what else do you do?”
“Ninety percent of the money I make is legit from the casinos I own, the other ten percent is small time stuff that I started when I was younger. It’s just business.”
“Business,” she repeats as a statement. “Do you hurt people?” she whispers as she leans in so I can hear.
“DoIhurt people? No,” I answer. It’s true,I don’thurt people.
Tommy does.
When I tell him to.
“Have you ever killed anyone?”
I feel my face immediately heat up like I’m hovering over a stove. I’ve never felt the need to lie about anything I do—except to the cops—but if something I say pushes Alannah away, I’ll be devastated. I wrestle with how to answer, but Alannah saves me from having to make a decision.
“Don’t answer that,” she interrupts. “I’m not even sure I want to know. Look, I just want to know if there’s anything I need to be worried about. I don’t want to be arrested for aiding and abetting, or harboring a fugitive, or some shit like that. I don’t want any drama.”
I start to laugh.
“Geez, I’m not a fugitive, Alannah, relax. There’s no warrants out for my arrest, and I’m not under investigation for anything illegal. You’ve known me since I was eleven years old, and you know I’ve always been honest with you. I’m telling you, you don’t have anything to be worried about. I promise.”
She looks at me like she wants to believe me, but it’s hard. That’s understandable, I guess, especially if everything you think you know was told to you by the news and police reports. I try to look her in the eye so she knows I’m not lying, but when I do, something behind her catches my attention.
On the street behind Alannah, I see a black SUV parked next to the curb. It wouldn’t normally be a big deal, except you can’t curbside park in this area, and the vehicle has its headlights on.
How long has that been sitting there?
As questions start to swirl in my head, the SUV turns on its high beams, shining blinding light right into my face. I can’t see much, but I notice the obvious silhouette of a person speed-walking up to the window behind Alannah, and I know what it looks like when a pistol is being pulled out and aimed.
I jump to my feet and grab Alannah by the shoulders just as the first shots ring out. The room is quickly filled with loud popping sounds and glass exploding all around us. I drag Alannah to the floor and climb on top of her to shield her body as the shots continue and bullets whiz over our heads. I can hear screaming coming from inside the restaurant and dishes being knocked over as people duck for cover, and the bullets slice through the drywall. Alannah screams underneath me, and my heart is pounding nearly loud enough to drown it all out.
Then, just as suddenly as it started, the shooting stops, and I hear the sound of tires screeching as the SUV peels out and speeds away.
