9
“The Island” – New York City
My underboss, Giuseppe, and I sat in the common room of a special holding jail on the island as we awaited the murder trial. Normally, I would complain about how I was being treated but truth be told, high ranking mob guys are treated like royalty in prisons around here. A higher power knew how much we contributed to the economy, so we were given better everything; food, sleeping conditions, more recreation time, etc.
The only unspoken rule was as long as we did not give them trouble, they looked after us. A part of me thought it was because they knew the power we held in the city. If they upset us, we upset the balance of their family. We were not interested in trouble. We also did not feel we belonged here.
Did we do it? In a way, yes. I did not personally do it, but I most certainly ordered the murder of Donato Barone. It was not only because he was our rival. It was because he threatened the life of my two sons. Unfortunately, by the time my guys got to Donato, he had already been murdered. We were unclear who did it, but it was not us.
We might have come from rivaling families, but the same laws were to be respected by the five crime families in the Tri-state area. Years ago, before I took over, there was a sit-down with the Big Five. Boundaries were put in place so that we could remain balanced in our world. A great war erupted when my grandfather was beheaded inside the back room of a Brooklyn club. Since then, our relatives have been out for blood any chance we got.
As Giuseppe and I were enjoying a snack, we watched the news trying to catch a glimpse of the outside world. I needed confirmation that Gavino was doing what was required of him. Lifting a spoonful of peach yogurt to my mouth, I froze, mouth agape. My very arrogant son was on television schmoozing with women outside our home as the cameras caught every moment.
“For fucks sake!” I shoved my spoon back into the container, set it on the coffee table, and leapt from the couch.
Nothing could prepare me for the venom that rolled off his tongue soon after.Yeah, I actually do have something to say.He spoke to the reporter.
“No no no! Someone shut him up!” I threw my arms out. “Where the fuck is Federico?! Ice Pick?! Anyone! Why aren’t my guys dragging him inside him?!” I paced back and forth in front of the guards, Giuseppe, and a few other random inmates that were receiving special treatment as well. I picked my yogurt up off the table and began to try to enjoy it, but my son spoke again.
I'll seeyousoon.He gave the camera a mischievous smirk.
Squeezing the half-empty container, I drew my arm back and hurled it against the wall. “GET ME A MEETING WITH MY GODDAMN SON!” I bellowed at the ceiling security camera which was focused on me. I marched over to the guards, pointing at one of them. “I want him... brought to me...immediately!” I turned back to the camera, craning my neck at the ceiling, fighting back hyperventilation. “GET MY LAWYER HERE, NOW!”
While I was being treated fairly, I did not want to be here. I had to play nice right now even though the Feds had been trying to pin me for years.
“You need to calm down!” The guard shouted at me.
Slowly, I turned on my heels to him, scowling. “Who, me?”
He nodded.
“You better watch who the fuck you are talking to, asshole.” Though I was angry, I did my best to remain calm. Fury was swelling inside me.
He was visibly intimidated.
I took a step closer, challenging him. “You dare to tell me to calm down?”
Eyes flickering, he took a step back. It was apparent he was doing this job because he thought he would be dealing with irrelevant street gangs. No, he was stuck in here with me; one of New York's most feared men.
I took a step closer, growling. “Get my lawyer and my son here tomorrow! If you don’t, I’ll send out a message to my men on the streets and your job will be one hundred times worse.” I spun to march away but stopped. Glancing over my shoulder, I scowled. “And I want another Goddamn yogurt.”
I had still not heard back from Sofia and was beginning to wonder if ourzero-to-one hundredrelationship was all bullshit. It was not even a relationship. It was more of a passionate and forbidden, sex crazed fantasy. Mentally, I was on autopilot as I drove to the one place I felt safe. My studio.
Gripping the neck of a beer bottle, I stood in the same spot I was the day she was down on the street taking photos. My lips curled into a small smile as I reminisced about the look she gave me, turning back to see me as she was dragged away. I did not understand why life had to be as complicated as it was.
My eyes lowered to the floor, and I sighed. I could not be falling for this girl already or even at all. There was no real future for us. I did the only thing I knew how to do when I got stressed.
Rolling my eyes, I lumbered to the couch, and set my beer on the coffee table. I took my acoustic guitar off the stand and sat down. Propped on my knee, I strummed nonsense for a moment, but it only made me more agitated. Glancing at the canvas leaning on the wall, I titled my head, furrowing my brow. What the hell? I stood, leaning the guitar back on the stand and sauntered to the painting. I flipped it sideways then took a step back, studying it.
I marched to my paints with haste, grabbing a mask and the spray paint. I shook a can on the way back to the canvas then began to paint a graffiti style over what I had been working on. Pausing, I took another step back. I cocked my head. Oh shit! It was her. Unbeknownst to me at the time, I had started painting her after I saw her that day. I dropped the can to the soiled drop cloth, observing the half-finished portrait of the woman who was stealing my heart.
RING!
Startled, I jolted at the sound of the doorbell downstairs. Pulling the mask down from my face, I made my way to the first floor in long strides. I did not bother to see who was at the door before I opened it, assuming security had located me once again. I froze.
She smiled as she leaned in the doorway. “Hi.”
Darting my eyes around the area, I checked to make sure she had not been followed. Huffing, I shook my head and grabbed her by the elbow, yanking her into the building. She yelped. Pinning her against the wall just inside the door, leaned close to her face. “What are you doing here, Sofia?”