Page 6 of Claimed By The Devil

DANNY

The boys are chomping at the bit about last night’s meeting, so I’ve called them all together at one of our warehouses. They don’t need to know the financial details of the arrangement, but they do need to be clear on the rules going forward.

Jimmy keeps a headcount as they arrive and nods to me when he’s sure that everyone is here. I clear my throat and announce, “Everybody, settle down. We have business to discuss and we need to make this quick. If we’re all in here, nobody’s on the street making money.”

They stand in a semi-circle in front of me and wait for me to explain why I attended our arch-rival’s wedding.

“As you all know, there’s been some new activity on the streets. Someone is inching their way into our territory. Turns out Bobby Vito’s crew is feeling it, too. Last week, Booby reached out to me with a plan to consolidate our business and join forces to drive out the competition, if you know what I mean. His terms were agreeable so I sealed the deal with him last night. From now on, you don’t even think about having beef with his crew. You don’t try to move in on his territory, and you don’t mess with his deliveries. You pay his boys the same respect that you pay each other. Got it?”

There’s an expected low roar of grumbling followed by a show of understanding.

“What about this other crew?” someone shouts from the back.

“We’re gonna treat them the same way we used to treat Bobby Vito’s crew. If they get in our business, you remove them. Period,” I affirm.

I step down off the platform that I used for a stage and work my way through the crowd, shaking hands as the boys do their usual ass-kissing. Jimmy is talking to a group of three men and has his back to me. They're deep into something, and Jimmy is waving his arms and pointing his finger. I approach to see if it’s something that I need to handle personally and catch just a piece of the conversation.

“The boss got something a little extra in the deal, and now we have to play nice. Is that what this is all about? He fell for the fat man’s bastard daughter and couldn’t have her unless we joined houses?” one of the men asks.

Another adds, “Naw, Bobby Vito doesn’t care about that bitch. He would’ve given her away for free. I guess I should’ve tapped that sweet ass before the boss saw her…”

Sparks shoot from my eyes as I push Jimmy out of the way and come face to face with the idiot misguided enough to say something like that in my presence. Nobody is going to disrespect Deirdre, and this jerk is going to show the rest of them what happens when they do.

He stares wide-eyed at me and holds up his hands, “I didn’t know you were there, Boss. I’m sorry...” he stammers but there’s nothing that he can say to save him now. I raise my fist and slam it into his face. His nose cracks from the pressure and blood pours out onto his white shirt and jeans.

He grabs at his broken face, but I push his hand aside and continue to connect blows, causing his head to bounce against the wall behind him. I don’t stop until his eyes flutter and close and he falls to the floor.

Every eye in the room is on me now, so I crouch down beside him and hold his head up by grabbing a fist full of his hair. I point at the carnage and say, “See this? The next asshole that says a word about Deirdre Vito is gonna wish that this happened to them. He’s gonna recover. They won’t. Is that clear? You don’t talk about her, you don’t talk to her, and you definitely don’t touch her if you want to live.” I bounce his head off the wall one more time for good measure and say, “Somebody get this piece of shit out of here.”

Jimmy shakes his head and says, “Boss, that was a little extreme, don’t you think? How many guys are gonna get their heads bashed in over this girl?”

“As many as it takes for them to understand the rules,” I tell him as I wipe the blood from my knuckles.

“And how long is this infatuation gonna last? You can’t just meet a girl and think that you’re gonna live happily after with her,” he adds.

I smirk at him and say, “Watch me.”

* * *

The boys havenothing to say to me for the rest of the afternoon, and it looks like business as usual so I call Jimmy to my office.

“What’s up, boss?” he asks.

“You’ve got the collections tonight. I’m leaving for the day,” I reply.

“Something wrong?”

“Nope,” I grab my keys off the desk and put them in my pocket.

“You going to see that girl?”

I let out a long breath and say, “Stop already, Jimmy. I like you but you’re starting to get on my nerves.”

The truth is that I’ve been waiting all day to see Deirdre, and I’m surprised that I made it this long. It’ll take me just about thirty minutes to get from midtown to the suburbs, and even that’s too long to wait. I can feel the anticipation growing with each passing mile.

There are no cars in the driveway so I pull in and park. I check myself in the rearview mirror before I get out and ring the bell. I can hear someone moving around inside, but nobody answers so I ring the bell again. Still no answer.

On the third ring, Deirdre calls out, “I’ll be right there.” My foot is tapping as I stand there, checking over my shoulder to make sure that this isn’t some kind of setup. My senses go on high alert and even the neighbor walking his dog begins to look suspicious.

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