Page 32 of Lordes

“Trouble in paradise.”

“Don’t ever get fucking married. Gloria gets dumber and dumber the older she gets. It’s like she’s stuck at the fucking age I married her at. If we didn’t need an alliance with the Capellos I would put a bullet in her dizzy head.”

“She’s your wife.”

“Yeah, I could always get another one.”

“Where are we going?”

“I just need to take care of something before we go to dinner.”

“I have reservations for eight.”

“It’s not going to take long. What’s up? Why’d you invite some broad?”

“I invited Labria to dinner first. You’re the one that showed up unannounced.”

“Who is this woman?”

“Someone I’m seeing. You have to be nice to her.” I warned.

“Do I now? I’m a nice person.”

“Great, just be cool.”

“I’m cooler than you’ll ever be. Bring her to Vegas. We can go see some shows.”

“Never.”

“Never?”

“I don’t want her asking any unnecessary questions. I don’t want her to know anything about you, Vegas or your lifestyle.”

“Fine, live this uneventful life.”

After a quiet twenty-minute drive into a neighborhood north of the city limits. We stopped at an office building in the middle stages of being built. There was a solid structure but it lacked windows on the upper floors. There were many no trespassing signs as we entered the property.

Lefty parked the car a few feet from the entrance. There was a young Black man standing near the door. He was in sneakers and causal attire. His stance was one that signaled he was there for a reason. I just didn’t know why. The building was just a construction site. I’m sure there wasn’t anything to steal from this location.

“Let’s do this.” Nicco looked over at me and his bodyguard opened his door.

Let’s do what? Why did he always have to include me in his illegal activities? I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was something I didn’t want to witness or be a party to. Nicco never respected my boundaries. I think he did this because he wanted to share his experiences to lure me into the life. Or maybe he just trusted me in a way that made him feel safe.

I stepped out the car and followed Nicco to the entrance. I turned back to see Lefty leaning on the car lighting a cigarette. Righty was walking closely behind me. Nicco stopped at the Black kid.

“What’s your name kid?” Nicco asked the stone-faced kid.

“Jamal, Mr. Bregoli. It’s an honor to meet you, sir.”

“Cenzo mentioned you. You keep up the good work. Stay alive. We got more work for you.”

“Yes sir.” The kid bowed to Nicco like he was royalty. This was the most ridiculous shit I’d ever seen, straight out of the mob movies. Dominicco was an underboss not Prince Harry. I glared at the kid as I moved pass him. The criminal element would be funny if they weren’t dangersous.

To my surprise he unfinished building had a working elevator. Lefty somehow knew what floor we were headed to and pushed the button when we entered the steel cage.

We stepped off the elevator at the twenty-first floor. We walked behind Nicco’s huge burly bodyguard. It was uncomfortable being around all this muscle. I didn’t know how he could stand not having day-to-day privacy. It was rare we could go out and do things without his men. Their presence was unnerving and I just couldn’t figure out how it didn’t seem to bother him at all.

“What is this?” I asked.

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