Part 4 (1/2)
With that, he gripped the back of my neck, pulled me in, and kissed me hard and pa.s.sionately.
After our date, Marcus drove me home and parked in front of my building. We continued to talk, laugh, and make out like two teenage kids for what seemed like hours. I wanted to take him in the car or even ask him to come up, but I was not giving in too easily. With my insides throbbing and aching for him, I pulled away, kissed him one last time, and wished him a good night. I spent the rest of the night staring at the ceiling and smiling about how wonderful it felt to spend time with Marcus. A night of pure fun was just what we needed after all the heavy drama we'd been through. Sighing, I shut my eyes and hoped that things stayed this way.
CHAPTER FIVE.
MARCUS.
It had been almost a week since Mia and I had rekindled our relations.h.i.+p, and everything was going smoothly. We met up for dinner or drinks three days out of the week. It was hard for us to meet up with our schedules, between her attending school and my working at the firm or meeting up with the guys, but somehow we made it work.
It was a Thursday late night, and I was in Lou's office. Lou called in all of his men, but he wasn't there yet. I stood by the far right wall of his office as I heard the door open. Jimmie walked in with Vinnie. He nodded when he spotted me and greeted the other guys before making his way towards me.
Once he shook my hand, he stood beside me and crossed his arms. ”What's going on?” Jimmie whispered as he leaned in.
”I have no f.u.c.kin' clue.”
”Vinnie was about to drop me off at home after a job when we got the call to meet here.” He ran a hand over his face and breathed out a heavy sigh exhaustedly.
”Who was the job with? I just had one with the Quincy boys.”
He nodded, knowing who I was talking about. ”It was with the men in little Italy, James's men.”
”Yeah, I know who that f.u.c.ker is.”
”Yeah, he wasn't too keen on you either. He said you were a wisea.s.s if he remembered correctly.”
”I was f.u.c.kin' seventeen, and it was my first deal.”
Jimmie chuckled at that.
For the next forty minutes, we stood there in the office observing everyone. Buddy was leaning against the wall, humming a tune as he tapped his foot against the marble floor. Gio sat on top of a desk, scrolling through his phone. Vinnie and Al stood by the door, discussing the previous night's boxing match. Lou had more men who worked for him, but we six were his main guys that were given specific, important, top jobs or a.s.signments.
Before we arrived at Lou's office, some of us were on a job with the Irish cartel. Carrick Boyle a.k.a. Rick was in charge of his family crime organization in Quincy. Rick and his men were known as the Quincy boys. Rick had done business with Lou for many years, gaining a respectable and trustworthy relations.h.i.+p. Everything worked out smoothly with the transaction, so I couldn't pinpoint what could have caused this meeting.
Our heads swung toward the door the moment Lou stormed in. He stopped midway into his office and glared at his nephew. ”Are you f.u.c.kin' dumb or something, Gio?”
Gio's brows molded together in confusion. ”Huh?”
Lou waved his hand toward the antique mahogany desk. ”Get the f.u.c.k up! That desk is a f.u.c.kin' original, imported from Sicily.” He snapped his fingers eagerly.
Gio jumped off the desk, inching toward the far left with both his hands raised in surrender. ”Sorry, Uncle Lou. I had no idea.”
Lou shook his head, walked behind the desk, and hung his suit jacket onto a coat rack. ”Yeah, well, I guess that education I paid for was a f.u.c.kin' waste.” Gio shrugged and then placed his phone into his back pocket.
The six of us moved closer toward Lou, forming a U surrounding his desk. Lou placed his wallet and revolver on top of a stack of papers and then eased down into his chair. Once he was situated, he took a long hard look at each and every one of us, not saying a word-just taking his time, scrutinizing the six men before him. I straightened my shoulders as I shoved my hands into my front pockets. Jimmie, to my right, had his arms crossed and was intently focusing on Lou, while the others waited patiently.
Lou leaned back in his chair, laying an elbow on the armrest, as his index finger and thumb framed his face. Crossing his legs, he let out a roguish laugh. ”I call bulls.h.i.+t.” Each of us gave the others questioning glares and then turned our attention back on Lou. His smile widened. ”I call bulls.h.i.+t because it's come to my attention that someone in this very room has been lying to me.”
My breathing remained steady, but I felt a rush of heat course through my veins. Jimmie s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably beside me. As I quickly glanced over at him, I could see his forehead becoming damp. It was warm in the s.p.a.ce we occupied, but I knew my brother. He was f.u.c.king nervous. No one seemed to notice the change in his demeanor but me.
Come on, Jimmie, don't f.u.c.k this up.
”For years, I truly thought my men were loyal.” Lou sucked his teeth three times as he slowly shook his head. ”Tsk, tsk, tsk. Shame on me for believing there were still devoted men in this world.” After one hard look at each of us, he uncrossed his legs and leaned into the desk. His elbows were placed on top of the wooden surface. He pointed an index finger and brought it toward his lips as his thumb rested beneath his chin. He sat in deep thought for a short period of time.
”What to do?” Lou questioned in a low voice. Then, as if something lit up in his head, he spread his arms wide with a c.o.c.ky grin. ”Ah, that's right. If I need something done, I must do it myself!” He stood from his chair, straightened his shoulders, and cracked his neck. Reaching for his revolver, he tightened his grip around the handle, twirling and examining the black metal piece in his hand. Everyone straightened, adjusting their positions.
Lou walked around the desk until he was in the center of us. He slowly walked back and forth with his left hand behind his back. He gestured with his right hand, tightly holding the gun, as he spoke, ”See what I don't understand is, while thinking back on it all, I truly thought I took very good care of my men.” Stopping to face me, he angled his head and asked, ”Do you think I do, Marky? Take good care of my men, that is?” I gave a curt nod in response. With a crooked grin, he tapped the cold metal gun in his hand along the side of my face, turned, and made his way back to the center. All traces of humor washed away from his features as he stood tall and eyed every one of his men before him. ”If I take good care of my men, then tell me why the f.u.c.k am I having this f.u.c.kin' conversation!” His arms spread wide as he glanced around the room like a lunatic.
”Tell me!” Lou's face was slowly turning red as his anger built. It was dead silent. The drop of a pin could be heard a mile away. Landing his glare on Vinnie, he pointed his gun. ”Vinnie, you got something to say?”
Vinnie shook his head. ”No, boss.”
”Hmm.” Then Lou's arm s.h.i.+fted over to Buddy. ”Buddy, what about you?” Lou asked.
Buddy raised a brow. ”I'm the most loyal to you, Lou.”
Amused by that statement, Lou smiled mockingly as he approached Buddy. ”Is that so?”
Buddy stood his ground and nodded. ”Yes, it is.” With both hands folded behind his back, Lou leaned into him, their faces mere inches away from one another as Lou drilled his eyes into Buddy's for an awkwardly long time.
As if another idea just popped into his head, Lou swirled around and made his way back toward the center. Raising his gun, he aimed it at Buddy. ”Eeny.” Lou smirked and then began pointing at each and every one of us, as he continued. ”Meeny. Miny. Moe. Catch a Rat.” The gun landed on Jimmie. I stiffened. My body dampened with sweat as my heart thrashed against my chest. All sound went faint, except for my breathing, which grew hasty. Everything around me felt as if it was going in slow motion. I showed no sign of uneasiness as I exhaled when Lou took the aim off of Jimmie and began to go down the row of men again. ”By his toe. If he squeals.” Mischievously, his smile grew lopsided. ”Then let the f.u.c.ker go.” Without a second thought, Lou pulled the trigger.
A loud ringing noise echoed in the room after the gun went off. My eyes traced from the blood splattered on Lou's s.h.i.+rt to Al dead on the ground. He lay flat on his belly, his head landing on Lou's leather shoes. Kicking the head aside, Lou spit on the lifeless body and then made his way behind the desk. The other men, including Jimmie and myself, looked at each other, confused.
”Uncle Lou, Al was the rat?” Gio asked in astonishment.
Lou grabbed a cloth from the inside of his jacket. Removing his shoe, he began wiping off the blood. ”From the sound of it, Gio, it seems as if you don't believe my source was accurate. Is that so?” He asked. After wiping off his shoes and putting them back on, he then unb.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt, replacing it with a fresh one that was removed from the desk drawer.
”No, not at all, it's just when you mentioned a rat, my first guess was Buddy. You know what I mean?”
”f.u.c.k you!” Buddy coughed back and spit at Gio. The saliva fell on top of Gio's shoes.
”f.u.c.k you. You f.u.c.kin' c.o.c.ksucker!” Gio began making his way toward Buddy. The two of them had been going at it for days; it was some unfinished business from years ago before Gio had skipped town. If you asked me, it was really just a compet.i.tion for Lou's affection. They both were like sons to him.
”Enough!” Lou slammed his hand on the desk and began barking orders. ”Vinnie and Buddy, take care of the body. Gio, go fetch the car and bring it out back. I'll meet you down there in five minutes. Marky, you got my money?”
Gio walked out the door. On his way out, he and Buddy exchanged p.i.s.sed-off glares. Buddy and Vinnie picked up the body from the floor and carried it down the stairs. Jimmie reached for the duffle bag that was beside him and handed it over to me. I placed the bag on top of Lou's desk and unzipped it. ”It's all accounted for.”
Lou reached for his jacket, slipped his arms through the well-tailored dark blue sleeves, and smiled. ”Good, how was the exchange?”
”Same as always with the Boyle's: smooth. He placed another order for this time next month.”
Nodding, Lou reached in the bag, took two large stacks of money, and handed them to me. ”You did good, Marky. Keep it up.” After grabbing the bag, he left the room.