His words pull me from my gory fantasies, because he’s right. It sucks—but he’s right.
• • •
Three days later, I tell Kennedy I won’t be in court that afternoon. When worry shadows her face, I’m quick to explain I have some of my own work to catch up on. It’s a lie—Jake is awesome at holding down the fort, and even on maternity leave, Stanton has been picking up my slack from home. But it’s just a little lie—the good kind.
Because if she knew where I was really going, that shadow of concern would turn into a full-blown eclipse.
• • •
The modern-day Mafioso is very different from the olden days of Al Capone, fedora hats, and Tommy guns hidden in violin cases. The Sopranos got it pretty right. If you didn’t already know it, you’d never suspect that Carmine Bianco—the seventy-year-old, dark-haired, leather-faced guy in the back corner table of this neighborhood deli—is the supreme leader of a ruthless, multimillion-dollar criminal organization that the feds have been trying for two decades to pin a RICO charge on. He looks like somebody’s grandpa, or an old benevolent uncle.
Except for the two massive bastards standing behind him—with gun belts strapped beneath their jackets.
We’re the only customers in the deli, so when one of the big guys steps up to me a few feet short of the table, I automatically hold out my arms and he pats me down—checking for weapons or a wire. My whole life, people have commented on my youthful face, my boyish good looks, and have underestimated me because of them. I press that advantage now, and give Carmine an affable smile as I sit down across from him.
“Mr. Bianco, I’m Brent Mason. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me.”
He puts his overflowing sandwich down and chews his mouthful, swiping a napkin across his lips with thick fingers. “You want a sandwich?”
I shake my head. “I’m good, thanks.”
His eyes are sharp, gleaming like a switchblade as he takes me in—my gray suit, loosened tie, Rolex watch. “I don’t know you. I don’t know how you know me—but my money guy said I should meet with you, so here we are. What can you do for me, kid?”
His business advisor is an associate of an associate of one of my family’s longtime brokers. So I made a few calls—because it doesn’t matter if you’re a mobster or a prince: money always talks.
“I guess you could say I have a . . . business proposition for you.” My voice gives me away. It’s hard—tight. I don’t know if he ordered the hit on Kennedy, or if his boys clean up their own messes. And I can’t ask; he wouldn’t tell me either way. All I can do is deal with him, because when you want to get rid of a snake, you aim straight for the head.
He leans back in his seat. “I’m listening.”
“Gino Moriotti. He works for you.”
The old man’s mouth quirks. “Allegedly.”
“Of course, allegedly.” I chuckle.
“What about him?”
Then I’m not chuckling anymore. “How much is he worth to you? How much money do you stand to lose when he gets put away—and I have no doubt whatsoever that he will be put away.”
That gets his attention. He stares at me the way you stare at someone you think you’ve met before, but can’t quite remember. Like he’s trying to place me. Figure me out.
I give him a hand and lay my cards bare on the table.
“The lead prosecutor on his case—”
“The blonde.” He points at me, nodding with understanding.
“The blonde,” I confirm.
“She’s cute.”
“Yes, she is. She’s also very important to me. When this case is finished, I’m going to take her back to DC. I’m going to marry her, have beautiful babies with her, and grow old with her. And I’m not gonna do that looking over her shoulder all the time, worrying that someone from your organization is going to try and settle a score.” I let him absorb that.
Then I tell him, “I have money. I have properties I didn’t buy, cars and carpets, antiques and jewels—and none of them means a damn to me if I don’t have her. So—give me a number.”
We stare each other down.
When he remains quiet, I add in a low voice—just shy of menacing. “Think of this as my big, fat carrot. You catch more flies with honey, y’know? But rest assured that my stick is pretty fucking lethal—and I’m not afraid to use it.”
Laughter shakes his whole body, vibrating the table. “Aye, oh—listen to you. Somebody’s got balls to spare, huh? Sounds like a threat.” He turns to one of the ogres behind him. “You believe this kid, Tony?”
Tony doesn’t believe it. “I don’t believe it, Mr. Bianco.”
“I musta misheard you. Right . . . Brent?”
And as quick as a snake strike, lethal energy radiates from him, like steam from a boiling pot.
And I don’t give a shit—because I’ve done my homework.
I lean forward, looking straight into his eyes. “You’re married, right, Carmine? To the same woman for over fifty years. There’s just something about the girl next door—your childhood sweetheart. The prosecutor? She’s mine. So . . . ask yourself if there’s anything you wouldn’t do to keep your wife safe. Any horror you wouldn’t commit, any law you wouldn’t break. Then . . . you tell me if I’m threatening you.”
Thick, heavy silence blankets the room.
Then Bianco reaches down and takes another bite of his sandwich. As he chews, he tells me, “I like you, kid.”