* * *

“Mouth, you don’t need to be there. I don’t want you involved.” I checked my piece and clipped it to my side, the heavy weight like a part of me after carrying it for so long. I doubt that I’d stop carrying anytime soon, legit or not.

“I’m coming with you. Who knows what Junior and I would get up to here on our own.” She was holding me hostage with the kid. If she wasn’t who she is that shit wouldn’t carry any weight, but she’d proven time and again that she could get into trouble even with her team three feet away. Maybe it was best I keep her with me.

“Fine, but you don’t say shit to this asshole. You just sit and listen. And Mouth, we’re just going to talk.” Maybe you’ll learn something. Like there’re other ways to deal with a motherfucker than taking off his head. I checked her over before we headed out the door. The meet was in thirty minutes.

“Hey!” She took umbrage to me patting her down. I knew she couldn’t hide her ‘toy’ but Mouth is innovative, she’d use a fucking fingernail file if she had to. She was clean, nothing but lipstick and other girly shit in her purse that had me lifting my eyebrows at her. She ignored me and snatched her bag as we headed for the door.

Once in the car I reminded her again that she was to stay her little ass out of it and let me handle this shit myself. “I heard you like the first fifty times you said it. What do you think I’m gonna do to this guy anyway?” She held her hands away from her body as if to say she wasn’t armed.

Mikey and Tony were overly quiet but I put it down to the events of the day before. I’d already asked after my sisters and had checked on ma as soon as I woke up this morning. Her team was in a car behind us and I’d called in more security just in case. Poppy and his geriatric crew were back at the house waiting for the outcome so that was one less worry.

I knew they were up to something these past few days and as much as I appreciate their trying, we had different ways of doing things. No wonder Mouth’s answer to everything was to break out her little killing device; it’s all she knows. I’m going to have to teach her another way. By the time the kid gets here I should have her ass house trained.

I lifted her hand to my lips as we pulled into the underground garage at my place in the city. I could’ve chosen the club but felt this would give us more privacy. Kowalski had sounded cheerfully hopeful on the phone. He probably thinks he’s going to get his way after all.

We weren’t there ten minutes when he showed up. Mouth had gone into the kitchen and started a pot of coffee and my sisters in law were arguing me to death because I told them I wanted to meet with the agent alone. “I’m right here, what the fuck’s he gonna do?”

“I don’t like it Shane. I don’t trust him, especially now that he’s in bed with the Chinese.”

“What the fuck do you care who he’s in bed with Mikey?” I left them arguing with each other and walked into the room where Kowalski was waiting for me. He stood at the window looking down at the view of the city.

“Quite a setup you have here.” He turned to me with a slick smile. The oil was all but oozing out of him. Fucking government skell.

“Sit down, let’s get this over with.” I pointed to the chair across from my desk and took the seat behind it.

“So, what is it that you people want?”

He fixed his fifty-dollar suit and relaxed back in his chair. “It’s like I told you in the beginning. Your going straight has made things difficult for a lot of people. Your businesses is one thing, but this hold you have on the waterfront is causing some problems.”

“You mean because your new friends can’t use the port to bring in human cargo?”

“Look, I don’t ask these guys how they do business. I’m just here as the middleman. You yourself know that it pays to look the other way. I’m not the only one making deals on the side and I’m not ashamed of it. My old man was a Fed. I watched him work himself into the ground going after criminals and for what? In the end he died a broken man with nothing much but a closet full of suits and a three- bedroom piece a shit house in the suburbs. While the men he’d been hunting lived in mansions and owned yachts, shopped in the best stores…”

“And that’s what you want. What I don’t understand is what the fuck this has to do with me.” Just then the door opened and Mouth came in with a tray. I saw the fucker’s eyes light up with interest as he watched her walk in.

“Well-well-well, who have we got here Flanagan?”

“You even look at her I’ll castrate you, keep your fucking eyes front.” His laugh died when he got a good look at my face. She placed the tray on the desk between us and turned to him with a smile. What the fuck? Wasn’t she trying to talk me into offing this fuck just the day before?

“How do you take your coffee Agent Kowalski?” I watched this little byplay not sure what the fuck to think.

“Cream and sugar. You don’t look familiar, where are you from?”

“None of your fucking business.” I was two seconds away from jumping the desk and strangling his ass.

“Shane, shame on you, is that anyway to talk to a guest in our home?”

She poured two cups and passed one to me before handing his over. My phone went off and I looked at it out of habit even though I had no intentions of answering. That is, until I saw poppy on the readout. “I have to take this.” I started to tell Mouth to leave the room with me but she beat me to it.

“I’ll just stay here with Agent Kowalski until you get back. Do you have children Agent Kowalski?”

“Call me Don.” The fucking sap looked like he was in love and Mouth was laying it on thick. I wonder what the fuck she’s up to.

“You fuck with her I’ll make the IRA look like the pussycat dolls.” I gave him fair warning before heading out the door with the phone to my ear. “What’s wrong old man? You fucks burn down my place?”

“No, just checking in to see how things are going.” I took the phone away from my ear and stared at it. “Poppy you okay? Since when do you call me in the middle of a meet with this shit?”

“Since I don’t like the feel of this thing. You shoulda let me handle it.

‘Too late! Now let me get back to what I’m doing and I’ll see you in a few. Everything’s going to be okay.” I softened my voice because the call spooked the fuck outta me. I’ve never known poppy to be so… I don’t know what the fuck that was. I headed back to the home office because I didn’t want Mouth alone with that fuck too long.

I didn’t quite get the scene when I walked in. She was sitting in my seat behind the desk but they weren’t talking. If he’d said some shit to hurt her feelings I’d end his ass right here. Then it registered. The coffee cup was on the floor and Kowalski was halfway there.

“Mouth, I said talk to him not off him, the fuck did you do?” I think she poisoned him the way he was just slumped over. I left the fucking room for less than three minutes. I knew she was up to some fuck when she pulled the Martha Stewart act, but fuck. And what the fuck kinda agent was he that he was drinking coffee and shit from someone he was investigating?

“You said he wasn’t gonna stop, that he had a hard-on for you. We have to be legit by the time Junior comes, it’s a win-win, I don’t see the problem Don Julio.” She didn’t even break a sweat and my fucking ears were ringing.

“Swear to fuck I don’t know how Chicago survived your murdering ass long enough to become the cesspit that it is today. What am I gonna do with you huh? I’m marrying a fucking nut.” I didn’t know what the fuck I was saying. I’ve been in the game a long fucking time and had learned over the years to adjust to any situation. But dealing with this one was a whole new ball game. Fucking girl just drops people anywhere.

“Hey we can call this whole thing off.”

“Mouth, swear to fuck I’ma pop you one.” She stuck her tongue out at me like this was the schoolyard. Fucking...she’s worst now with the kid inside her. She thinks I won’t smack her one but there are other ways to deal with her shit.

“What the fuck am I supposed to do with this shit?” I pointed at the dead man in my damn office.

“Not to worry.” The door opened behind me and poppy and the Rossi gang walked in.

“What the fuck is going on?”

“Nothing, we’re here to clean up.”

“You checked him Ari, is he dead?” She rolled her eyes at her uncle and sipped on the juice in her glass. “Of course. By the way, there’s a hit out on the whole family we’ve got work.”

“The fuck are you talking about?”

“Oh, I got that out of the agent. Men are so simple, show them a little leg and they lose their minds.”

“You showed him your fucking legs?”

“Not now mob boy, we’ve got to get back.” She hugged the three old men before walking out of the room. Just what in the fuck is she?

Her asshole uncle clapped me on the shoulder. “Isn’t she grand?”

“What the fuck is wrong with you? My pregnant wife just offed a man.”

“She’s not your wife yet boyo.” I drew down on his ass and the fucker grinned.

“You want to fuck with me right now? Did you three put her up to this?” They were all shaking their heads before I was finished.

“Nope, it was all her idea. You need to get out of here let us do our thing. Roberto, you set up the tub?” My eyes went from poppy to her dad who nodded.

“Tub, what tub?”

“You don’t want to know. Get to the house. If what she says is true then we need to call everyone in. We’ll be there soon.” Who the fuck is running this shit anyway? I took one last look at the agent before taking her hand and heading out.

In the back of the car I wasn’t saying shit. I did notice the two up front looking nervous as fuck. Out the side of my eye I saw my nut looking through some magazine she’d taken from her bag. She was looking at gardens. I looked from her to the other two and back and it hit me. I never stood a fucking chance.

“Mouth!” She looked over at me with a smile. “Come ‘ere.” I lifted my arm for her and she slid across the seat to lay her head on my shoulder. I kissed her hair and hugged her close. “You’re not gonna stop are you?” Didn’t we have this conversation before? The two upfront became very interested in our conversation.

“You two knew what she was up to? What about the twins?” She shook her head slightly at them but gave me that same smile when I looked down at her. Fucking girl was running my shit.

“Arianna…”