CHAPTER FOUR
Angel
SURPRISING MY FAMILY was no small feat since they lived in a goddamn gated fortress. First, I had to convince the gate guards to let me in without announcing me. They thoughtfully radioed ahead and asked the property guards not to shoot us on sight. There was a good chance that my old man was listening in on his radio, but that couldn't be helped.
When we reached the door, I rang the bell and turned my back on the security cameras. Bones and I wore matching black outfits: pants tucked into combat boots, jackets with official crests on the arm under Kevlar vests that marked us as "Police" on the front and "SWAT" on the back. "SWAT" caps hid our faces, and realistic-looking squirt guns were holstered at our hips, and billy clubs were dangling at our hips. In addition, the numerous pockets of our pants were stuffed with handcuffs, rubber gloves, and enough silly string to cover the entire city of Las Vegas. I had no clue where Bones had gotten the costumes, but I was fairly certain they were authentic, and I couldn't wait to see my father's reaction.
I spun around as the door opened, a little afraid I'd get shot if I didn't show my face immediately. The old man stood in the doorway with a security guard hot on his heels. His eyes widened as he looked from me to Bones, and then back to me. Then he slapped his leg, threw back his head, and laughed harder than I'd ever heard him laugh before. The security guard eyed Bones and me, with one hand on the gun in his pocket. Then he must have recognized us, because he chuckled and shook his head appreciatively.
"Al! Come look at these pigs on my doorstep!" Father shouted, sliding aside and waving for Cousin Alberto.
My grandmother's cousin, Alberto, hobbled over to the door, took one look at us, and practically spit out his dentures.
"That's the best thing I've ever seen," he said, when he could finally breathe again. "You've gotta get a picture of this, Dom."
Still chuckling, Father disappeared for a few moments and then reappeared with a camera around his neck.
"Those are some costumes," he said. "Looks like the real thing. Where'd you get them?"
I held my hands up. "Don't look at me. This was all Bones's idea."
"I know a guy," Bones said with a shrug.
"Those guns real?" Cousin Alberto asked, pointing at my holster.
I drew my plastic weapon, spun it around my index finger, and then proceeded to water the potted plant next to the door. This only made them laugh harder.
Cousin Alberto shook his head. "The guys aren't gonna believe this. Dom, you gotta get a picture of me with these clowns."
Father had his security guard snap a variety of pictures: Me and Bones arresting Cousin Alberto and Father, us about to beat them with our billy clubs, and them stealing our guns and squirting us. Father was still chuckling when my seven-year-old little sister, Luciana, came around the corner wearing a long, frilly purple dress.
"Wow! Look at you!" Father scooped her up in his arms and kissed her forehead. "The most beautiful princess I've ever seen."
"Where's your wand?" I asked.
She grinned, opening the little purse draped over her shoulder. "I don't have a wand. I have throwing stars." She flashed me a handful of plastic toy weapons. "Mamma says a princess needs to be able to protect herself and wands are stupid."
I laughed. Yep, that sounded exactly like something Mamma would say.
"I do have glass slippers, though," she said, showing me her feet. "Girls have to look good when they fight."
"Better not lose them," I warned. "If some guy shows up on the doorstep with your shoe, he's gonna be eating it. You know that, right?"
She giggled. "Boys are gross, Angel."
"Damn right they are."
"Where's Georgie?" Father asked Luciana.
"Here, Daddy!" her twin, Georgio, said, strutting down the stairs, dressed in a breastplate over a tunic with chain mail sleeves and waving a long plastic sword. His black pants were tucked into fur-lined boots, and on his head he wore a helmet with what looked like a spear point coming out of the top and some sort of winged emblem on the front.
"Angel!" He shouted, jumping the last few steps then running to greet me. "Can you guess who I am?"
My little brother was a history buff, who loved stories of old warriors and their battles. This was his second year dressing as Genghis Kahn.
"Great costume, Georgie," I said. "You look even better than last year. Where's everyone else?"
Last year my sisters Sonia and Sofia had dressed as storm troopers, and I couldn't wait to see what costumes they'd chosen this year.
"Dante is out with friends, and Sonia and Sofia think they're goddamn grown." Father gave Luciana one last kiss on the cheek before passing her to me. "They're at some dance their school is putting on."
Sonia and Sofia were thirteen and eleven, and I wouldn't be surprised if my old man had locked them both up in chastity belts. "You let them go to a dance? With boys?"
He ran a hand through his hair, clearly stressed at the idea. "Hell no. They went with girlfriends, your mom, and four of my guards. Any of those little middle school perverts so much as lay a hand on them, they'll be pulling back a stump."
"Boys need to keep their hands to themselves," Luciana informed me.
"Beautiful and wise, just like your mother," Father said. "Now get the hell out of here. I've got work to do."
Bones grabbed Georgio. Their booster seats had been loaded into my Hummer, so we strapped them in while a black SUV idled behind us. The driver--Georgio's bodyguard--rolled down his window and waved to let me know they were ready. I had Bones, and the twins each had their own bodyguards. Some would call my old man paranoid for all the security, but I'd seen enough shit to know it was necessary. Father would do anything for his family, and there were lots of sick mother-fuckers out there who would use that against him.
Going door-to-door could potentially be dangerous, so instead we took the twins to the Halloween carnival at their private school. We chased them around as they tossed bean bags, hula hooped, jumped-rope, raced, and fished for prizes. Our costumes and the guards standing behind us earned us some strange looks, but for the most part, people left us alone. We were watching Georgio and Luciana compete in the cake walk when Bones nudged my arm and nodded at a pint-sized Batman and Spiderman who had their heads together, whispering and scoping us out.
"Couple of wannabes?" Bones asked.
"Man, I hope not."
A variety of stories had been spread about my family. Some of which glorified the mafia lifestyle, focusing on the shit we had rather than the shit we had to do to get and hold onto it. Sometimes disillusioned kids who lacked parental guidance caught whiff of these stories and decided they wanted to be mobsters.
Batman saw us watching him and nodded like he knew us. Then, with Spidey in tow, he strutted over in his two-hundred-dollar sneakers. The duo stopped right in front of us and waited. I pretended not to notice them, returning my attention to my siblings on the cakewalk.
"Hey," Batman said, leaning against the wall beside me.
I wasn't about to encourage whatever visions of mob life grandeur the kid had, so I didn't respond.
"Hey," he said again, inching closer. "Cool costume."
Bones cleared his throat and stepped forward, crossing his arms and standing with his feet apart.
I glanced at the kid. He looked at Bones and swallowed, but didn't back down. Focusing back on me, he asked, "You Luci and Georgie's brother?"
"Yeah. Do I know you, kid?"
He nodded. "I'm Tanner. Tanner Michaels. My dad helps your dad out sometimes."
Spiderman snickered.
I frowned. Some idiot associated with my father had been stupid enough to discuss business in front of his child. And like most children, Tanner clearly had a big mouth. Michaels. I couldn't place the name, but would have to mention it to the old man. Could be the kid was lying altogether, but I'd have to make sure. Focusing back on the problem at hand, I shrugged and asked, "So?"
That seemed to burst Tanner's bubble a little. He took a step back and glanced around. "Just thought I'd say hi," he replied.
The last thing I needed was some punk kid following me around trying to be a wiseguy. I crossed my arms and looked down at him. "Yeah? Well, you said it. Now get lost."
Tanner and his buddy stood stunned for a full ten seconds before scurrying off like they suddenly had someplace to be.
"You know who his dad is?" I asked Bones.
Bones pulled out his phone and tapped the screen to life. "Nope. But I'm about to find out."
"Good." Any father who'd knowingly put his kid (and our family) in danger just to look cool deserved whatever punishment my old man decided to dish out.
After we took the twins home, we made a drop for my old man and headed home. My condo was a beautiful prison, complete with earthy tones of bamboo flooring, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, custom leather furniture, bold crimson curtains framing floor-to-ceiling windows, all with a view facing the lights of the strip. Every inch of the space was designed and furnished to remind me of my position as heir, in line to reign over the city through force and wealth.
Still, it was the only place I felt like I could really relax.
"Are you sure you wanna go out?" I asked Bones. "Shit's gonna be crazy out there tonight."
He poured himself a glass of water. "That's exactly why I want to go out. This city is your goddamn birthright. You gotta be out there protecting it."
"Right." I couldn't help but chuckle. Ask a wiseguy a question and get a wise-ass answer.
The envelope in my jacket pocket had cost thirty grand, and I had no idea what was in it. I stashed it in the safe in my closet and we headed out again. Bones navigated as I drove us to the club he'd selected. The line was halfway down the block by the time we arrived.
"How do we want to play this," I asked. Being a Mariani did come with privileges, one of which being that lines were inconsequential.
"I got it." Bones pulled out his cell phone and started dialing. "Just park in the back."
After I parked, Bones led us to a back door. He knocked out a tune and a short, sexy Catwoman let us in and escorted us to a table in the VIP section. She pulled two capped beer bottles from her apron, setting them before us. As she walked away, Bones inspected the bottles before opening them himself. He took a sip of my beer, and then waited a few seconds before passing it to me.
I hated this ritual. It made me feel like wannabe royalty, but Father had enforced it the day my grandmother's cousin, Allessio, was poisoned in his own home. I was ten at the time, but I still remember the fear in my mom's eyes as she pulled me into her kitchen and began teaching me how to cook. Ever since, whatever I don't prepare myself is tasted by Bones. And he doesn't give a single fuck about whether or not it's bottled.
As we settled in with our beers, a group of belly dancers drifted closer, rolling their bodies as they watched us over their colorful sheer veils. There were always beautiful girls in the VIP lounge, trying to snag a man of power and means. I'd taken several to a hotel, but never home, and never for more than a night. Bones elbowed me and pointed out a curvy redhead. She was pretty, but all I could think about was Markie, the courageous, dimpled blonde from the airport. I couldn't see her in a place like this, dancing to attract the eye of a potential sugar daddy.
The dance floor was a mass of swaying bodies. A fight between a skeleton and a hippie broke out by the side door, but bouncers swooped in and carried off the offenders before it got out of hand.
"Come on," Bones said, elbowing me again and gesturing at the girls. "Two for you, two for me, it could be one hell of a night."
Trouble was, I'd had enough casual sex and wanted someone who didn't know a damn thing about my family and wasn't with me for what I could give them or do for them. Before I could tell Bones as much, a tall dark-skinned man approached our table and bid us a good evening. He wore a tight smile, a tailored suit, and the hair on his head looked like it was running away from his face.
"I'm Greg Pines, the manager here, and I wanted to stop by and personally welcome you."
"Thank you, Mr. Pines," I replied, trying not to notice the way his presence drew even more attention to our table. Two sexy spandex-clad super heroines waved at us, smiling. "The service has been prompt. Your people are very attentive."
"Happy to hear it. Thank you." He pulled a six-by-two-inch gray box out of his inside pocket and offered it to me. "Please accept this gift as a token of our appreciation of the family, and all you do for the city."
Bones took the box and angled it away from me as he opened it. Since it didn't explode or start ticking, he angled it toward me so I could see the contents. A beautiful hand-carved pocket knife sat atop a dark velvet liner. According to the knife's label, the blade was forged of Damascus steel and the dragon-carved handle was fashioned from twenty-four-karat gold and platinum. It was more than a gift. It was a business offering.
"My father will be pleased," I said, snapping the box closed.
Mr. Pines smiled and tilted his head. "If you need anything at all, please let me know. My card with my personal cell number is under the knife."
"Noted," I replied, careful not to commit to anything.
Mr. Pines thanked me for my time and left, and I went back to watching people on the dance floor as I sipped my beer.
Moments later Bones jolted out of his seat, knocking the chair back. "That lying asshole!" he shouted, glaring at the dance floor.
I tried to see who he was looking at, but the place was packed. "Who?" I asked.
"Matt Deter. That little fuck right there. The one wearing the giant condom wrapper. That bastard owes me five g's. I called him yesterday and he was whining that his mom was in the hospital and he needed to go take care of her. Looks like I need to send him to the hospital. Come on."
Bones glanced my direction long enough to make sure I stood and followed before he jumped over the railing.
I grabbed Mr. Pines's gift for my father and we took off, winding through the sea of bodies.
Matt turned toward us. He spotted Bones and his eyes bugged out. He turned away and headed the opposite direction. We followed him out the side door and searched the street, but Matt was gone.
Bones swore. "I did that dipshit a favor and he took advantage. I can't wait to get my hands around his scrawny neck."
"What are we gonna do now?" I asked.
"I know where he lives," Bones said. "Feel like coming along?"
I didn't have anything better to do, so I retrieved the Hummer and followed Bones's directions to a run-down apartment building off West Bonanza Road. We parked the car and crept up to apartment one-fourteen.
Bones knocked.
No answer.
He knocked again, harder this time.
The door swung open.
Nothing could have prepared me for the person who answered.