Zane
I paced downstairs as I waited for Jake to arrive. Isabella was making a commotion, banging and hollering around, and every time I heard a loud thump, I winced. She was a little hellcat, all right, but I couldn’t risk her running away. Not again, not when things were even more dangerous than they had been before. Hell, I would even say they were more dangerous than ever before, but I didn’t like to speak in hyperbole. With my luck, something worse was bound to happen.
Jake let himself in without knocking; I trusted him, and he had a key to my place. I always wondered whether or not he had a key to Lionel’s place, as well. I was starting to really have my doubts about Jake. Something about him just seemed…off.
“Hey, man,” he greeted me, grinning. “How’s that little woman of yours?”
I rolled my eyes. “Locked in the bedroom,” I told him shortly. “Don’t let her out. She’ll try to run.”
Jake raised his eyebrows. “You know, beating your wife isn’t really accepted anymore, kid,” he said with a smirk. “You better think twice about putting your hands on her.”
I glared at him. “Fuck you, man,” I snapped. “I didn’t do shit. She’s all…upset about something.”
Jake laughed. He sat down at the kitchen table and put his feet up, then apparently changed his mind and got up, walked over to the fridge and pulled out a beer. “Mind if I have a drink?”
I raised my hand in the air. “Go ahead,” I said sourly. Waiting until he had slunk down in the chair again, I sat down across from him.
He raised his eyebrows at me. “What’s going on?”
“We need to figure out that fuckin’ coke deal,” I snarled. “You’ve been leading me around for weeks now, and I haven’t gotten shit done, Jacks. You’re gonna have to be a little better than this if you want this partnership to continue.”
Jake grinned at me, a Cheshire-cat smile. “You’re not in a position to be so demanding,” he said, pulling out a knife and picking his fingernails with it. “You don’t get to tell me what to do, Zane. You know only Lionel can do that.”
“And right now, Lionel is on my ass about this deal!” I slammed my fist down on the table. From upstairs, I heard Isabella thumping around, making a racket. I was so fucking sick of my life at the moment, sick of Isabella’s manipulative whiny bullshit, sick of my father, sick of Jake lying to me about everything. I just wanted to climb behind the wheel of my Porsche and drive far, far away.
“I can’t do nothing, man,” Jake said with an easy grin. “Relax, my hands are tied!”
I shook my head. “I don’t believe you for a fuckin’ second,” I snarled. “I don’t believe you at all. You’ve been trying to fuck me since day one, and here you are. If we don’t figure this shit out with the Russians, Lionel’s going to pass over me and I’m going to be nothing. You hear that? I’m going to be nothing for the rest of my life. I worked my whole goddamn life to be successful in the business, and I’m gonna get fucked over by my best friend.”
Jake snorted. “You should have known better than to call me your best friend, Zane.” He grinned at me, exposing yellow teeth. “You should have known better than to keep up that blind loyalty shit all those years. You think your father actually loves you? He doesn’t give a shit. But me,” he said, jabbing a finger towards his chest, “I care about you, man. I’ve always cared about you. But you don’t wanna hear it. Mr. I Live in La-La Land over here! You need to get a handle on life, man,” Jake finished. “I ain’t gonna keep you around forever.”
I laughed. “You’re a fucking nitwit,” I told him, reaching over and cuffing him on the shoulder.
There was an uneasy silence between us. Even though I really hadn’t lied about how I felt, Jake treated the whole thing like a goddamn joke. It didn’t matter if we hated each other; it didn’t matter if we wanted to rip each other limb from limb. At the end of the day, the only thing that mattered was that we were both making money for the family. That was the only thing Lionel cared about.
“Don’t fuck me on this deal,” I said as I stood up from the table. “And don’t fuck with Isabella either. She scares easy.”
Jake laughed, a loud, throaty sound. “I bet she does,” he said lazily. “I bet she scares real fuckin’ easily.”
I rolled my eyes as I dug in the closet for my leather jacket and my boots. From the kitchen, I heard Jake belch loudly and slam his empty bottle down on the table.
“I’m gonna go see the old man,” I said. “If he gives me shit about this deal, I’m gonna come home and cold clock you sideways.”
Jake grinned. “The deal’s gonna happen, man,” he said, holding up his hands. “How many times I have to tell you? I’m workin’ with the Russians right now!”
I smirked. It was the closest Jake had come to giving me an affirmative answer about the coke deal. But it wasn’t good enough. We’d been fighting over this for weeks, and if I didn’t get it straightened out, I knew Lionel was gonna have my head.
“Look, I’m serious,” I said, pointing a thumb towards my chest. “I’m not kidding about this shit, Jacks. We gotta get this shit done. Otherwise, I’m out. I’m done. I’m not like you. I was born into this shit. My dad took you in when you didn’t have anywhere else to go. He doesn’t feel bad about kicking my ass out, he’s sure as hell not gonna feel bad about getting rid of you.”
“Relax, relax,” he said. He held up his hands. “I’m workin’ on it.” He smirked at me. “So that little broad upstairs is off limits?”
“You touch her and you’re fuckin’ dead,” I said, putting a hand on the gun tucked into the back of my jeans. “You are a fucking dead man, and I mean it.”
Jake smiled at me. “We’ll hold down the fort, here,” he said. “Don’t you worry. Have you a fine time, Mr. Zane,” he added, affecting a dopey, Southern-sounding accent.
I stormed out of the house and climbed behind the wheel of the Porsche. Getting into my car always felt like greeting an old friend; there was something about the soft, supple leather and scent of engine grease that reminded me of coming home. Or leaving home. I guessed it didn’t really matter — after all, I was going to see my father. That should have felt like home, but it didn’t. Lionel hadn’t felt like home since I was a little kid.
When I got to the house, I expected to see Terry lounging out front, half-naked like usual. There was a lawn chair tipped on its side and a pink plastic mug had rolled down to the end of the driveway. I frowned as I jogged over and picked it up.
“Fuckin’ drunk slob, drinking and fuckin’ off instead of taking care of my pops,” I muttered under my breath as I threw the pink mug in the bushes out front. I didn’t think much of Lionel’s endless parade of girlfriends, especially not Terry, who was literally young enough to be his daughter. I snorted. At the rate he’s going, he’s gonna have to order a mail order girl next, I thought grimly. He’s about gone through the whole damn town.
Morris, New Jersey, was a smaller town. It didn’t have a lot of people and it certainly didn’t draw a lot of people in. But here, we had a thriving family business. Despite his bad decisions, Lionel had done a pretty ace job of managing things throughout the years. But his health was failing, and I knew he wouldn’t be able to keep it up for long.
That was why that coke deal was so important. It was my job, the thing I was supposed to get done. The thing I had to do to prove to Lionel I was a man, a man capable and ready of leading the business. The thing I had to do to really put my mark on Morris, on the family business, and the Ricci name.
I wondered what Lionel would say if he knew I’d taken a wife.
“Yo, Lionel,” I said, knocking on the front door. When no one answered, I let myself in. The inside of the house was empty and quiet. There was an odd smell coming from the kitchen, but when I poked my head in, I didn’t see anything. “Yo, Dad,” I called loudly. “It’s me, Zane!”
There was no reply.
“Terry? You home?”
Still nothing.
“Fuck,” I muttered, kicking a newspaper where it had fallen on the floor. “This place is a fuckin’ sty.”
There was a thumping noise from upstairs. Frowning, I jogged upstairs, taking them two at a time until I was at the threshold of Lionel’s bedroom. The old man was propped up in bed. He looked shrunken and shriveled under the covers, and I could tell he wasn’t feeling well.
“Lionel, Pops, it’s me,” I said as I stepped into the room. “How ya feelin’, old man?”
Lionel grunted. When he opened his mouth, a trickle of blood came out. A feeling like shock came over me, like someone had poured a bucket of cold water over my head. I raced to the bedside as fast as my legs would carry me.
Lionel looked at me and blinked. He looked older than I’d ever seen him, like he’d aged ten years in two weeks. “Son,” he managed to sputter. “Son, what happened to me?”
“I don’t know,” I said, shaking my head. “Who did this?”
Lionel bobbed his head. He opened his mouth and more blood came streaming out. I felt like someone had kicked me in the gut. It was horrible, seeing my father this way. He looked like he was on the edge of death.
“Who did this?” I demanded. “Who?”
Lionel opened his mouth again. He clutched at his stomach with ancient, decrepit hands. “I…I…” He trailed off. “I…Son…”
“Dad!” Yanking the covers away from Lionel’s torso, I saw he was covered in blood. My heart jumped into my throat and I had to look away. He’d been stabbed several times in the belly, and his innards were leaking out all over the sheets. There was something shiny and pink showing in the wounds and I shuddered, taking a closer look at the mass of blood, pus, and gore. Some clear fluid was leaking from the wound and I shuddered, screwing my eyes closed and turning away. The whole room smelled like blood and shit and I was wondering how I’d managed to miss that when I first stepped inside.
“Son,” Lionel said. He was breathing heavily. “Son, I don’t have long.”
“Who did this?” I demanded again, pulling the sheet over my father’s torso and helping him lie down all the way in bed. “Who? Who was it?”
Lionel’s yellowing eyes met my own. “Jake,” he managed to croak in a quiet voice. “Son, it was Jake.”
A chill went through my body and I shuddered. Somehow, I’d known exactly what Lionel was going to say before he’d said it. I knew he would betray me, knew he’d go after me like this and try to murder my old man. A lick of rage shot through my body. I felt like going back home and beating Jake to a pulp. I couldn’t believe he’d done this. It would have been one thing if he’d tried to kill me. After all, we’d had a rivalry that never quite bordered on playful. But going after my old man? The old man who had raised him and given him everything? The man who had loved him more than he loved his own goddamn son?
It was like getting a kick to the head.
I pulled the gold watch out of my pocket and showed it to Lionel. “Pops, have you seen this watch before?”
Lionel was fading in and out of consciousness. I could tell he didn’t have much time left in the world.
“Pops, look at the watch,” I said, pushing it right under his nose. “Have you seen this watch before?”
Lionel shook his head.
“Tell me the truth,” I said solemnly. “Were you behind the attempt to kill me, to kidnap Isabella? Was that you?”
Lionel shook his head. He didn’t look like a mob boss anymore, but a scared old man, afraid and alone in the world. His eyes flickered closed and I could tell he was fighting for every breath.
My chest hurt. I’d never been close to Lionel. We’d never had the kind of ideal, father-son relationship I wanted, or even the schmaltzy kind you saw in Hallmark commercials. But this was something else; this was intimacy. He was dying right in front of me. I could tell.
As carefully as I could, I pulled Lionel into my arms. He made a muffled cry of pain but then closed his eyes and relaxed. Blood flowed freely from his wounds; the bed sheets were soaked and the duvet was soft and squishy from the gore.
“I always hoped you would take my place,” Lionel croaked. “Always. You were always my son, Zane.” He closed his eyes and let out a long breath.
“Pops?” I looked down on his face. For the first time since I’d seen him that day, he looked peaceful. He almost looked like he could be asleep.
“Lionel?” I asked in a sharper voice. My throat tightened. I grabbed onto Lionel’s shoulders and gently shook. His head bobbed on his neck but his eyes didn’t open.
Tears filled my eyes. My father was dead, in my arms, and it was all my fault.