Stef
“Unbelievable!”
Stef's father had exclaimed this word at least fifty times over the last two days. This time it was from behind the desk in his study, with Stef sitting across from him as her mother sat on a small couch in the corner and flipped through a fashion magazine.
Benny's eyes twinkled happily, and every pearly tooth was revealed in a wide smile. Stef couldn't remember ever seeing him so happy. She'd even caught him dancing and clicking his heels in the halls of their house, singing to himself in Italian.
Stef had felt like singing and dancing ever since her night with Leo too, but she'd restrained herself, trying to seem aloof. Part of it was because she couldn't stand the idea of her father feeling vindicated by setting her up with someone she ended up liking—it still didn't make up for all of the forced and uncomfortable dates he'd arranged for her, or the horrible things he'd had done to Arthur.
But the other part was that Stef felt like a whole new woman after making love to Leo, and she was afraid her parents would notice the change and figure out where it came from.
It was hard to hide it, though. She felt strong, happy, confident—like she could spread her arms and soar through the sky like a bird if she wanted to. The world around her seemed brighter and more vivid. Being with her parents was bearable now that she knew there was someone out there who'd let her be herself when she was with him. The dry, tasteless meals didn't even seem so bad anymore, since she could look forward to indulging in deliciously unhealthy food the next time she was with Leo. And every night, before she went to sleep, her hand would drift between her thighs and she'd imagine how her second date with Leo would end.
Even though Stef did her best to act like her usual sullen, distant self, she still noticed that her mother was looking at her differently—as though somehow, she knew exactly what had happened while Stef was with Leo, and she didn't like it one bit. Gracie hadn't said anything, but her eyes were hard and flinty, and her thin lips automatically twisted into a grimace whenever she caught Stef's eye.
There was only one shadow that passed over Stef's happiness now and then. She didn't have Leo's phone number, which meant there was no way for her to contact him directly about a second date. She'd have to wait until her father arranged it for her.
Based on how cheerful and effusive he'd been acting, Stef figured she probably wouldn't have to wait too long.
“Absolutely incredible,” Benny said again with a laugh. “Gracie, can you believe it? This kid from nowhere—from Canada—walks into my town like some kind of gunslinger from a Western! And when over a dozen bikers show up to grab my daughter—”
“Listen to him,” Gracie muttered, rolling her eyes. “First it was eight of them, then ten, and now it's over a dozen.”
“Ah, who cares how many there were?” Benny replied with a dismissive wave. “The point is, Leo, Silvio, and that fat guy were outnumbered about three to one.”
This, too, was unusual behavior for her father. Usually, he was known for being exacting and meticulous in his attention to detail. Now he actually seemed to be having fun inflating the story more with each new telling, like some amateur fisherman bragging about the marlin he once caught. If Stef didn't hate him so much, she might have found it charming.
“Max,” Stef said. “That's the name of Leo's bodyguard.”
“Max, right. Thank you. I should remember that, so I can thank him properly next time I see him. So they're outnumbered, and what does Leo do?”
“We know what Leo did,” her mother said. “You've told us about a hundred times, despite the fact that you weren't even there when it happened.”
“He doesn't even take cover,” Benny continued relentlessly. “Other people are running and diving and panicking, but not Leo. Instead, the kid plants his feet and ignores the bullets flying at him like he's Superman, and he shoots three of the scumbags. Bam! He even takes out their leader with one shot.”
“'Right between the eyes,'” Gracie recited in a bored tone.
“Right between the eyes. Amazing. Like something from an action flick. The kid's got ice water in his veins, no question about it. And once it's all over, Silvio wants to just grab Stef, but no, Leo's still thinking ten steps ahead. He takes her someplace safe for a couple hours until the heat dies down. I tell you, Gracie, if this kid weren't already going to marry Stef, I'd adopt him myself.”
Gracie raised an eyebrow. “Who says she's going to marry him?”
“Are you kidding? The guy looks like a movie star, dresses like a millionaire, and acts like a superhero. Why wouldn't she marry him?”
“I haven't heard anyone ask her about it, and I haven't heard her say anything about it either. So that seems like quite the assumption on your part.”
“Fine, then let's ask her.” Benny turned to Stef. “How about it? You like him, don't you?”
Stef felt torn. If she admitted how much she liked Leo, her father would feel justified in deciding who she should see. If she didn't, her father might not arrange another date with him.
She shrugged, trying to sound casual. “He's okay. I like him more than I liked the other guys you set me up with.”
Benny smiled triumphantly. “I knew it! You're moping and trying to hide how much you like him, because you don't want to give me the satisfaction, do you? I know you won't believe this, but I actually admire that stubborn streak of yours, and the way you try to hide what you're really thinking so people can't use it against you. You get that from me, and I respect it. I always have.”
You never seemed to respect it much when you were controlling every aspect of my life and punishing me for not going along with it, Stef thought. But I guess you're feeling magnanimous in your victory, huh?
“But finally, we can stop this constant tug-of-war with each other,” her father continued happily. “We can go back to being a loving father and daughter, now that we've found a good husband for you. Unbelievable. Isn't it unbelievable, Gracie?”
Gracie sighed and tossed her magazine aside, looking Benny in the eye. “Yes, as a matter of fact. I do think it's unbelievable.”
Benny's eyes narrowed. “There's a certain tone in your voice, and I'm having a hard time interpreting it. Perhaps you can help me. When you say you think it's unbelievable, do you mean that it's unbelievable...or that you don't believe it?”
“I mean I don't believe it,” Gracie said flatly. “Any of it.”
Benny paused for a moment, then turned to Stef again. “Go upstairs, please. I'd like to speak to your mother alone.”
Stef sighed. “Of course. It's about my future, so why should I be in the room?” Before either of her parents could respond, she got up and walked out of the room.
But this wasn't the first time her mother and father had dismissed her so they could talk about her, and it wouldn't be the first time she'd hovered outside to listen in on them. She'd lived in this house her entire life, and she'd become an expert on which floor panels creaked. She avoided them now as she positioned herself next to the door carefully.
“Okay, what's your problem with all of this?” Benny asked angrily.
“For starters, it seems much too convenient for me. You're right—this kid came out of nowhere. You've never heard of him or his family. You've barely even heard of the man who introduced him to you.”
“Tommy Quattrocchi is a made guy. That's reason enough for me to trust him.”
Stef heard her mother laugh bitterly. “What a bunch of baloney. Off the top of my head, I can name at least six made guys who double-crossed the bosses they worked for, and another six who turned State's Evidence and sent their whole families to prison. And this kid's supposed to be from Canada, right? Because suddenly, there's made guys in Canada? Who ever heard of such a thing?”
“Of course there are made guys in Canada,” Benny insisted. “There are made guys everywhere.”
“Why? Because Leo told you so? It's not like you could check on that anyway, right? Since you don't know anyone up there, and he knows it. 'Canada,' right. Pull the other one.”
“Do you hear yourself? Do you even realize how paranoid you sound right now?”
“And this guy you've never heard of—from a family that's supposed to be so small, no one else has ever heard of them either—he just shows up with some multi-billion-dollar deal that'll make you the most powerful capo in twelve states, and drops it right in your lap.”
“Gracie, I know you don't know much about how the world out there works, but believe me, this kind of thing happens,” her father protested. “Just ask the guys on Wall Street. They hear about big opportunities from unlikely sources that no one else has ever heard of, they act on that information, and they make piles of money. It happens all the time, except that this time, it happened to us. Why can't you just be happy about that?”
“Oh, I don't know how the world works? You're looking for a husband for Stef, and suddenly a handsome stranger shows up out of the blue? And on their first date, he just happens to be put in a position where he zaps your most hated enemies and comes out looking like a hero?”
“Attacks like these can happen at any time. You forget that, because I do such a good job of keeping you and Stef safe. But they still happen, and never when you'd expect.”
“If the whole thing was nothing more than a dog-and-pony show, then this is exactly when I'd expect it,” her mother snapped. “He gets to save your precious daughter and earn your trust so you swallow whatever nonsense he tells you. And look at you! Look how well it's working!”
“I don't like how you're speaking to me right now.” Stef heard something dangerous in her father's voice. “It sounds like you think I'm an idiot and a dupe, and I don't appreciate it.”
“And why would these bikers stop to pick up their friends' dead bodies and take them away? Before the cops or anyone else could examine them? What kind of sense does that make?”
“I already told you. Leo said these bikers tend to be sentimental, and—”
“There it is again. 'Leo says this, Leo says that.' He's got you so turned around that you can't even think for yourself.”
“Fine, so what's your big theory?” Benny asked defensively. “That they somehow staged it? That's completely ridiculous. It's impossible.”
“Earlier, you compared it to an action movie. Before that, you said it was like a Western. You think this stuff is impossible to do? You see it on TV every day. Fake bullets, fake blood.”
“I just don't see how they could make all of this happen.”
Gracie sighed impatiently. “Remember when we went to Vegas and saw that stage magician? His body stayed on stage while his head floated over the audience, singing? I may not know exactly how he did it, but I still know it was just a trick. Believe me, so is this.”
There was a moment of silence, and Stef thought her father might explode with rage. But when he spoke again, his voice was soft. “Why are you being like this? She likes the kid. You can see that.”
“Oh, I'll just bet she does.” There was something about how her mother said it that sent a chill down Stef's spine.
She does know, Stef thought. Somehow, she knows we had sex. Even if she didn't actually believe any of what she's saying, just knowing that I had sex with him—that he made me happy—would make her angry enough to try to derail it.
“So what's the problem?” Benny asked. “Aren't you happy that we don't have to marry her off to someone she doesn't even like?”
“You were prepared to do that anyway.”
“But now we don't have to!” Stef flinched at the unexpected volume of her father's voice. She heard him take a deep breath before continuing in a more subdued tone. “Minghia, you can still make me crazy, you know that? My instincts and my wisdom have built this family into what it is today. Mine, not yours. This is the best thing that's ever happened to us, and I'm not going to crumple it up and throw it in the trash just because my nagging wife suddenly decided she's got more street smarts than I do. I'm done arguing with you. We're paying out the ransom for Leo's father and we're going into business with him, and Stef's going to marry him, and that's that. I don't want to hear another word about it from you.”
Stef only had a moment to wonder what he meant about the ransom and Leo's father before she realized he was heading toward the door. She backed away quickly and scampered up the stairs to her room before he had a chance to see that she'd been eavesdropping.
A ransom, she thought as she closed the door behind her. So Leo's father must have been kidnapped by someone. No wonder he'd mentioned being distracted by it. Unless he hates his dad the way I hate mine—and I seriously doubt that anyone could loathe their parents as much as I do—Leo must be worried sick.
Presuming, of course, that her mother was wrong and Leo's whole story was true.
Stef sat on the edge of the bed, thinking it over. She had to admit that to a certain degree, everything her mother had said made sense. It was possible that Leo was not the person he claimed to be, and that he was trying to scam her father somehow.
But if that were true, would it make any difference?
For that matter, wouldn't it make Leo even more attractive to her?
Maybe he was an undercover FBI agent, trying to bring down the Altamura family. Maybe he was just some con artist, a wandering rogue who'd decided to take her father for everything he was worth. So what? After everything Benny had put her through, Stef had no problem with the idea of seeing him broke or in prison. Either way, he wouldn't be in a position to bully her and ruin her life anymore. She'd finally be free.
And the fierce attraction Stef had seen in Leo's eyes when he looked at her—that couldn't be faked, could it? Even if he wasn't who he said he was, even if he meant her father harm, it still seemed like he wanted her. The feelings he'd inspired in her were certainly real.
The more Stef considered this possibility, the more it excited her. She'd never wanted to marry a Mafioso anyway. She wanted to escape from people like her father. Whoever Leo really was, it seemed like he might be able to help her make that dream into a reality. He could take her away from all this, and they could celebrate her father's ruin together.
And then what? If he turned out to be a Fed, they could keep dating once he'd put her father away for life. If he was a con man, he could take her with him and they could scam people together.
Stef smiled. Even though Leo was probably exactly who he said he was, it was still a lovely fantasy to amuse herself with, and she couldn't wait to see him again. He might be a Mafia kid, but he was clearly a very different person from her father.
She put her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes, wondering what it would be like to live in Canada.