Chapter Twenty-Three
Snake
I sit in the car, windows rolled up, music blaring, not taking my eyes off of Jess’ office building. I’m a few minutes early, like usual. I want to see her the moment she walks out.
Shit has gotten so crazy lately. Jess has gotten crazy lately. It’s stressing me out. After her questioning this morning, I worry about her having all day to think about it. Has she figured out that I was the one who killed Jake? Even if she hasn’t figured it out, she probably suspects it.
I nod my head to pumping bass, trying to focus. Why’d she have to bring up killing Monty again? I thought she was over that, and I could pretend I’m not harboring an enemy of the Mariano’s.
I don’t want to go against my family, not more than I already have. And I don’t want to lose her. Maybe our relationship was too fucked up from the start. There’s just so much shit there. Maybe we’ll never get past it.
But fuck that. I don’t care. I want her. I’ll just have to watch her every fucking move until some of this shit blows over.
Jess’s face is ashen when she gets into my car. I slip my arm around her shoulders, and she lets me kiss her on the forehead. Heat rages in my belly. I don’t want to kiss her like she’s my sister. I want to press my body against her and shove my lips against hers, tasting her deeply.
“Can I ask you something?” Jess asks as I pull onto the highway. She plays with her hair nervously, biting her lip.
“Shoot,” I say. Is this when she accuses of me of killing Jake?
Jess turns towards me, folding her leg underneath her. “Hypothetically speaking, can you think of a situation where you wouldn’t be one hundred percent loyal to the Mariano’s?”
I clench my back teeth. “I don’t follow.”
“Like,” Jess continues, scrunching her face in concentration. “Like, if it would be better, in certain situations, to take care of stuff without them knowing?”
“I’m not letting you kill Monty.”
“It’s not that.”
“Then what, Jess? Just say it,” I snap. I don’t mean to be an asshole, but on top of all I have to worry about, I’m sexually frustrated as fuck. “I’m not going against the family if that’s what you’re asking.”
Jess turns forward, crossing her arms over her chest. I feel like total shit. I wish I could pull over, hug her, kiss her, and tell her it’s all going to be all right. But I’m afraid she’ll push me away.
Back at her apartment, my cell phone rings. It’s Anthony. I go into the hallway to talk.
“You’ll never guess who we picked up at the bus station,” Anthony says. “Had himself a one way ticket to a fly over state.”
I press my hand into the wall, cursing silently. “Who?” I ask, playing dumb.
“Matt fucking Walker,” Anthony says. I can hear his self-satisfied smile. “We’ve got him here at the concrete store. Get down here, Snake. We have work to do.”
Click.
I make a fist against the wall. I want so badly to punch a hole into it. But I stand up straight, fix my tie, and get a grip. Maybe it’s not too late. Maybe I can save Matt if I get there quickly.
“I’ll be back soon,” I tell Jess, grabbing my keys.
“Where are you going?” Jess says.
“Nowhere really,” I shrug. I don’t want to tell her the truth, then she’ll insist on coming with me. Salvatore explicitly told me to leave her home the next time. “Anthony wants to grab a drink. He’s going through a lot with his wife. Chemo and all.”
Jess sits on the couch, stretching her arms out, and inviting me to sit. “Do you think he can wait a half hour? I need to talk to you.”
“We can talk later,” I say, hastily checking the clock. I walk over to her, and chastely kiss the top of her head. The last thing I hear is her calling my name before I walk out of the door.
*
Matt looks like shit. He’s tied to a chair, barely able to hold himself up. He has two black eyes. His right cheek is swollen and cut. From the track marks on his arm, I can tell he’s been abusing himself for the past few days. He was probably already weak before they got to him. When I walk inside, Matt sees me. He lifts his head for a moment, and blinks at me with weak hope.
“Snake, hey, man,” Matt groans, before his head slumps back to his chest.
Salvatore and Anthony approach me, leaving Bruno to stand guard over their captive. I quickly check the tracking app on my phone to make sure Jess hasn’t followed me.
“Good to see you left your better half at home,” Sal says. “No matter how tough a chick claims to be, they just don’t have the stomach for the violence we’re used to.”
Maybe they have more sense than us, I think, bitterly.
“How’s the questioning going?” I ask. “Looks like you’ve already done a number on him.”
“He confessed,” Salvatore says, quickly.
I cock my head at him. “Before or after you kicked his ass?”
Sal’s eyes narrow, sending freezing cold laser beams into my chest. Anthony takes the gun from his hip and passes it to me.
“He was your friend,” Anthony says. “He betrayed your family. We thought you’d like to do the honors.”
I look at Matt. The poor schlub has been held hostage by a drug addiction for most of his adult life. No matter how hard he tries, he’ll never be able to get off the dope. Maybe I’d be doing him a favor, but I don’t think I can bring myself to do it. Unlike my past kills, I know for a fact that he’s innocent of the crime he’s been accused of.
I grab Anthony’s gun, pointing it at the floor. “This is ridiculous,” I say. “Matt’s too out of his mind on drugs to pull off a stunt like that. Do you really think the Lombardi’s would trust a junkie to do something like that?”
Anthony shrugs. “All he had to do was pour poison in a tequila bottle. If you ask me, a junkie’s the perfect guy for the job. They don’t ask questions as long as you pay them with drugs.”
“This will send a message to the Lombardi’s,” Salvatore says. “Matt’s just the first rung on the ladder. We’ll be going after Lombardi soldiers next.”
“And start an all out war?” I ask. “We need more evidence. We need to be sure.”
Salvatore steps towards me, planting his hand on my shoulder. His icy fingers dig into my flesh. “Come outside with me. We need to talk.”