GIOVANNI

 

THE VALENTI EMPIRE is slowly crumbling, and I am one of the last remaining survivors still standing.  However, I haven't been surviving well, let me tell you.  I've been cashing in on every favor I've ever been owed just to keep my head above water.

I'm slowly drowning.

Just like that stupid fuck I killed.

And even though The Wolf is dead, I still lost her.

Adeline.

Her name rolls around in my mind like an annoying, little pebble, and I grow angrier by the second.

I lost everything because of her.  She disappeared, and my chances at gaining control of the Valenti empire once again are slowly slipping away.  I needed to take immediate action after her father ended up behind bars.  And every minute she's not by my side is another minute that the mafia family's confidence in me that I have enough power to take over and rule this goddamn city dwindles.

The feds got their hands on damning evidence that came out of the blue, and even Sal's hotshot millionaire lawyers couldn't bail his fat fuckin' ass out of the charges.  I'm sure his sentence will be reduced, but Sal's looking at, at the very minimum, ten to fifteen years.

Fuck, he'll probably be dead before he sees the light of day again.

And I refuse to suffer the same fate.

Sal went down and tried to take me and everyone else with him, but I fled, hiding in the dark, dank recesses of NYC to escape any repercussions of my actions.

I lost my condo, my cars…all my fuckin' money.

Seething, I stare out the window, peering through the slats of a dirty mini blind.  I'm looking for anybody suspicious, undercover cars…really anything out of the ordinary at this point.

I'm tired of looking over my fuckin' shoulder.  I'm tired of feeling like I'm being followed.  And I'm so goddamn tired of hiding.

I know that The Wolf is somehow behind all of this.  Hell, maybe he had a plan in place in case he died.  Insurance, if you will, that if something happened to him, he would burn my whole world down around me.

Vengeance…beyond the grave.

"Ah-ha!" a voice exclaims, causing me to turn my attention from the window and the world outside it to the short, balding, old man sitting at a desk that looks like it's seen better days…in the seventies.

Harvey is an old fuck, but he's cheap, and word on the street is that he's good.  I promised him extra money in due time when I can get my hands on it whenever I take over the mafia family once again.

I'm the only one privy to the fact that Salvatore put an exorbitant amount of funds into an offshore account — a special and secret dowry for Adeline for whenever we got married.  Once I can get that bitch to sign away her life to me in marriage, the money will be mine.  And then I can rule, just as I was always meant to.

Money equals power.

And I will have a hell of a lot of it if I can track her down.

Curious, I peer over Harvey's shoulder and peek at the small, ancient television as some kind of black and white surveillance tape flickers on the screen.

"What the fuck is this?" I grumble.  I pay this man more damn money than I currently can afford, and he's been trying to find Adeline for weeks with no fucking leads.  He's really starting to piss me off, and I can feel the Glock in my jacket pocket growing heavier by the minute.

It wouldn't take much to put a bullet in this guy's brain and walk the fuck away.

In fact, I can't think of anything I would rather do right now.

When I go to reach for my gun, good old Harvey says, "Just watch and wait."

Squinting at the small screen, I huff my impatience.  "It's a fucking parking lot.  So what?"

"Patience, patience," Harvey whispers, giddy with excitement, his old, leathery face crinkling with wrinkles.

I roll my eyes and try to rein in my anger.  "This better be fuckin' good," I hiss.

After a few seconds, I see some movement in the top left corner of the tape.  A duffle bag of some sort falls onto the ground.  And then I see a girl crawling out.

But not just any girl.

My girl.

"Holy fuck," I whisper.

"See?  I told you I would find her," Harvey gloats.

I grit my teeth and glare at the old man.  This is more than he's gotten me in the past couple of weeks, but it still doesn't tell me what happened to Adeline, where she went…and more importantly, where she is now.

As I watch Adeline drop out of the window and twist her ankle, limping afterwards, a sick feeling of satisfaction flows through me.  A twisted grin forms on my face.  I realize I like seeing her in pain.  And this is a new development, seeing as how I was always more of a protective uncle to her in the past.

But no…now I want to see her suffer.  I want that little bitch to pay for every penny that has been taken from me.

I would have been free and clear if she wouldn't have run from me.  I'd still be living a life of luxury with the promise of a bright future as a mafia boss, king of the whole goddamn New York City fuckin' castle.

With the money and power I need, I will be fucking untouchable.  The mob family will protect me, no matter the cost.

And I sure as hell won't be going down like Sal did.  He had way more evidence against him than I currently do.  Hell, probably most of it is circumstantial anyway.  And once I can afford the lawyers I need, I can make everything disappear, if need be.

I'll be free and clear.

Blinking back to the screen, I watch Adeline hobbling and waving her arms.  And my grin widens when I see her getting help from a woman.

Bingo.

When they drive away off the screen, I look at Harvey and tell him, "Find out everything you can about that woman.  I want to know her fucking name and address by the end of the day."

Harvey flashes me a sly grin.  "Sure thing, boss."

My fingertips slowly release the Glock in my pocket.  He has no idea how close he came to dying today.  But now I'm glad I didn't kill him after all, because this stupid, old man found my girl.

I'm still buzzing with energy, and the urge to hurt and maim is strong and coursing through my veins.

I decide to bide my time and save all of my frustration and anger for Adeline.

When I find that little bitch, I'm going to make her pay.

And then I'm going to make her mine and rule the empire with her by my side, like the fuckin' king and queen of NYC.