Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 95956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 95956 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 480(@200wpm)___ 384(@250wpm)___ 320(@300wpm)
“I love you too. And god, I hope not. That place is a wreck.”
He laughs, a tired hawking grunt. “Let’s go check on Diego and Emilio. My little baby brother.” He shakes his head. “Insanity.”
“Charlie will raise him. And we’ll help her.”
“Absolutely. She’ll always be a part of the family, no matter what. I’ll make sure Damon takes good care of her for the rest of her life.”
“And Emilio?”
He smiles slightly. “We’ll see what he wants to do.”
We reach the car and climb inside. It’s Damon’s but I find it hard to imagine he’ll complain right about now. Calvino holds my hand as he turns on the engine and we drive away together toward the unknown, but the unknown doesn’t frighten me, not anymore, not now that revenge is behind me and only my world-eating love for Calvino is before me. Once in a while, the future looks bright—and it’s up to us to grab hold and keep it shining.
I don’t plan on letting go.
Chapter 33
Grace
Three Months Later
I fold myself into a big plush seat around a massive oak table and for the first time since meeting Calvino, I feel like I’m really mafia.
Feels pretty good, I’ve got to admit.
Damon sits at the head of the table with Calvino to his left and Jason to his right. Rella and Susi sit on either side of them, and several hard-looking Capos fill in the space, with little old me at the very end feeling extremely out of place and uncomfortable while these scarred, tattooed mobsters glare at each other and watch every one of Damon’s moves.
It’s startling how much he changed since Vince died. The Damon I knew three months ago is gone, replaced by a regal man with slicked-back hair, hard eyes, expensive suits, and expressive hands. Gone is the bohemian surfer. Gone is the laughter. He’s the Don now and his position covers him like a second skin.
I catch some looks. Mostly from the Capos: they have no clue who I am. Screw them. But Rella grins and winks at me, and Susi gives me an encouraging smile, and Calvino’s constant glances send a sparkling sharpness up my core. That man can’t keep his eyes off me for a second. It’s intoxicating. I want to crush his attention and snort it. God, I want to stitch it into my skin.
“Thank you all for coming today,” Damon says, leaning forward with his palms flat on the table top. I remember a similar gesture from Vince that day, so long ago, but still flash-bulb bright and sharp in memory. Sometimes I dream about the paper weight coming up and going down and flicking blood splatter against the walls. Damon had the whole library renovated a week after it happened.
Damon continues (sounding very stern): “As your Don, it’s my responsibility to update the family on what’s been happening inside of our organization. We’re all aware of the turmoil and difficulties, but I remain steadfast in my commitment to our businesses, our employees, and our mutual good will. To honor that, I’ve raised several lieutenants to full Capo, and I am expanding our territory into Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and Venice.” He doesn’t mention that two cartels teamed up to evict us from those territories to begin with, so it’s less of an expansion and more of a brutal, grinding war to reclaim what’s rightfully ours.
“To that end, my brother Jason is taking control of several crews and will work closely with the corresponding Capos to ensure our territory remains ours. Blood will spill, gentlemen, and war will rage across Los Angeles, but we are prepared and we are strong. Cartel, mafia, yakuza, dragon, none of them matter. We are the Manzini Famiglia. We will prevail.”
I feel a chill of patriotic fervor spill over me and I can sense the others shifting in their chairs. War’s scary, blood’s not great, but Damon has a way about him. Stripped of anything that held him back from the family, he’s now truly taken control of the Manzini organization, and though there’s been lots of pushback from all over the city, he’s handled himself admirably. Case in point, all these badass, scary guys still sitting around taking his orders.
The meeting drags on. It’s not all that exciting: most of it is dedicated to discussing financial and legal issues and hammering out long-term plans. Calvino looks bored and I catch a sly smirk in between comments on zoning laws, and by the time the meeting’s done, I’m ready to take a nap.
“How’d you like your first meeting?” Rella asks, leaning over my shoulder. “Lots of fun, right?”
I shrug and grin up at her. “Just happy to be included.”
“You’re happy now, but just wait. We do this every week.” She rolls her eyes and walks on.
Susi’s next. “Glad you’re here though,” she whispers and winks as she hurries after her sister.