“We text,” she says, patting her pocket where her phone is obviously concealed.
The idea of Trick and this wizened octogenarian texting each other nearly makes me laugh, but I see Anvil’s scowl. He doesn’t want to sit with the back of his head available to a mass of people.
With a sharp shake of his head, he says, “I’d block the view.” He adds in a low voice to me, “If Trick wants the balcony, let him have it. No one could be better up there than he could, assuming he shows up before the last act. I’ll take the wing.”
He doesn’t wait for my nod, nor does he need to. The three of us aren’t exactly equal partners, but we’re as near to it as it comes.
“Just you and me, beautiful,” I say, putting out my arm for Sylvia.
She puts a hand on it and lets me escort her to our seats.
A hush falls over the crowd, and I turn, expecting to see Trick looking like a model in a designer suit, but it’s not him. There’s a surprise guest—an unwelcome one.
As Frank Palermo strolls down the main aisle, he’s all smiles. Given the chance, he’d put a bullet in my head; he’s sent plenty of guys to try to do just that. Tonight though, he extends a hand.
I stare at it for a beat, my fingers itching for the gun I can’t pull. I register two of his guys. One’s older than me by a decade and also a prick. His name’s Pauly Mangia. He hated taking orders from me when I rose up the ranks like a rocket. The other guy with a red mop of hair worn in a stupid man bun must be a couple of years younger than we are. I’ve never seen him around.
Frank’s dropped his hand since I took too long to react to it. That’s wise since I wouldn’t have shaken it. He’s a snake who’ll shake your hand then put a bullet in the back of your skull when you turn to walk away.
He’s wearing an easy smile, the big man without a care in the world.
Sylvia speaks first. “Hello, Mr. Palermo. We’re delighted you could make it. If we’d known you were coming, we’d have reserved a seat for you.”
“I thought I heard this one’s open,” he says, dropping into the seat between Sylvia and the aisle seat. “Why don’t you sit at my right hand, C, for old time’s sake?”
“Why not?” I reply, my gaze as hard as stone. It’s not been six months since we buried the latest casualty of our war with him, but he’s buried guys even more recently, so who am I to balk?
C Crue is winning the war. I know it, and apparently, so does Frank. Or what’s he doing here, pretending everything isn’t blood and death between us?
“I’m here for Zoe,” he says casually.
Now that’s interesting. It may even be true. Does she work for him now? Is that how she ended up with our mark on her door?
I exchange a look with Anvil, who I bet is sorry he chose a spot out of reach of the main aisle. Anvil’s gun hand is out of sight; that probably means the Glock is in it. With a small shake of my head, I take my seat.
“Who’s Zoe?” I ask.
Frank opens the program and flicks a finger on a name. “Zoe Arantes. You know her, right?”
Do I know her?Yeah, I know her, I think. Not as well as my cock would like to. Zoe with the dark curly hair, banging body, and naturally luscious lips that look like they’ve been pumped up from too many rough kisses? The quick-talking girl with the ass that won’t quit? Yeah, I knowexactlywho she is.
“Remind me,” I say.
“She’s one of Rachel’s friends. The one who wore the green bikini to Rachel’s graduation party and had all the guys drooling over her. Didn’t she have a run-in with you?”
“Not me,” I lie.
I remember that day well, but I’m surprised he heard about it. Did Zoe tell Rachel? Probably. Had Rachel told her dad? Maybe. Things between Rachel and her old man were tense back then, but it’s been awhile, and things are probably different now. She’s living in his place. And she’s letting his people dress her like a doll, whitewashing his image, at least for people outside the city. How close is Zoe Arantes to that action? I need to find out.
“Something about Zoe being where she wasn’t supposed to be?” Frank adds.
At the graduation party, I’d told all the kids to stay downstairs because our guys were upstairs drinking and talking and I didn’t want anyone to hear anything they shouldn’t. Zoe broke the rules, and we had... an encounter.
“I don’t recall,” I say.
“Sure. Always lots of girls around you and Trick. Hard to remember them all. And it’s better anyway. Now that we’ve parted ways, some girls are off limits. You’ve got a mother. Trick’s got family, right? You boys understand.”
Boys, yeah, right, I think. I let his threat and the jab go unanswered. I was eighteen when Frank recruited me, so yeah, young. But Anvil, Trick, and I were never really kids, not even back then. Life burned the innocence off us way before Frank Palermo found us. In fact, seeing the hardness in me is exactly why he wanted me in his crew.
