Father chuckled, clapping me on the back. "I've taught you well."
I'd learned that lesson from him while he was standing over the mutilated body of one of his distant cousins who'd broken ourOmertà,or code of silence, and flipped on the family. There's a Sicilian proverb Father likes to quote... "He who is deaf, blind, and silent will live a thousand years."
"What's going on with that phone deal you made with your buddy Johnny?" Father asked.
I tensed, wanting to discuss anythingbutthe phone deal. It had been almost two weeks since the family had lifted a hundred and fifty unlocked new-gen cell phones. I'd been brought in on the deal because each of the phones came with a built-in tracking device. Removing them without giving away our location had been tricky and included a four-hour ride in the back of a box truck with a chip fryer. Father had asked me to recommend a buyer, and because I wanted to impress him with my contacts, I suggested my friend from high school, a loosely-connected fence by the name of Johnny Dominas.
Johnny had jumped at the offer to work with my family, but didn't have the money upfront. Father, feeling unusually gracious that day, gave him one week to sell the phones and come up with the dough. I'd made the drop and arranged a time and location for the payout. Everything was going as planned until Johnny didn't show. Even worse, he'd vacated his apartment and skipped out. Bones had all of his contacts searching for the weasel.
Since admitting I'd lost the fence would disappoint the old man, I said, "We're working on it."
Father's eyes narrowed. "Can you get my money or not?"
Father had four core values: family, respect, loyalty, money, usually in that order. Ripping him off affected all four, and he saw it as pissing on everything he held dear. I didn't want my friend to end up dead, so I was hoping to find him before my old man put a target on his head.
"Yes," I said with more confidence than I felt. "I'll find him."
Father frowned. "You never lose sight of someone who owes you. That's bad business, Angel."
His displeasure felt like a knife in my side. Especially since I knew he was right. I'd allowed myself to be suckered by friendship.
"Yessir."
"I never take my eyes off anyone." He watched me for a moment before reiterating, "Anyone."
"I know you don't."
"Well, apparently Johnny doesn't know a goddamn thing. Not only did your boy blow my money at the track, but he also has a good-sized marker there. Now he's hiding out, thinking I don't know where he is and what he's been up to."
My stomach sank. Johnny was the definition of stupid.
"Sounds like your friend needs a little motivation... a little reminder of why he needs to pay his debts. You know what you gotta do, Angel."
Mamma smiled encouragingly at me. She'd done the same thing when I was twelve and about to leave with Father to make my first hit and become a made man.
"Ohluce dei miei occhi," Light of my eyes - my mother's nickname for me. "Marianis must become lions because we live in a world of predators. We have to show strength and power so they do not think we're weak and try to attack us. Your father has worked very hard to bring us to the top of the food chain--to turn us into lions--and now you must be brave and strong enough to keep us there. Understand?"
"Have you ever popped someone?" I asked.
She smiled down at me and nodded. "The first time, you were a baby and one of our enemies came for you. He didn't care that you were only a few days old, he wanted to extinguish the family line. I sent him straight to hell where he belongs. We protect those we love." She bent and retrieved a small pistol holstered at her ankle, hidden beneath her dress pants. She held it in the air for me to see. "Sometimes this is the only way to do that."
Yes, I knew what I had to do. "Where is Johnny?" I asked.
Father patted me on the back. "Patience, Angel. I'll give you a call later this week."
"Yes sir. I'll wait for your call."
Bones was done with his game. Ready to go home, I waved him over.
"Luce dei miei occhi," Mamma said, stopping me to wrap me in a hug. "A friend wouldn't have put you in this position. Remember that."
Knowing she was right, I nodded and headed out.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Angel
WEDNESDAY MORNING, I got a call from the old man about a conference room I needed to bug. He'd been tipped off that a few of the city officials would be holding a meeting there and wanted full audio and visual installed. Since time was limited, I called in two of my team to help. They met me and Bones at the hotel, where we paid off Father's contact and got to work.
