Emotion flickered across the old guy’s face, but before I could place it, it was gone. He nodded. “Don’t worry about it, kid.” When I didn’t respond, he added, “Good man. Stand-up guy.”
The way he didn’t use tense wasn’t lost on me. Nobody seemed to know whether Pops was alive or dead, and if this guy knew, he wasn’t telling. Pops had warned me to stay away from the families. I knew he’d tell me to run… to get the hell away from the Marianis.
But if Pops wanted a say in my life, he should have come home.
The old man pulled out a billfold and made a big show of thumbing through his wad of cash. Hundreds, fifties, and twenties floated through his fingers like they were Monopoly money of no real consequence, but it was more cash than I’d ever seen. He tugged several bills loose and offered them to me. It had to be at least four hundred dollars. My mind raced, imagining what I could do with it. I had to force my gaze back to his face and remind myself I still didn’t know what he wanted from me.
“My nephew needs a friend. A guy on the inside who can look out for him. He’s a smart kid, but his blood will earn him some enemies. You do this for me, and I’ll make sure your family is taken care of. Protected. Capisce? Understand?”
My attention drifted back to the cash. I was young, but I wasn’t stupid. There were no Good Samaritans in Vegas. Everyone sought the big payout, and nobody gave away anything for free. “You want me to be his friend and protect him? That’s it?” And he was willing to pay me hundreds for it? There had to be some sort of catch.
“Yeah. You’ll get training. Like I said, you got balls, but we gotta get you in shape and teach you some shit. Other opportunities might arise—chances for you to earn more—but Angel will always be your primary responsibility. What do you say, kid?” He added a few more twenties to the stack, sweetening the deal. “You ready to step up and become a man? Ready to help your mom out?”
The mention of Ma made me pause. Whoever this man was, he was too personal… too familiar. It felt strange, worrisome.
He chuckled. “I’m asking you to be my nephew’s friend and bodyguard, Franco Leone. You better believe I know everything there is to know about you. My family is my world, and I protect them. Can I count on you to protect them, too?”
I knew nothing about the old man. Not a damn thing. Angel, however, I did know. He was a quiet kid. Respectful. Smart. A little geeky. I could hang out with him and watch his back. Especially if it meant helping out my mom.
Before I could agree the old man said, “Leave everything to me. Don’t worry about this bullshit suspension. I’ll have a chat with your principal and set him straight. You make sure your ass is in school tomorrow and every day after. Your mom will never see a hospital bill for what you did to that kid. I’ll handle it.”
Itwastoo good to be true. “You can really do all that?” I asked.
“‘All that’?” He laughed, and his associate joined in. They carried on for an uncomfortable minute while I wondered what was so funny. Finally, the old guy wiped a tear from his eye and said, “Kid, you have no idea what I’m capable of.”
Something in his tone made the hair on the back of my neck stand up, but I was desperate. He offered me the money again, and this time I took it.
“I’ll be his friend. I’ll protect him,” I promised.
Mom’s beat-up old sedan turned the corner and came barreling toward us. Bracing for the verbal ass-whipping I was about to receive, I stashed the cash in my pocket and tried to look apologetic. “I don’t suppose you can help me with her?”
The old man chuckled. “I’ll see what I can do.” He squeezed my shoulder in a gesture that bordered on painful, getting my attention. When I looked up at him, his smile had disappeared.
“He’s putting a lot of faith in you. Do not disappoint him, Franco,” he said.
Before I could ask who this mysterious ‘he’ was, the old man’s smile was back and directed toward the Celica, which screeched to a stop beside his Jaguar.
“Make sure she gets those brakes looked at,” the old man said. “Ron’s Brake and Tire on Decatur will help you out. Tell ’em Carlo sent you. You take care of your mom now. We owe her that much at least.” He shuffled me toward the car as my mom was getting out, extending his hand to Mom. “Mrs. Leone, hello, so nice to meet you. You’ve got a great boy here. You should be proud.”
Mom’s brows knit together in confusion as she looked from the man to me.
“Now don’t you worry about this little misunderstanding one bit. A bully was picking on my great nephew and Franco here stepped in and defended him. It was admirable, and I’m fixin’ to go in there and talk to the principal right now. You have my word Franco’s suspension will be lifted. You’ll be getting an apology call from the principal tonight.”
Ma’s expression softened. “You helped a kid?” she asked me.
I decided right then that protecting Angel Mariani would start with making him sound less like a pussy. If I was going to be his best friend, he needed to be someone I could respect. “He got jumped. It wasn’t a fair fight.”
The old man released my shoulder to pat me on the back and I knew I’d said the right thing. He headed toward the school and I climbed into Ma’s car and put on my seatbelt.
“You really helped a kid?” she asked again.
Well if that didn’t make me feel like shit. Was it so difficult to believe I’d done something nice? “Ma—”
“Don’t look at me like that, Franco. This is the third suspension since your father… disappeared. You can’t blame me for expecting this time to be like the others.”
No, I couldn’t. Especially since I couldn’t have cared less about D’Angelo Mariani when I’d done it. “Yeah.” I patted the cash in my pocket. “Seemed like the right thing to do.”
I watched the old man disappear behind the school doors, realizing I hadn’t gotten a phone number from him. Somehow, I knew it didn’t matter. He seemed like the type of guy who could find me if he needed me.
