She kissed me on the nose, and then we both drifted off to sleep.
***
The next morning, my phone woke me. Ariana was still halfway draped over my body, so I slid out from beneath her and went to the living room to dig in the pockets of my jacket. I’d missed a call from Angel’s cousin, Renzo. Dropping my voice, I slipped into the kitchen to make coffee as I returned his call.
“Bones, I need you at my back for about an hour. You got time now?”
Like most of the family, Renzo only ever took me in on a job if he needed extra muscle, or if he wanted a witness outside of his team. I had my own shit to do—like finding Joey Durante so Carlo would stop breathing down my neck—but I could spare an hour. I glanced at the clock on the stove. It was a little after seven a.m. “Yeah, man. I’m good. Do you want me to meet you somewhere?”
“Nah. I’m close. I’ll pick you up in about ten.”
I hung up and dressed before heading back to my place for a quick shower and a change of clothes. By the time I got downstairs, one of the family’s black SUVs, customized with tinted windows and safety features not found in typical off-the-lot vehicles, was idling in front of the complex doors, kicking out exhaust into the crisp morning. Renzo had one of his security guards—a wiseguy by the name of Paul O’Brian—in the passenger’s seat, so I climbed in the back. Since it was just me, Renzo, and Paul, I figured I’d be needed as more of a witness than muscle. Still, I removed my Glock from its holster and flicked the safety off before sliding it back into the holster.
Renzo parked behind a small restaurant not far from the strip and studied his phone. “Our mark’s name is Jimmy. He’s alone in a booth on the northwest corner.” His tone was angry, and his words were clipped, as he punched the keys of his phone. “He’s angled so he can see all entrances, but I just sent him a distraction. Bones, you and I will go in while Paul stays behind.”
Since Jimmy was alone, taking more than one guard would make Renzo appear weak. Since he needed me as a witness, he’d leave his normal guard behind. Paul didn’t look happy, but he understood how this shit worked. We all did. The families were all about politics, posturing, and perception.
“Warn or whack?” I asked.
“Just watch. I’ll handle it.”
Renzo’s jaw tensed, betraying how pissed he was. This job had to be personal. Wondering who this Jimmy fool was, I followed Renzo to the back door of the restaurant. He tapped twice, and a waitress let us in. We hurried through a dirty kitchen that smelled of pancakes, bacon, and sausage into a darkened dining room with the shades drawn against the rising sun. The muted light made it easy to find the booth in the northwest corner. A waitress stood with her back to us, coffeepot in hand, partially blocking a man wearing a blue cap. I couldn’t see anything below the cap, which meant Jimmy couldn’t see us, either.
The booths on either side of Jimmy’s were empty. Diner traffic this early was low, but there were still enough tourists to get a possible witness on the stand. Wondering how Renzo planned to play this out, I followed as he slid into the seat across the table from Jimmy and leveled a gun at him. The waitress excused herself and I took her spot, standing to block the view of onlookers.
Jimmy looked familiar. He was in the middle of taking a bite of his waffle, and it took him a second to figure out what was going on. When he finally homed in on the gun in Renzo’s hand, he stiffened, and the color drained from his face. Then he slowly lowered the fork back to his plate and offered Renzo a sickly smile.
“Ren. Hey man, I’ve been looking for you. My phone broke and I—”
“Cut the shit, Jimmy,” Renzo said, gesturing at the phone on the table. “I tracked you through that, you dumbass. Thought you’d never leave the house. I’m glad you did so I didn’t have to go inthereafter you.”
Renzo filched a piece of bacon from Jimmy’s plate and stuffed it in his mouth. “Goddammit, I can’t believe you put me in this position,” he said around bites. “Of all the low-life, scum-sucking, bottom-feeding bastards out there, she had to choose you.”
Sweat beaded across Jimmy’s forehead. “You gotta listen to me,” he pleaded. “I… I made a bad bet, but I’m workin’ my ass off to get the money, I promise. I’d have it for you now, but Ellie has to get braces and my insurance doesn’t—”
“Shut the fuck up!” Renzo snapped. He shoved the last bite of bacon into his mouth and then wiped his hands on a napkin. “Stop using my niece as an excuse to be a fuckin’ loser.”
What?His niece? That meant Jimmy had to be Isobel’s husband, and therefore Renzo’s brother-in-law. No wonder he looked familiar, Angel and I had been at their wedding. I swore under my breath as all the pieces clicked together. No wonder Renzo was pissed.
“You should have made wiser bets,” Renzo said between gritted teeth. “I told Isobel not to marry you. I can’t believe I let her talk me into throwing you some business. You got my ass called to the carpet, and now I have to deal with you or appear weak to the family. You left me no goddamn choice.”
Jimmy’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. It would have been comical if the situation weren’t so deadly. “W-w-what do you mean, deal with me?”
Renzo gave him a flat stare. “What the fuck do you think I mean?”
“You c-c-can’t. Isobel will n-n-never forgive you.”
Renzo calmly slid his gun back into his pocket and pulled on a pair of gloves. When he was finished, he leveled his weapon back at Jimmy, and said, “Search him, Bones.”
Taking my cue from Renzo, I released the grip on my holstered Glock to pull on the gloves I carried in my jacket before frisking Jimmy and relieving him of his Beretta 92, which I then passed to Renzo.
“Now pick up your phone and text my sister. Tell her you screwed up and you’re sorry. Tell her you can’t live with the guilt anymore.”
Jimmy’s eyes went wide. “N-no.”
“Think, Jimmy. Don’t make this harder than necessary. I can still protect her and Ellie, but I can’t protect you. You made damn sure of that when you screwed over my family. Pick up the fucking phone and be a goddamn man for once in your pathetic life.”
Hands shaking, Jimmy did as he was told. His fingers flew over the face of the screen as he composed the message.
