Markie whistled her appreciation at me as she turned the corner. “Angel knows a guy. Seriously, you look gorgeous, Sis.”
Angel knew all sorts of guys, but they seemed more likely to design guns than dresses. The gown fit like it was custom-made for me. I’d never felt so beautiful in my life. “This is too much.”
“It’s exactly enough,” Markie disagreed.
“It must have cost a fortune.”
She waved me off. “You only turn twenty-one once. Angel and I wanted to make sure you had something you could leave an impression in.”
“An impression on who?” I asked. “Bones?”
“Him too,” she giggled. “But no. The guys wanted to keep this a secret, but I know it’s important for you to know so you can prepare. We’re going to the Acropolis, Ari. Nonna made some calls and got you on the stage.”
“What?” I asked, certain I must have misheard her. “Like for an audition?”
“No, for a performance.” Markie grinned as more tears leaked from her eyes. She fanned at them, complaining, “I’m going to ruin my makeup.”
“Ohmigod!” I shouted as I hugged my sister. She was serious. I was finally getting a shot at my dream.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Bones
“HEY BUD, LONG night? Busy day?” Angel asked, returning from Ariana’s apartment.
“Yeah to both.” I’d been busting my ass and hadn’t seen much of Angel in the past couple of days. “But I finally got a beat on Joey Durante. Things are lookin’ up.”
“Oh yeah?” Angel asked, stepping into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. “What do you got?”
“I’m not entirely sure yet, but I made a new contact… a guy by the name of Martin, who works at a convenience store a few blocks south of The Big Top.”
Angel’s brow furrowed. “How’d you hear about him?”
“I didn’t. It was so goddamn random I still can’t believe it. Been busting my ass for days, and I finally get my first real break because I was thirsty. This guy Martin, he took one look at me and asked if I was Gino Leone’s boy. Said I was a spittin’ image of him.”
“Thatisrandom,” Angel agreed. “How did he know your father?”
“He said the guy who used to own the store funneled messages for your family. I’d think it was a set up, but nobody could have known I’d pop in that convenience store. Never stopped by there in my life. I just got thirsty, and…bam! Anyway, Martin’s been in Vegas a long ass time and he knows all kinds of shit. He said that the Marianis got the drop on the Durantes because they had a guy on the inside. An enforcer who was feeding information back to Carlo. He said the mole was Pops. That’s how he recognized me. Pops used to come in all the time and talk to the owner.”
Angel stared at me, and I could almost see the wheels in his head spinning. “Did you get the name of the old owner?”
“Yep, but it won’t do us much good. He disappeared right around the time your old man took down the Durantes.”
“That’s… unfortunate.”
“Very, but there’s more,” I said. “Maurizio Durante had a niece named Ambra. According to Martin, Pops fell for her. Hard.”
“While he was married to your mom?”
I shrugged, unsure how I felt about that. My parents hadn’t exactly been affectionate, but I hated the idea of Pops cheating on Ma. She’d been nothing but faithful to him, even after all this time. “I guess what they say about mobster kids is true.”
“You never know how many kids a wiseguy has until they die,” Angel provided. “Then all the kids show up at their funeral. Does Martin know whether or not your father and Ambra had a kid together?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I need to talk to this Natalia broad. See if she really is my blood. Matt said she wants to talk to me, but she hasn’t reached out. I’ve been making myself as visible as possible, and nothing. Not a damn peep. She was willing to have Ari kidnapped to get my attention but hasn’t approached me at all. I don’t get it.”
“You seen that Camry again?”
I’d told Angel about the silver Camry with the dent in the right fender tailing me, and about how there’d been a brunette in the passenger’s seat. It could possibly be Natalia, or it could be unconnected. I wouldn’t know until I saw it again.
