Merrick’s eyes narrowed at me for a moment, but then he sighed. “That must be it. Anyway, why don’t you come in with us? This hotel has a wonderful restaurant. Let me buy you a meal for your service.”
I held up my hands. “That’s okay. I did it just because stealing is wrong.”
Merrick looked around his group of men and his wife, and they all chuckled, then he looked back down at me. “That’s right, it is. Still, I’m a man of honor. You got back something that was taken from me, so please, let me buy you a meal. I insist.”
I was starving and hopeful that there would be more in it for me if I went along, so I agreed. Merrick shuffled me into the hotel, his wife playing with my hair and trying to brush any dirt off of my clothes, though most of it was permanent by that point.
The first sign that I might have made a mistake came when we entered the restaurant. The doors were shut and there was a sign saying it was closed, but as Merrick approached the door, it opened. The man who opened the door smiled at Merrick and said, “The place has been cleared out for you sir.”
Merrick nodded. “Thank you.”
The door was held open so that Merrick and his group could get inside, including me, and then the doors were locked behind us.
The second, and most horrifying sign came when we all sat down at the table and I could see that each and every one of the men had guns perched just beneath their clothes. I looked over at Merrick’s wife—the woman who would eventually become my surrogate mother, Tamryn—and she seemed wholly unbothered by all of the weapons.
Then the nail. “Merrick,” one of his men said, looking down at me, “you made a nice little friend here.”
I searched my brain for that name until my heart sank with realization. Merrick was a name famous on the streets—he was a mobster, the most dangerous one in New York City.
I’d screwed up.
“I did,” Merrick said. “He got back hundreds of dollars for me, well, less the forty that was stolen.”
I wasn’t sure which was more likely to spare my life, coming clean, or keeping my mouth shut. Savvy though I was, I was still just a kid, and seeing all those guns convinced me that I’d die if I admitted to stealing the money, so I kept my mouth shut.
It was for nothing.
“What’s your name, kid?” Merrick asked.
“Giovanni,” I murmured.
His wife gave me a pitying expression. “Where are your parents?”
“Who knows?” I said.
Merrick frowned. “They don’t care for you?”
“They didn’t want to be my parents.”
Tamryn let out a sad whine. “How awful.”
“Is that why you steal to get by?” Merrick asked.
My eyes widened and the forty dollars I’d shoved in my pocket started to burn against my leg. “I-I don’t steal.”
Laughter erupted at the table, apart from Tamryn who kept looking at me sadly. “So you’re saying if I reach into your back right pocket, I won’t find two of my twenties in there?” I swallowed hard and Merrick laughed. “Relax kid. I actually like that scam. You don’t steal up front, you retrieve lost items and take the rewards, shaving a little off the top if you can do it sneakily.”
Tamryn did laugh then. “He reminds me of you, Merrick.”
Merrick set his head in his hands. “I was just thinking the same thing.”
Shakily, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the money and handed it back. “I’m sorry.”
Merrick pushed my hand away, not taking the money out. “Keep it, you earned it.” Then his smile grew, “I’ve got a job opening, if you’re interested.”
“W-what do you mean?” I said.
“I’ve always wanted a son, and my wife and I can’t have one,” he replied. “If you don’t have any parents and we don’t have a child, how would you like to take the job?”
