“Hmm?”
“You should get mama one too,” he said thoughtfully.
Your mother isn’t fond of wearing things I buy her.
I hid my suddenly grumpy mood behind a lick of ice cream. “Maybe you should give her one.”
“Okay.” Brady looked around. “It’s gonna get torn down, isn’t it?” he said, voice low.
Damn, this son of mine was perceptive. “That’s the plan.”
“That’s what Rayko said. It would be good to build this place new, but….” Brady licked his ice cream. “Teddy won’t leave, will he?”
I chuckled. “Teddy has rent control for life.”
Brady’s confusion was priceless.
“It means he’s loyal, a friend. And I want him to open a brand-new shop when we rebuild.”
“I would like to be an ice cream man,” Brady said excitedly. “Do you think he’d take me as an apprentice?”
“If that’s what you want,” I offered.
That was the dream of America, wasn’t it? To let your ambitions climb to the heavens and see them become reality. If my boy wanted to spend his days sweating over vats of cream, sugar, and ice, then so be it.
I wouldn’t stand in his way.
But I had a feeling he would take after me. Once I could open up my world to him, piece by piece. That inquisitive nature would see opportunity in the underworld. He would crave the risk to try new things.
And by the grace of any god listening, I would help him on his way. I hadn’t given him the red bracelet to protect against the evil eye. Believing in that crap was for old women and zealots. I gave him the symbolic cord as a promise to myself. He was mine, and I would protect him. Plus, there was a part of me that liked sharing our heritage with him.
Feeling a rush of renewed determination, I shot Rayko a text. I told my second that we needed to convince the commissioner that it was for the best to rebuild this area. That progress meant breathing new life into the old.
Rayko’s response was that Commissioner Dallas was still skittish.
We would handle that. It was time to apply a little pressure since playing nice had only stalled us with paperwork.
“Let me get you a napkin, Brady,” I laughed, seeing more caramel on his cheek. I plucked one from the box at the end of the table. “Can’t have your mom seeing you like this.”
“Mama is coming?” Brady perked up. “She likes key lime ice cream. Or strawberry rhubarb. Or dark-darkchocolate.”
“Did Teddy have those flavors?” I shot a look over my shoulder but couldn’t read the little signs from here.
“No.”
“Well, we’ll see if he can make some.” But when he opened, the rent control would come with the stipulation that those three flavors were always in his case. As I stood, my knee gave a little pop. I winced. Getting older was a bitch.
I was about to call for the ice cream man, when a violent crash made the neon sign on the wall shudder. The front door was thrown wide, allowing four men to burst into the shop.
In a rush, I grabbed Brady, yanking him up and tossing him over the counter. “Find Teddy!”
The men advanced in a black, boiling rush. Ski masks. Hoodie strings knotted tight. One of them carried a steel pipe, another a heavy canvas duffel, another a pistol. He handled it carelessly, making it look like a prop.
How fucking dare they.
“Out of the way!” The words ricocheted around the empty shop, bouncing off tile and glass.
I took a loose stance in front of the counter, ready for war. “No.”
