“See me outside, young gun?”
I agreed, and after I slipped into the jacket kept on the peg in the vestibule, we walked toward his car in companionable silence.
“I was told,” I said, “that my man made good on the damage done to your bar.”
“Too much,” he said.
“Consider it payment for your inconvenience.”
He stopped and I stopped.
“I know your family name,” he said.
The statement hung in the frosted air, neither of us touching it for a while.
“You won’t be bothered again,” I said.
He waved a hand and then cleared his throat. “To tell you the honest truth, the little excitement got my heart pumping again. It’s been a while.”
We both grinned. I noticed that his front tooth was askew and his nose a little too large for his face. It had been broken a time or two.
“You ever consider boxing, man?” he asked.
“Professionally, you mean.”
“Yeah.” He touched my arm. “You got what it takes and more. Those douches were no easy piece of pie. You’re part brawler, part trained machine. Perfect combo.”
“That’s why you came to see me.”
“Yeah. That and I wanted to be sure you knew that I didn’t call the heat on you. Like I said, my bar is a cop bar. They’re in and out all the time. I was one myself. Years ago.”
“After the boxing gig didn’t pan out.”
He smiled. “Takes one to know one.”
“Tell me the offer.”
“I’ll be your trainer, not that you need much of it.”
“I see.”
“Think about it, man. You’d be a winner. I guarantee it. Your brothers, they look braw too. I’d take all four of you on. That’s what the world calls you? The Fausti Four?”
“Even with our name on the ticket?”
This stopped him but only for a second. “I’ve heard stories, you know. But I’ve also seen the truth—you and your people are ruthless bastards with a chivalrous side. God help the world.”
He wanted to take us on. I could see how eager he was. But I had instincts that were finely tuned. Underneath the surface, he was hiding something from me, or leaving out the most important part on purpose.
“Tell me what’s going bust,” I said.
He didn’t lose stride, but his shoulders sagged in defeat. “My gym.”
“I’m more interested in the business side of things now. I doubt my wife would be pleased if I started boxing. She worries. She thinks I’m a safety risk to the world.”
He grinned at this but didn’t say anything.
“Tell you what. One of my men will meet you sometime this week to go over details. My brother, Rocco, will be in touch as well. If it’s salvageable, he’ll be the one to bring it back.”
