I see the value in silence when Sonny breaks it.
“Me, I didn’t see it the same way,” he drawls. “I like a man who knows where his priorities lie. Don’t get me wrong, I think it was dumb of you to show ’em that your husband will always come before them…but me, I got no quarrel with that. If I ever shack up full time with Amanda, I’ll put her first, too. That’s the way it should be, am I right?”
“When you’re right, you’re right,” I chirp, and hear Luca give a quiet little sigh.
“Besides, I think it’s smart to keep the Irish onside, especially over that side of the country. Here, we gotta buddy up with the cartels. You think the Irish are bad, popping civilians like your mom, kid? You wanna see what those Mexican cartels do when they’re not happy.”
It’s a real fucking struggle to keep quiet when this asshole is poking right into an open wound like that. But I do.
“We are seeking alliances where we can,” Luca said cautiously. “You know there’s always a power struggle among the Families of New York. We may be small, the Morellis, but we’re a wealthy Family. We have a lot to offer. A lot of capital to invest…in the right projects.”
Sonny lifts up his glass. “I’ll drink to that,” he says, and drains the rest of it.
“If I’m hearing you right, it sounds like you think the Commission might benefit from new blood.”
“Generational! Motherfucking! Change!” Sonny shouts at the roof, like God can hear him. I guess we’re certainly closer to him up here in the penthouse. “We’ve tried to kickstart a lot of new shit here in the West, me and some of the other guys, but the Commission keeps slamming us down. Now, we’ve got a good solid understanding out here. There are no turf wars. We’re all friends. We like to help each other out, so when one business deal is blocked by the Commission, it affects all of us. You get what I’m saying?
Luca gives a grim smile. “So why come to the party at all?”
“We didn’t have much choice. Balls were squeezed, if you catch my drift. We’re still building up our resources, a lot of us out here. Not so well-connected as you East Coasters. Not so rich.” He rolls the last word around on his tongue before spitting it out.
So that’s all Sonny wants? Money? Easy enough.
“Why not break away and form your own Commission?” Luca asks. “Ignore what’s happening cross-country?”
“Aw, you know how it is,” Sonny says, spreading his hands. “They don’t like the idea of losing control, even this far away. Besides, I got no interest in starting a new group. I’m just looking to make a few friends over East. Miami, Chicago, maybe. New York could be on that list, too. Enough to form a voting bloc so we don’t get our business tampered with out here.”
Amanda chooses that moment to swan out of the bedroom, beautifully made up. “Aren’t you done yet, Sonny?” she yawns. “I wanna go out for lunch before the show.”
“Just another minute, sweetheart,” Sonny assures her. He looks between me and Luca. “I never talk business before lunch, boys, and my lunch tends to be later than most. You made me break my own rule. Why don’t you go on and enjoy yourselves and we can catch up tomorrow night at dinner. A dinner in your honor. But for now, enjoy the Luna. Enjoy Vegas. Enjoy each other, eh? You can relax now that you’re here. Second honeymoon, right?”
He gives me another wink. One more of those and he might find himself better acquainted with Luca’s fist, based on the way Luca gives a little jerk on the sofa. He disguises it by getting up and offering me a helping hand.
“Very kind of you,” he says to Sonny.
“Don’t even mention it.”
“It was lovely to meet you, Amanda,” Luca calls over to the blonde, and I’m so damn proud of him. He remembered her name and everything. He’s improved out of sight since we first met.
We go back down in the elevator, not saying anything to each other. I know as well as he does that while there might not be any surveillance in our room, the rest of the place will have eyes and ears everywhere.
“What do you feel like doing first, baby bird?” Luca murmurs to me in the lobby. “Card games? Roulette?”
“Boring,” I say. “I’ll tell you what, let’s go for a walk.”
“Where to?
“All around the world, baby. And we’ll end up right where we began: New York, New York.”
* * *
The New York-New York Hoteland Casino is a ways down the Strip, but worth it to see Luca shake his head in partial dismay and partial amusement at the Statue of Liberty sticking up from the street, and a passable mini-Brooklyn Bridge. There's even an Irish pub, just to make things extra on the nose. I pull Luca in there and we decide we might as well have lunch. Outside the Luna, we can at least talk more openly, within reason.
“So, what do you think of our new friend?” I ask as Luca comes back to the table after ordering.
“Frank’s really been into the Guinness lately, so I figured I'd give it a shot,” he says, sliding into the booth. “But it has to settle or some shit. Sonny? He could be useful. I don't trust him, but he seems like the kind of man we could do business with.”
“I'm glad to hear you say ‘we,’ baby. I thought we’d sorted out our roles. So what was with the hesitation this morning?”
