There were a few customers, some eating and talking, some with their computers out. I spotted Dante and steered Colleen over toward his table. He was talking with an old lady with white hair in a frizzy mess on her head. She was gesturing wildly and he was nodding with a smile on his lips.
Dante was a big guy, muscular, blue eyes, hair cut short. His tattoos peeked up from the edges of his perfectly tailored suit, crawling up his neck and down onto his hands. He looked good, like he was keeping himself in shape, and he wore one of his trademark bespoke suits in black and white.
“Listen, Mrs. Garcia,” Dante said to the old woman. “I promise, I’ll find your cat. Okay? I’ll put my boys on it right now.”
“Thank you, Dante, you’re a very good boy, you’re all very good boys. Oh, I remember when I was your age, things were so different, and I just—”
Dante gestured for one of his guys to come over. He stood as Mrs. Garcia kept talking and stepped away. Dante’s soldier took his place and nodded along as Mrs. Garcia spoke, not missing a single beat.
“Steven,” Dante said, coming over to me. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Hey Dante.” I gave him a grin. We shook hands and hugged, and his hand lingered on my shoulder.
“Fucking hell, man, you don’t come around enough. Sergio was just talking about you.”
“Yeah? What’d that old bastard have to say?”
“Nothing good, nothing good. You know him, always complaining.”
I laughed, and shrugged. It was just like old times.
“You can tell Sergio that I’m a Capo now, and he needs to show some respect,” I said.
Dante laughed at that and I grinned at him. We both knew Sergio would never show anyone respect, except for Don Leone himself.
Dante’s eyes moved over to Colleen and he tilted his head. “Who’s this?” he asked.
“Dante, this is Colleen,” I said. “And Colleen, this is Dante, my former boss.”
“Charmed,” Dante said.
Colleen smiled a little. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
“Where’d you find her?” Dante asked.
“He shot me,” Colleen said.
Dante stood still for a second then looked at me. “She joking?” he asked.
“We should sit,” I said. “I’ll tell you about it.”
Dante sighed and shook his head. “Never pegged you for the type,” Dante said. “Just shooting innocent bystanders.”
Colleen made a face. “He’s definitely that type. Have you met him? Total asshole.”
Dante laughed and I glared at Colleen. I steered her away and toward a table in the far corner, away from the other patrons. Dante joined us, nodding over to the kid behind the counter, who instantly started making a few coffees. I put Colleen on the bench in the corner and sat next to her, while Dante sat down in a chair across from us. He leaned back as the kid behind the counter returned with three espressos.
“Anything else, Dante?” he asked.
“Nah, we’re good, thanks.” Dante looked at me as the kid walked off and leaned forward on his elbow. “All right, tell me what happened. How’d you end up shooting this nice girl?”
I glanced at her. “She was a bystander at the hit a couple nights ago,” I said.
“Heard about that,” Dante said. “Starting shit with the Celtic Club. Good for you, never thought you’d go for it.”
“Fuck them,” I said. “Anyway, she was in the bodega where those Club soldiers sell their smack. One of my soldiers unloaded on them and went a little wild.”
“More than a little,” Colleen said.
“Shit happens,” Dante said. “That’s not so bad. Where’d you get hit?”
“My shoulder,” she said. “Still hurts like hell.”
“Dr. Chen fix you up?” he asked.
“Sure did,” she said.
“Good.” Dante nodded to me. “Good job, taking care of her.”
“Couldn’t let her go, you know?” I said, my voice low.
“Hey, you made the right call.” Dante sighed and stirred his coffee then took a sip. “She saw it all go down, right?”
“More or less,” I said. “Shop owner was there too, but we left him alive long enough to tell the Club what happened.”
I saw Colleen stiffen and her eyes went wide. “You killed that guy?” she asked.
“You don’t even know his name,” I said.
“But… he just ran a shop. You didn’t have to hurt him. He was a nice man.”
I snorted and grinned. “We didn’t touch him, don’t worry,” I said.
Dante laughed. “Don’t fuck with the girl, man.”
“I know, I can’t help myself,” I said
She glared at us. “How is that funny?” she asked. “I thought you killed an innocent man.”
“Guess it’s not funny,” I said. “Fucked up that you’d think I’d kill a random guy, though.”
“You said your boss might kill me for witnessing a hit,” she said. “How is that different from him being there?”
I leaned toward her. “Your uncle is Mathis Colley,” I said, my voice low and soft. “That’s how it’s different.”