“I thought Angelo Sr. would let Angelo go when he got into college. I was hoping he would have a different life.”
“Angelo never had an option, honey, but you do. You can graduate from law school, take the bar in any state you want, and get the hell out of this corrupt city. I will pay for wherever you want to go.”
“If Angelo asked you if he could marry me, what would you say?”
“Yes.” He said it without hesitation.
“Out of fear of retaliation or because you think he’s the right man for me?”
“Being a parent is hard, Gianna. One day you will have to make the same decisions as me. It breaks my heart to see you with a man who kills people for a living. On the other hand, I know Angelo would do anything to protect you. No one can keep you safer than him. Not even me. I don’t know how to protect you from men like him. But he does.”
“So, you’re okay with me marrying a murderer because he can keep me safe?”
“If this were a perfect world, I would have someone kidnap you and hide you somewhere Angelo could never find you. But I have no doubt that boy would search to the ends of the earth for you. I see the way he looks at you as if you’re his property. It scares me.”
“I could never be afraid of Angelo,” I admitted. “He loves me too much to hurt me.”
“As long as he makes you happy, I’m okay with it, even if I hate what he does for a living. Anyway, I came here today for a reason. Mr. Castelli is coming to see you this afternoon to finalize the deal on the land we’re buying with the Morellis. I asked Jennifer to put him on your schedule for three o’clock.”
I folded my hands on the desk in front of me. “Who is he?”
“You know him, honey.” My dad got up from the chair and smoothed a hand down the front of his black suit. “He’s Mr. Morelli’s legal advisor.”
“Oh, you mean Paulie?”
He bobbed his head in acknowledgment. “I’m sorry I put you in the middle of this mess I made. I promise I will fix it. I am getting us out of this business, but it will take me some time. Favors have to be paid.”
I knew what my father was trying to tell me without saying it aloud. Angelo’s father preferred favors to money. They were of more use to him. He could call upon someone twenty years later if he’d wanted to, asking them to perform whatever request he needed. A favor was not something I would ever want to owe to a Morelli.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I can take care of myself.” I wanted to reassure him, even though I had no idea how difficult it would be for him to make good on that promise.
He smiled at me over his shoulder with his hand on the doorknob. “I know you can, honey. Come see me after your meeting. I’m hanging around the office today. I have some work I need to clear up.”
After I met with Paulie and the closing agent to sign the real estate documents, I went to visit my dad. The transaction was rather painless. We were already in way over our heads. Earlier, I’d wanted to tell my father we were purchasing a piece of land that Angelo and his brothers used to dump bodies. But I didn’t have the heart to tell him. Whether I told him or not, I had a feeling he knew. My dad wasn’t an idiot. He was well aware everyone in our lives was corrupt.
I stopped to grab a soda and a candy bar from the kitchen along the way, eating and drinking as I rode the elevator upstairs. My dad had the only office on the top floor of Carlini Construction. It was more of an open room with lounges and desks full of design specifications than what you’d consider an office.
After my dad fired some of the previous executives, he renovated the space. Privacy was required in our business. No one could ever overhear the conversations which went on between our business associates and us.
I strolled off the elevator, not expecting my dad to have company. From down the hall, I heard him shouting at someone in Italian. He only did that when he was livid. Whoever was in his office had him on edge. The rage in his tone sent shivers down my spine. I was never one to walk away from danger. My curiosity would, someday, get me killed if I wasn’t careful.
Creeping toward my dad’s office, I finished off my candy bar and chased it down with a swig of Dr. Pepper. The closer I got the louder the voices grew. My father was in a good mood when he’d come to see me, but I could tell there was something wrong. I could sense it in his demeanor.
“Leave my daughter out of it,” my dad said, now in English. “She has nothing to do with my debts.”
His debts? I was so confused.
“We have one more property we need you to purchase, but we can’t do that without a little help from people higher up than you.” It was Paulie Castelli’s voice emanating from the room.
He must’ve come upstairs to visit my dad right after our appointment.
“It’s never just one favor,” my father spat. “Every time I repay you people, I somehow owe another.”
“It would upset Mr. Morelli if he were to hear you’re being difficult. Lorenzo, we have known each other for a long time. All we ask is you make the introductions and extend the family an invite to the event next weekend.”
“Do you have any idea how that will make me look? The mayor will be there.”
“Are you ashamed of your heritage, Lorenzo? Are you embarrassed by the man you call your friend?”