“You know I always will,” I told her softly. “I’ll always be there for my family.”
“And that’s why I love you,” she replied, finishing off the last of her latte. Checking the watch on her wrist, she sighed. “I guess I should let you go. I need to be at the house to meet with the interior decorator. Will you walk me to the car? The driver just parked a street down.”
“Of course, mama.” I helped her up from her chair, letting her hold onto my arm as we made our way to the door.
Outside, the street was clear, and the weather was warm and breezy. It was a perfect day, actually. We started to head down the sidewalk towards where she’d said her driver was waiting. A few others on the street passed us by on the way to the other cafes and shops. Up ahead, there was a parking lot between two buildings, half-filled with cars already, even this early in the morning.
I scanned the lot for one of my father’s cars but didn’t see it. “Is this where he parked?” I asked.
My mother frowned, also searching. “Yes. He said he’d stay here since we wouldn’t be gone long.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach. We were out in the open, at the entrance to the parking lot, where a four-way intersection led off to various side streets. “Maybe we should go back to the cafe until you can get a hold of him.”
My mother waved my suggestion away. “Don’t be ridiculous. We can just wait here. It’s a nice day out.”
I tried to shake off the bad feeling, the paranoia. There was no reason to fear that someone would come after us here and now. My mother was always out of the picture when it came to mafia business. Most forgot Sal even had a wife. She rarely showed up to events, staying mostly behind the scenes. And me? I hadn’t had anyone attempt to kill me just yet. My fear was unfounded.
Until I heard the screeching of tires.
A black sedan whipped around the corner, the engine growling as it bore down on us. I caught the flash of a barrel glinting in the sun just as a shot rang out. My hands immediately flew to my chest, but there was nothing. No pain. No blood.
A soft gasp sounded behind me. Turning, I caught the wild look in my mother’s eyes as the blood drained from her face.
“Mama?” Red bloomed across her chest, staining her blouse a dark maroon. She stumbled forward, falling into my arms. My knees buckled under the weight, under the shock that threatened to choke me. “Mom!”
Her body trembled as she tried to draw a breath. Specks of blood dotted her mouth, her cheek. With one hand, I tried to press against the wound, trying to stem the flow of blood that now dripped onto the cement. Those who had been walking the streets started to crowd around us. I caught snippets of a few calling the police, while others stood there in shock. And me?
I sat there, holding my mother in my arms as the light faded from her eyes. Tears blurred my vision. I rocked her in my arms, a pain so numbing tightening its hold on my chest. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t speak. Over and over, the image of the gun propped against the edge of the window flashed in my mind. I hadn’t been able to see who was driving, who held the gun. But I knew exactly whose gun it was. Whose gun it had been.
“Sir, are you shot?” A man knelt beside me. I ignored him. “The police are on their way. I’m a doctor. Please, sir. Can you answer?”
“Get the fuck away,” I snarled, pulling my mother’s body back.
The doctor wasn’t swayed. “I’m just trying to help. Were you hit?”
“No.” The word was wrenched from my throat, filled with pain.
He glanced down at my mother, knowing she was gone just as I did. He didn’t try to take her away from me, didn’t try to resuscitate her. It had been a clean shot. Professional. I knew just as well as he did that this was no accidental drive-by. This was intentional.
My eyes squeezed shut, trying to block out the crowd that only seemed to grow. Sirens filled the air as the police drew closer. But I couldn’t move. Couldn’t do anything but hold my mother’s body tightly. It would be the last time I would ever get to hug her. Today was the last day I’d hear her voice. The last time I’d ever get to talk to her, hear her words of wisdom, and have her assuage my fears and worry. The last time I would ever see my mother again.
Faintly, I heard the tires of the cop cruisers screech to a stop, the slamming of doors following. Still, I didn’t move. Not even when the police tried to talk to me, tried to take me away from her. I wouldn’t let them. The paramedics arrived a few minutes later, trying to coax me to let her go. But I couldn’t.
It wasn’t until a soft voice broke through the noise that I came back. “She’s gone, son. You have to let her go.”
My head snapped up, meeting the pitying look of the Chief of Police. I remembered him from the night of the vote when Sienna’s mother had held a charity gala for the NYPD. From what I knew of him, he was a good man. I knew he hated taking bribes from my family and the Rosanias, but he did it to protect his family. He wasn’t like the others—not really.
“I’ll kill them,” I told him. “I’ll kill the bastards who fucking did this.”
John Banner didn’t even flinch. “I know.”
SIXTEEN
SIENNA
Iarrived at the police department on West 151st Street as soon as I had gotten the call. Mateo took over the rest of the meetings for me to reallocate funds based on the estimated costs of income loss due to shutting down. Honestly, I was relieved to be getting out of all that. Between the shock and worry of our employees and Mateo’s outright disapproval, I needed a break.
I did not, however, expect that break to come in the form of another loss. The police called me just a few minutes after they were able to secure Marie’s body from Dante. He had apparently proceeded to fly off the handle as soon as she was in the ambulance. He’d attacked five police officers before they’d taken him down, handcuffing and tossing him into the back of a police cruiser.