“That’s a hell of a job. His compound is well defended. You’ll probably need a chopper to get in. You’ll need the best men we’ve got.”
“So get me the best.”
“Mind me asking why you’re whacking a Don? You know the commission won’t exactly take it too lightly.”
“Giovanni’s planning to take him out next week. I want it done before then.”
“Your father on board?”
“Keep it to yourself. I want to surprise him with the news when it’s done.”
“I’m not sure I should go behind your father’s back.”
“He’s on his way out and I’ll be Don soon. I have a good memory for those who help me.”
“I might be wrong, Nico, but it sounds like you’re threatening me.” He grins. “If you are, nice to see you’re getting some balls on you. I’ll let you know by the end of today. Good enough?”
“Good enough.”
I head out and manage a smile. I take out Don Moretti before Giovanni gets chance. That way I have a bargaining chip to make sure I become Don. Add that to tracking down and marrying my mystery girl and I’m all set.
Once I become Don, we can divorce or annul or whatever and then I’m a bachelor in charge of the entire empire. My life will be complete before I’m forty.
All I need to do is track down the mystery woman.
Eleven
Aurora
* * *
The stables aren’t as uncomfortable as my father might have hoped. It’s not my first time being sent here to spend the night. It’s happened often enough that I have a secret stash of supplies. The furthest stall is the one that used to contain Drinker’s Regret, my father’s favorite horse. His only winner.
Since his death, it’s been left empty other than a pile of moldy straw. That’s where I keep my stash. Right in the corner in a double layered plastic bag. It contains everything I need to survive the night in here.
I doubt I’ll be in here more than a couple of nights. He tends to forget after a day or two and I can sneak back inside without it causing too much of a fuss.
I’ve got candy bars, a cellphone with Internet connection plugged into a power-bank. There’s no sim, I don’t dare send any messages. I know they’ll be traced back to me in here and my stash will be confiscated. But I can watch old movies and British TV. Red Dwarf is my current favorite and I’m up to season five. That’ll see me through to when I settle down to sleep tonight.
I’ve also got some energy drinks and best of all, a spare Kindle so I can read before bed. If you can call it bed. It’s going to be a pile of straw and a couple of the moth eaten blankets.
It’s the perfect analogy for our family. From the outside we look as wealthy as the other mafia families but this is the reality. The house is crumbling. We can’t afford repairs anymore. There have been workmen in and out today but they’re just sticking plasters to a gaping wound.
The government RICOed most of our cash about a year ago and we’ve been surviving on fumes ever since. We were lucky they didn’t take the house.
I suggested once that we downsize but I got laughed at by everyone. Apparently, the Moretti family don’t do anything smaller than a mansion. We’ve been in here for generations and will be in here for many more. The house is as eternal as our name.
That gets me thinking about what my father said to me. I don’t want to get married for no reason other than pumping out kids. If I do marry, I want it to be for love.
I think back to last night. That guy. Could I marry him? No chance. He was definitely not marriage material. That much was obvious. He was great in bed but I can’t picture him with pipe and slippers, dog by his side, me and the kids playing at his feet.
I try not to think about him anymore. It hurts to do it. I can’t get in touch with him. My father would kill him, even if I could track him down. I doubt I could find his house again. It was dark when we went there and I was inside the van with no window to look out on the way back here. Who knows where he lives.
The sun is setting and I’m not ready for bed yet. The horses in the other stalls are still shifting around.
I’ve spent all day wandering the grounds with Mario and Luigi. I’ve only just put them into the kennels for the night. Maybe I should have kept them in here with me. Might help keep me warmer than this shitty blanket.
I hear noise outside. I cross to the main door and look out. My mother and father are walking across the grass, arguing loudly.