Long Live the King (An Italian Mafia Romance Duet #2) (5 page)

“Good,” I say, bringing the issue to a close. “Now how about you, Jimmy?”

“Well, everything was fine until a couple of days ago, Dominic,” Jimmy says. He clears his throat, straightens out the jacket of his black suit, and continues. “We had a bit of a problem on Highway 44.”

“Yeah, I wanted to bring this to your attention when it happened, but I figured it could wait until we got to this meeting,” Frankie says, with a bit of anxiety lingering in his voice.

“Alright,” I reply almost as a question, because I instantly wonder why the fuck Frankie would choose to wait to tell me anything.

“A couple of nights ago, guys in my crew followed one of the trucks as it came off the highway, like we usually do,” Jimmy begins. “But when they tried to stop him, the driver wouldn’t pull over. They even tried to cut him off, but the guy starts shooting a fucking shotgun out the window. Hit one of my guys in the back of the shoulder, and almost took his fucking head off. So, they backed off and let the guy go.”

“Let him go? What kind of truck was it?” I ask with a frown.

“Some sort of meat delivery,” Frankie chimes in again. “The semi had Big Vic’s written on the side of it. I’ve never heard of it.”

“Me either,” I admit. “This the first time your guys ever have trouble like this, Jimmy?”

“Yeah. All the frequent truckers know to pay already. This is the third time we’ve seen this truck on the highway, so I got a feeling it’s gonna be back.”

“Good. So when they come back, be ready for it, and make sure it stops,” I command. “This needs to be handled, Jimmy. We can’t have the word spreading that truckers can start shooting at made guys if they don’t wanna pay the tax. I don’t give a fuck if you gotta shoot a guy’s face off and leave him in the street for the whole world to see. Everybody better know not to try to jip us.”

“I understand, Dominic,” Jimmy replies with a nod of his head. “But since my guys missed out on this score, my envelope is a little lighter than usual this month.”

“You fucking kidding me? You’ve only been a captain a couple of months, and you’re already skimming the kick up?”

“I’m not skimming it. I just told you what happened.”

“So, all of your money was riding on making this score with Big Vic’s truck?”

“Well, no, but it did make my crew a little short, which makes me a little short. I thought you would understand after what I just told you.”

“All I understand is that I have a captain who can’t kick up to his boss,” I snap. The air leaves the room like it’s been sucked out by a giant vacuum.

“I don’t mean no disrespect, Dominic,” Jimmy says, but it does nothing to appease my growing frustration towards him. “I’m new at this, and kicking up fifty-grand a month is tough to figure out. I just thought you’d understand. I guess I know better now.”

“I guess you fucking do,” I bark. “The only reason I’m gonna give you a pass on this shit is because you’re new to this level and Frankie vouched for you. But you better get your shit together and figure it out, Jimmy. You’re a captain now, so coming here with two pieces of bad news is a great way to hop right on my fucking nerves, and that ain’t where you wanna be. Don’t make me regret making you a capo.”

“Sorry, Dominic,” Jimmy says, looking down at the table with a silly little sad puppy face I’d love to slap right off of him.

“Great. Is there any other fucking news I need to know about?” I ask, feeling agitated. When no one answers, I stand up and address Jimmy with a pointed finger. “I got some shit I need moved from Alannah’s place in a couple of days. Make sure the lowest guys in your crew are available when I call.”

“What? My crew?” he snaps, which is never a good idea.

“Yeah, your crew! Because you’re the newest capo, and the one who’s fucking envelope is light. And also because I fucking said so! You got a fucking problem with that, Jimmy?”

“No, of course not, Dominic,” Jimmy mutters, quickly avoiding eye contact again.

Nobody says anything after that. If there’s one thing I hate, it’s wise guys who don’t know how to be good wise guys. I don’t have time to sit up here and teach this
fottuto idiota
how to be a captain. In Our Thing, you either learn or get clipped, simple as that. So Jimmy and John better shape up, or there’s going to be hell to pay.

The meeting adjourns as all of us stand up and do our customary hug. Each capo wraps their arms around me, then reaches into their jacket pocket and retrieves an envelope to give to me. Fifty grand per captain, except Jimmy, of course. I don’t even bother to ask him how much is in his envelope. I just take it and shove it into my jacket pocket before turning on my heel and walking out. I hear Frankie tell Jimmy, “Get it together,” just as the door closes behind me.

Alannah

“S
ee, what’d I tell you? Fits, no problem.”

“Well, of course it all fits in here, this closet is massive,” I reply to Dominic with a giggle as we look around the expansive walk-in closet that looks more like an extra bedroom. “Looks good together.”

Dominic walks up behind me and wraps his arms around my waist, nuzzling his nose into my neck.

“Yes it does. Just like I knew it would,” he replies, kissing me softly on the cheek, his warm breath teasing my skin.

“I guess this makes it official then, huh? I actually live here.”

Dominic doesn’t reply, but I can feel his cheeks lift into a smile.

It’s been a few days since he asked me move in with him, and we didn’t waste any time getting started. I was just too excited, honestly. The thought of being able to come home to Dominic every day and night, and having him come home to me was just too much to wait for. So, two days after he asked me, Dominic had some of his guys from the Family show up at my house early in the morning and start hauling my big stuff over. I didn’t bring everything since the penthouse is already decked out with awesomeness, but Dominic was kind enough to make sure I brought the things that mattered most to me. So, I brought my pictures of my parents and college friends from Alaska, and Dominic cleared space for me to hang them. Even my little knick-knacks from the top of my dresser found a home in
our
bedroom. I put pictures of me and my parents up next to pictures of Dominic and his dad, and he didn’t mind one bit. So, now we get to walk down the hall towards our bedroom and see pictures of us as teenagers side by side. The pictures are separate, but it’s cool to see us next to each other as kids. It’s kind of metaphoric actually, representing how we were physically separate for all those years, but we were right next to each other in our hearts.

When I told my parents I was moving in with Dominic, I could hear the worry in their voices, but they tried to act supportive at least. I know they’re still worried about what Dominic does for a living, but I keep telling them that he’s just a casino owner, and after a very quiet year, I think they’re starting to buy it.

Everything is falling right into place, and I smile to myself as Dominic and I walk down the hallway into the living room. I didn’t bring much living room stuff from my house because Dominic did a great job of decorating it already. He has dark brown couches that work so well with the cherry wood floor and brick fireplace. His cherry wood coffee table rests on top of a red rug with gold designs running through it, and I just so happened to have two gold-plated lamps in my house, so we decided to put one on each of the cherry wood end tables. I placed half of my dishes and silverware into storage and brought the other half with me since Dominic was used to eating for one, and I even found a space for my bookshelf in the room that Dominic calls the office. It all worked out so perfect, and I know I’m going to be grinning like a kid on Christmas morning every time I take the private elevator up to my new home, because everything I wanted as a kid is coming true. I have my soulmate, and we live together. To ask for anything more would just be greedy.

“It’s so perfect, Dominic,” I say as I stand in the hallway and look into the living room. The three massive windows on the far wall give us the perfect view of the Arch and river reflecting the setting sun. It’s like a snapshot of heaven.

“Almost,” Dominic replies. “There’s something missing, I think.”

“Missing? Like what?”

“Well, to celebrate you being officially moved in, I had something special planned. I’ve got sort of a move-in present for you.”

“Aww, you didn’t have to do that, babe.”

“I know, but I wanted to do it.”

“Okay, so where is it?”

“It’s not here. We gotta take a cab to go get it.”

“A cab? Why don’t we just drive? Both of our cars are downstairs.”

“I know. Just trust me. Come on.”

Dominic grabs the black jacket that matches his slacks and heads for the elevator, forcing me to jog to catch up. He’s completely silent on the ride down, but has a tiny smile tugging at the sides of his mouth as we walk through the lobby and hop in a cab that was already waiting for us.

“I don’t understand why we’re taking a cab,” I say to him as we climb in, focusing my attention on the grin resting on his perfect lips. Dominic leans forward and whispers something into the ear of the cab driver, just before the old black man puts the car in gear and takes off. “Why all the whispering?” I ask.

“Oh, I whispered? I didn’t know I did that. Sorry.” He smiles again as he looks out the window.

“Well aren’t you Mr. Sneaky?” I say, giggling to myself. “What, now you can’t look at me? Dominic, where are we going?”

He turns to me, revealing a bright smile. “It’s a surprise. Just enjoy the buildup. I got this.”

I eyeball him suspiciously, but on the inside, I’m beaming. I love the spontaneity, so I’ll play along.

I let the driver take us to the middle of the city without saying a word. Traffic is horrible and I usually try to avoid coming down here if I can, but when the cab turns into a packed parking lot, I feel excited and confused all at once. My forehead probably has a thousand wrinkles in it when Dominic finally ends his forced stare out the window and makes eye contact with me.

“You ready?” he asks, as he gives the cab driver a twenty to cover our fifteen dollar fare, and places his finger on the door handle.

“Am I ready? Ready for what? Why are we at a car dealership?”

“Not just a car dealership. A
Mercedes
dealer. And we’re here so you can pick one.”

There really isn’t any other way to react except to stare blankly, so that’s what I do for about ten seconds, before my heart finally starts to beat again.

“Pick a Mercedes?” I ask in nearly a whisper.

Dominic answers like what he’s doing is no big deal at all. Just another day in the life of Don Collazo.

“Yeah, whichever one you want,” he says with a shrug.

My eyes bulge.

“Dominic, are you saying we’re here to buy me a Mercedes right now?” I feel like I already know the answer, but I just have to ask the question again because it can’t be real. But Dominic says
yes
with nothing more than a playful nod of his head and an adorable smile.

“But I already have a car.”

“Now you have two.”

“Oh my god!” I scream, leaning over and throwing my arms around him. “This is the move in present? You’re unbelievable!”

“Nah, you are, Alannah,” he answers. “Our life together is the most important thing in the world to me, and that’s something I never thought I’d say to anyone after you moved away all those years ago. But now that you’ve been here a while and you’ve moved in, and we have this life together, I want us to have the best life. I want us to have everything we ever dreamed of as kids. The most important thing is our love, and since we know we’ll never be lacking in that department, I want us to have everything else too. It’s our world, Alannah. You and me. Yours and mine. So if we want something, we’re gonna get it, because the world belongs to us.”

I feel my heart speeding up like it’s in a race and my eyes starting to mist over. I don’t know how it’s possible that I met the love of my life at the age of eleven, but staring into his blue eyes right now, I know I’m the luckiest woman ever.

“I love you, Dominic,” I manage to say as I fight back tears and hug him again. The cab driver stares at us through his rearview mirror, but I close my eyes and ignore it.

“I love
you
. Now let’s go pick your car.”

I hop out of the cab like a kid about to go on a candy shopping spree, and I’m amazed at how beautiful these cars are. Every car on the lot is a Mercedes—SUV’s, sedans, roadsters, convertibles—you name it, they have it. The colors aren’t bright and flashy, but they don’t have to be when the body is this nice. I practically skip my way down one line of cars and turn to skip down the next when I see the one I know I want. It’s a shiny metallic white two-door with a sexy sleek body that hypnotizes me. I stop skipping and stare at it like it’s a beautiful painting in a gallery.

“Good choice,” I hear Dominic say from behind me.

I turn around to see him smiling, just before he turns on his heel and heads towards the entrance. While he’s inside, I do a complete walk-around of what has immediately become my dream car, admiring all of its beauty. The windows are already tinted, the rims are a shiny silver and black, but not the flashy chrome that I hate. I gaze through the window at the wood grain dashboard and black leather seats. I’ve never been so in awe of a car before, and by the time I’m finished doing my walk-around, I see Dominic walking towards me in step with a salesman. The salesman already has dealer license plates and keys in his hand, and I get excited about the idea of a test drive.