Kingpin (An Italian Mafia Romance) (9 page)

“Can you believe those little motherfuckers?” Frankie snaps. “If you want me to handle this, Donnie, just give me the fucking word. Those arrogant cock suckers need to learn a lesson.” Frankie is livid and pacing around the room. I know he’d love to get his hands on those two. Frankie would have no problem clipping them both.

“It’s okay, Frankie,” Dad replies as he sits down. He turns around in his seat and watches the Cestone brothers walk through the casino towards the exit. “They’re just young and ambitious. But it’s gonna get them killed if they don’t keep it in check. I’m in a good mood. We’ll give them a pass today.”

“Ugh, your mother is gonna fucking kill me,” Dad says as he looks down at his watch. “I didn’t even realize what time it is. Here Dominic, take the keys and go start up the car. I’m gonna wrap shit up here and I’ll meet you down there.”

I take the keys to the Cadillac and make sure I have everything before walking out.

“Later, Frankie,” I say as I open the door.

“Take it easy, Boy Wonder,” Frankie replies.

I make my way through the casino floor and the lobby and take the elevator down to the garage. It’s eleven at night on a Wednesday, so it’s pretty quiet down here. I can hear the echo of my steps as I walk through the concrete structure, and as I approach Dad’s car I pull the keys from my pocket, but I accidentally drop them.

“Shit.”

I reach down to pick them up, and as I’m reaching, I hear footsteps echoing, getting louder and louder as someone runs towards me. I go to look up, but before I can see anything, I feel the pain of a kick to my stomach.

I can’t breathe. I fall to the ground in the fetal position trying my best to get some air into my lungs, but it’s barely working. My eyes, however, are working fine, and I can see Alfonse Cestone standing over me. He has a small knife in his hand and the look on his face says he’s ready to use it. He
wants
to use it, and there’s no way he would’ve touched the son of a made guy if he didn’t plan to.

“Dominic Collazo,” he says, glaring down at me as I gasp for air. “Didn’t expect you to be down here alone like this. Was waiting for Frankie to come out so we could give him a little message, but since you’re here, it’s even better. I think Donnie will really get the point if it’s you.”

Alfonse lifts his foot and sends it crashing downward, stomping me in the head. My skull bounces off the concrete and my vision immediately goes blurry. The pain is intense and I feel like I’m about to pass out. My hearing is muffled and I’m pretty sure I’ve lost all control of my body. I see Alfonse, but there’s three of him and they’re all dancing around and through each other. I think he’s talking, too, but I can’t make out the words. It’s like his voice is playing on a recorder in slow motion, deep and slow.

I’m too confused to be afraid, but I see Alfonse drop to his knees and bring the knife to my face. The tip of it is near my cheek, then I can sense it’s near my neck. I want to move, but I can’t. He leans over me and I feel the prick of the blade on my throat, but then I hear a loud pop that makes me jump.

Just one pop, and Alfonse is gone.

I’m staring at the blurry ceiling of the garage with my back on the cold concrete. I hear muffled voices and words I can barely understand—something about sending a hand somewhere, and dumping something else in the river.

“Dominic,” I hear a voice say. I think it’s my dad. “Dominic, are you okay? Come on, get up. We gotta go.”

I feel my father lift me up off the floor, but I’m still groggy. Everything is still blurry, but as my father helps me walk to the Cadillac, I look back and see a body on the floor, and there’s blood.

I know it’s Alfonse.

Even through blurred vision, I know I just saw a dead body for the first time. More importantly, I just saw my father kill a man.

Alannah

“M
y goodness. You look beautiful, honey.”

My mother snaps another picture of me in my off-white homecoming dress as I stand next to Marcus Smart, my date for the dance. Marcus is wearing a dark gray suit and he really looks great in it. He’s sixteen and just under six-foot tall, with skinny arms and short brown hair. Apparently I have a thing for basketball players, because every boyfriend I’ve ever had has played for the school’s team, and Marcus is no exception. We haven’t been going out for long, but he’s a nice guy. He’s sweet and is always going out of his way to spoil me, which can get a little annoying at times, but it’s better than dating an asshole. He’s definitely not a bad boy, though, and I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

Tonight’s the homecoming dance, and it’s been a week and a half since I’ve seen Dominic. I don’t know what’s going on with him but he hasn’t been at school at all, and I haven’t even gotten an answer when I’ve tried calling him, which is unusual. I’m worried about him, but one thing I know for sure is that Dominic Collazo can take care of himself, so I try not to let it bother me too much. I’ve just been wanting to see him since my parents told me we’re moving to Alaska soon. I’ve tried to use the time to figure out a way to tell him, but I haven’t come up with anything.

Marcus and I spend another half an hour posing for pictures before my parents finally let us leave. Marcus, a sophomore, is driving his mother’s red Honda with one hand like he’s been doing it his whole life, and he puts his other hand on my knee. I smile when he places it there and he smiles back, then looks straight ahead.

When we get to the dance, there are people and decorations everywhere. The school colors are purple and white, and it’s like those two colors have taken over the world the second we step out of the car. There’s purple and white flashing lights bouncing off the walls outside, and even more of them dancing around the room when Marcus and I step inside. Purple streamers lay spread across the floor and music blares from gigantic speakers in every corner of the basketball court that’s been turned into a dance floor for the night.

“Wow, they went all out,” Marcus says, raising his voice so I can hear him.

“Sure did,” I reply. “You wanna dance?”

“Not yet, let’s mingle a bit. I wanna see if any of my people are hear yet.” Marcus speaks to me without looking at me as he scans the room for his friends. He starts to walk away and I contemplate following him, but I see something out of the corner of my eye that makes me stop.

I notice people looking in the same direction, watching as a figure struts into the room. It’s pretty hard to tell with the purple and white lights, but I’m pretty sure he’s wearing a black suit with light gray pinstripes. Everything about him is attractive: styled black hair, strong jaw, wide shoulders, and even his intimidating scowl. Every girl in the vicinity is looking over at Dominic as he walks in like he owns the building.

There’s something different about him. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there. The way he holds himself is bigger, prouder, like something has changed him. He’s surer of himself, straddling the line between confidence and arrogance with absolute perfection, and it looks just as good on him as the suit he’s wearing.

I watch him walk and I’m almost in awe of him. When he sees me, his demeanor changes. His scowl turns into a smile that’s only meant for me, and my heart seems to skip a beat. Dominic is gorgeous, and it’s like I’m seeing him for the first time right now.

“Hey,” is all he says as he approaches, hands in his pockets.

“Hi,” I reply with a feeling of nervousness I’ve never had around him before. “Umm, where’s your date?”

He shrugs. “Don’t have one. Just wanted to come see what this was all about. You look beautiful, Alannah.”

Another skipped heartbeat.

“Thank you. You look . . . really handsome. That suit is awesome.”

“Thank you.” Dominic glances around before settling his eyes on mine. “Where’s
your
date?”

Now it’s my turn to look around. Marcus is nowhere to be found.

“Oh, umm, I guess he walked off. I think he’s looking for his friends or something. I don’t know.”

“Hmm.” Dominic pinches his lips together, just as Mariah Carey’s
We Belong Together
starts up on the big speakers. “So, you wanna dance?”

I smile to myself, but then I take a second to look around for Marcus, but Dominic stops me.

“He’s more concerned with finding his friends. I’m interested in you. So, how about it?”

I twist my mouth to try to keep from smiling, but I lose the battle.

“I’d love to.”

Dominic smiles slyly, then he takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. We don’t have to push our way through the couples that are already dancing, because they seem to move out of the way for us. Dominic couldn’t seem to care less, but I notice their eyes. They’re glued to us from every direction like we’re covered in pig’s blood, and Dominic walks us right into the middle of the pack. He faces me and puts his hands on my waist, still oblivious to the stares.

“They’re really staring a lot,” I inform him, but he shrugs it off.

“Fuck them. It’s just us in here. We’re the only ones on this dance floor.”

I lose the fight to another smile as I wrap my arms around his neck and we start to dance to the music. It only takes a second for me to forget about the people glaring, and eventually they go back to minding their own business, so I give my full attention to Dominic.

“So,” I begin. “Where have you been the past couple of weeks?”

“I was in the hospital,” Dominic replies without hesitation. “I had a concussion.”

“Oh my gosh. What happened?”

He looks me in the eye, seemingly thinking about his response, but eventually gives it in the form of a whisper.

“Some guys tried to move in on my dad’s casino. Dad wouldn’t budge, of course, so they tried to come after me. Roughed me up a little. No big deal.”

“Are you serious?”

“Ain’t I always?”

I feel my heart start to race like something bad is happening right in front of me.

“That’s crazy, Dominic,” I say, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Well, are you okay, at least?”

“Fuhgeddaboutit,” he says with a smile.

“What do you mean, forget about it? I can’t just forget about it. What did they do to you that gave you a concussion?”

I hear Dominic sigh and he looks at me sideways.

“Alannah, the last thing I want you doin’ is concerning yourself about me. Sometimes things like this happen, but I survived and I’m here now. I’m here with you, so everything’s good.”

“We’ve been close for four years, Dominic, you can’t expect me not to worry.”

“I didn’t know you cared so much all of a sudden.”

“Well, I do,” I snip, my emotions starting to get the best of me. “And it’s not
all of a sudden
. I do care about you, maybe more than you realize.”

Just as the words escape me, the music stops and it’s silent. All these people surrounding us and it couldn’t seem quieter than it does right now, with all this air and tension between the two of us.

Dominic and I look each other in the eye like it’s a staring contest, like we’re trying to see who’ll turn away first, but neither of us budge until we’re interrupted by a voice.

“Alannah,” he says quietly, almost like it’s a question. It’s Marcus, and he looks scared and angry at the same time—angry because I’m dancing with someone else, scared because that someone is Dominic.

Both of us look over at Marcus just as the music starts up again—this song’s more upbeat and happy, the opposite of my mood—and I clear my throat to try to make it seem less awkward. It doesn’t work.

“Umm, hey, Marcus. I was looking for you. Where’d you go?” I ask, barely able to look him in the eye.

“I was talking to Julia and Janelle, but when that last song came on I was hoping we could dance together, but I couldn’t find you,” he says. He makes sure to only look at me, and Dominic makes sure to only look at him.

“Umm, yeah, sorry about that,” I begin. “I needed to talk to Dominic, but umm, we can dance together now if you want.”

Marcus smiles at first, but it fades as he tries to figure out how to get between Dominic and me, because Dominic hasn’t budged. It’s awkward again.