Love and War (4 page)

She could be CEO of her company and make millions but that wasn’t enough for her. She needed her father to bring her into his organization and let her rise through the ranks. She wouldn’t ever be the Don because Nico was next in line. She was happy with that. She’d do anything to prove to her father that she was ready.

“I have ideas,” Caprice finally spoke. “You know I’m smart. I know things, Dad. We aren’t back in the thirties bootlegging and doing business out of the back of a speakeasy. Those days have been over. It’s time to think outside the box and do things differently. Who cares if I’m a girl?
 
Step out of the stone age, please.”

Domani was silent as a waitress brought his usual veal
piccata
and Caprice’s eggplant
parmigiana
. The girl poured two glasses of dark red wine and hastily left the area.

“You are not a killer,” Domani’s voice was grave when he spoke to his daughter.

“Neither were you until you had to be,” Caprice countered. “Face it, the Black Diamond Mafia is not only trying to cut into our percentage, but they are trying to run us out of Queens. Nico is good, but he needs help. I just want to help.”

Caprice eyed her father with the same intense stare he was giving her. “He’s my brother.”

“Aries is heavily protected. His people are dirty and grimy, and won’t hesitate to put a bullet in your chest.”

Caprice smirked. “From what I hear, Aries is a man with a weakness for pretty girls with big asses. He’s weak. I can take him.”

“Eat your food. Go to class. Graduate from school and get a job. Be done with this. My answer remains the same.”

Caprice unfolded her arms as the shock of what he said registered on her face. She thought she had given a compelling argument. She wasn’t prepared for him to say no…again.

“No?”

Domani nodded. “That’s right. You can play gangster at the shooting range with Nico. You can take your frustrations out on the heavy bag at the gym, but I am not authorizing your involvement in anything that Nico does. Do not challenge me. If I hear anything about you and Nico again, you will be back in Miami so fast, your pretty little head will spin. Got it?”

Caprice sighed and picked up her fork. She didn’t have to be one of them to understand that . Domani’s word was law.
 
However, she wasn’t defeated. She just needed to come up with a more convincing plan…which she would.

“Well, can I at least get my own car then?” she asked. “I’ve been driving since I was sixteen. The least you can do is not make me depend on Nico or one of your drivers to take me wherever I need to go.”

Domani grinned. “We’ll get you one tomorrow. Eat your dinner.”

Domani sat behind the big desk in his lawyer’s office shuffling through a mound of building permits, vendor contracts, and licensing requirements, everything he needed to turn his money into his very first fully legitimate business. In his hands was the paperwork for a business that would be passed down to his kids, their kids, and their kids’ kids. C&N Enterprises, the framework of all Bonatelli businesses, was going legit and building the best Atlantic City hotel and casino that fifty years of mob money could buy.

He would be the happiest man alive if his son and daughter would jump on board. If they would forget about something as petty as Black Diamond Mafia and their tiny drug operation. Except he knew that his son wasn’t the type of man who let shit go. Not without a fight. Apparently, Caprice was turning into a female version of her brother.

Or her father.

He couldn’t decide.

C&N Enterprises would break ground on the casino in thirty days. It would take another two or three years before the casino was up and running. Despite their complaints, Nico and Caprice were moving to Atlantic City to run it. His plan was to stay behind and deal with everything else. He’d be happy if the situation worked out as smoothly. He could finally do the one thing his father and grandfather weren’t able to do. Get his kids out of the life.

“So, what do you think?
 
Everything look okay?”

Peter
Poleski
,
Domani’s
trusted and well paid attorney, walked into his office and stood across from his most notorious client.

“I don’t know what half of this shit means,” Domani replied.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been working for your family for thirty years,” Peter laughed. “Everything is legit. You know as well as I do that money talks.”

Domani nodded and stared at the pile of papers.

“Your dad would be proud of you,” the lawyer added. “He dreamed about this day.”

“Yeah. Too bad my kids aren’t going to feel the same way.”

“They’ll come around. They are lucky that you’re doing this for them.”

Domani knew differently. “Speaking of the kids, they’re on their way here. Your office is clean, right?”

“Just had it swept yesterday?”

“And the Feds?”

“They’re off your ass for the time being. Like I said, money talks.”

As soon as the attorney finished his sentence, the door opened. Paolo led the way into the office followed by a red-faced Caprice. Nico was holding a bloody rag against the left side of his face.

“I’ll leave you alone.” Peter hurried out of the office.

“What the hell happened to you?” Domani barked at Nico.

“What do you think happened?” Caprice shouted.

“Watch your tone, girl,” Paolo demanded.

“Don’t talk to me, old man. I’m talking to my father.”

“Nico, sit,” Domani ordered. “Caprice, shut up. Tell me what happened.”

“I got blindsided by a couple of Aries’ new recruits. It’s
nothin
’.”

Caprice’s head snapped up. She glared at her brother and forgot that her father wanted her to remain silent. “Bullshit!
 
You have a three inch cut on your face. That’s hardly nothing!”

Nico chuckled. “You should see the other guy. It’s
nothin
’, sis.”

While Caprice fumed, Domani leaned his head back and exhaled a deep sigh. “God, I wish you were more like your mother,” he said to his daughter.

“Well, I’m not,” Caprice replied. “And this little incident should be enough for you to reconsider your position on my proposal. Aries has to go!”

Domani’s eyes passed over his son and daughter. His problems were bigger that the two of them. Some federal agents were asking questions around town.
 
There was a great possibility that the IRS was looking into his affairs, and
 
there was a multi-million dollar project in the works. On top of all of that, the Russians were targeting Paolo’s girls for their own profit. He didn’t have time to entertain Nico and Caprice’s vendetta against an insignificant street gang. He was tempted to let them do whatever they wanted just so they’d shut up about it.

“What’s your plan?” he asked Caprice.

“It’s simple. I get close to Aries and get him to tell me all his secrets. Then I put a bullet in his head and Nico tosses the body in the East river.”

“That’s your plan, girl?” Paolo laughed. “We don’t need you for that.”

“Stop calling me girl. I have a name. Use it.”

Domani completely ignored Caprice and Paolo. He didn’t have time for their shit either. “Nico, are you okay with your little sister doing this?”

“It’s a good plan,” Nico admitted. “If she can find out who’s been cutting him a deal, we can take them down too. I’m
hearin
’ that the new guy is Jamaican, but I don’t know which one. That city is
crawlin
’ with Jamaicans. Shooting them all isn’t an option.”

“I think this is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard,” Paolo added his two cents to the conversation.

“No one asked you,” Caprice mumbled under her breath.

Domani continued to ignore the petty argument and stared at his son...his only son. When Nico was born, Domani had great plans for him, plans that had not included
this
. Still, when Gianni Bonatelli insisted that his grandson “earn his keep”, Domani gave Nico a task that he could handle. When the father spoke, the son listened. It had always been that way.

Ten years later, his son was sitting in front of him, bloody and practically begging for his father’s help.

What would Gianni have done?

The answer to that question was simple. Gianni Bonatelli would do whatever needed to be done in order to protect the family and the empire that was theirs. Gianni did not tolerate disrespect from anyone. Domani’s decision was final.

“Get that cut taken care of,” he said to Nico. “Caprice, start looking for a place in Queens. You can’t live with Nico since you’re going to be Aries’ girl, can you?
 
I’ll authorize your involvement in this, and only this.”

Caprice began to smile, but her smile was short lived when she noticed the stern frown on her father’s face.

“You’ll go by Burke, like you’ve been doing,” Domani continued. “And you will meet me and your brother at this office every three days and give us an update. Every three days until Aries is a dead man. Do you understand me?”

Adrenaline coursed through Caprice’s veins as she nodded. This was her moment. She’d been brought off the bench. She was determined to be the MVP. No one was going to treat her like Daddy’s little girl anymore.

“I understand.”

“What about me?” Nico asked. “What do you want me to do?”

“Just keep your eye on your sister. The minute she’s in trouble, you better be there to get her out of it. When you find out who the mystery man is that is cutting Aries a better deal, bring him to me. Now go. Leave me and Paolo alone.”

Domani watched his kids leave the office. Nico stayed close to his sister and she welcomed it. Domani knew that Nico would kill for her. She would die for her brother. That kind of loyalty couldn’t be bought. It was bred.

As soon as the kids left, Paolo stared at Domani. The frown on his face was so severe that the wrinkles on his brow aged him ten years.

“I gather you have not consulted with
Fausto
on this.”

“I no longer consult with my grandfather on family matters,” Domani stated. “With him being in solitary now, it’s too hard to get information through to him. If he wanted to stay up on things, he shouldn’t have knifed that guard.”

“I’ve worked for your grandfather and your father for many years. I’ve witnessed some reckless behavior, but this tops the cake, son. A female?”

Domani leaned forward in his chair. Many others would have crumbled at the intimidation that was seeping through his pores. Paolo did not. Never had.

“Are you more concerned about the fact that Caprice is a woman, old man?
 
Or that my daughter is risking her life for our cause?”

Domani didn’t wait for Paolo’s response. He already knew what the answer would be. He was sick of Paolo’s unwarranted hatred towards his child. Sure, Paolo had started doing jobs with Gianni in the late thirties, when they both were barely teens. They lived through the Lucky Luciano and Al Capone days. However, Caprice was right. Those days were over. After the knife job she’d pulled on Paolo’s two hookers, Domani knew his girl had the balls to take on Aries and the Black Diamond Mafia.

He didn’t need Paolo’s approval to do anything. Domani Bonatelli was the Don. Anything he put on the record was law. Paolo did what he was told. He gave the old man liberties that no one else was privileged to have because Paolo had served the Bonatelli family well over the years. He sought the old man’s council on many business matters. But, when it came down to his children, not even his wife could tell Domani what to do.

Caprice sat in front of her floor length mirror, combing the tangles out of her thick hair and singing along to Lil Kim’s
La Bella Mafia
. She checked her phone for the twentieth time that night. There it was, the text she had been waiting on.

I’m outside. Hurry up.

Caprice scrambled to her feet and ran out of her room. She didn’t give a second thought to her appearance. In shorts, an old concert tee, and Walmart flip flops, only a few people were special enough to see Caprice dressed down in her casual clothes.

Rocco was very special and he liked her that way; clean and stripped of the glamorous mask that she lived behind.

“Maria’s going to text me when they leave the theater,” Caprice said as she climbed into Rocco’s Escalade. “They probably haven’t even made it across the bridge yet, so we have plenty of time. Let’s go to your place.”

Rocco eyed Caprice from head to toe. His heart began to pound in his chest. How long could they keep up these secret meetings without someone finding out and squealing to the Boss?

Rocco leaned slightly towards Caprice and touched a few strands of her still damp hair.

“What did I tell you about leaving the house with wet hair?
  
You’re gonna get sick.”

“You took too long to text me and it’s Wednesday. I wash my hair on Wednesday.”

“Didn’t think girls like you washed your own hair.”