He’s sitting on a black leather couch across the balcony, with two half-naked dancers sprawled on either side of him. There’s a third dancer working the pole in the middle of the space, and she has Jovan’s attention, too. He’s watching her with a drunken half-smile while one of his hands cradles a breast, and the other a toned ass-cheek. The women are pawing him—and each other—while Jovan watches the dancer come out of her top.
“Hey, pig,” Marcella grumbles.
“Hey, Marcie-farcie,” Jovan calls out without sparing her a glance. “That dress is too fucking short.”
“I told you to stop calling me that,” my sister snaps, narrowing her eyes at him. “And there’s nothing wrong with my dress.”
“Yes, there is,” I argue. “Sit down.”
Her friends linger near the stairs, giggling and ogling Jovan as one of the strippers starts loosening his tie and shirt buttons. I recognize them as the daughters of associates of mine—both college age like Marcella and dressed for a night of clubbing.
Marcella looks like she wants to argue, but she sits. A selection of liquor bottles is arranged on the table between us, along with clean glasses and an ice bucket. My sister chooses tequila and pours a little over ice, holding my gaze while taking her first sip. She isn’t twenty-one yet, but a guy who traffics guns and drugs, and kicks the teeth out of people who owe him money doesn’t have much moral authority.
“I heard you were looking for me,” she says, giving me a smirk over the rim of her glass.
“Don’t play games with me, I’m not in the mood,” I snap, slouching in my chair. “You know what you did. You know how dangerous it was.”
“You’re the one who’s always telling me to keep my nose out of mafia business. Who am I to stop her from running? Especially if she’s smart enough to outwit you and your goons. You should have seen her coming down from that window … it was like some Parkour shit or something. She’s a bad-ass.”
“She was desperate,” I correct. “Desperate enough to hurt you to get away. You should have called for help.”
“I can take care of myself. Anyway, you caught her and brought her back. What’s the big deal?”
My indignation turns inward as I realize she’s right. While I do have a reason to be irritated with Marcella, the person I’m really pissed at is myself. It was stupid of me to underestimate Elena. I’m too used to dealing with the timid daughters of the men I do business with. Santiago Aguilar might not be a gangster, but he’s a shady fuck who likes to get his hands dirty while keeping his women squeaky clean. I don’t know what happened to his wife, but a little digging into his background told the story of a father who pissed his money away on coke and hookers, while sending his daughters to all-girl’s prep school and dragging them to mass every Sunday.
But Elena is nothing like I expected. She never cowered from me, not even when I pointed a gun at her. She tried to negotiate for her father’s life without fear, and she’s gotten away with talking to me in a way no one else would dare. Of course Elena would fight like hell to get away from me. It’s my fault I didn’t think her capable of climbing out of a three-story window, or trying to clean my clock once I stopped her—mistake I won’t make again.
“You didn’t just watch her escape,” I reply, narrowing my eyes at Marcella. “I saw you talking to her on the security video.”
She shrugs and tucks a lock of hair behind her ear. “What was I supposed to do? Tackle her?”
“Don’t be a brat.”
“Then stop being a dick. Jesus, Diego, you kidnapped her! What the hell was I supposed to do?”
“I’ve done far worse, and you know it!” I bellow, losing what’s left of my supply of patience for the day.
“This is different. Is it true you threatened to kill her if her father doesn’t pay up? Are you really going to go through with it?”
Instead of replying, I cut my gaze at Jovan, who has his head buried in a stripper’s neck. “When are you going to stop running your goddamn mouth? For fuck’s sake, Jovan!”
I knew the day would come when I could no longer hide the realities of what I do and have done from Marcella. I just didn’t expect my best